Stylish coats with faux fur collars

I'm lucky in that my friend Caroline who is a fashion editor in London often tips me off about the latest and upcoming trends.

In an email today, she was raving about faux fur especially on coats and jackets. We were at college together, studying art and design, and we've remained in touch. It's great to hear from her - especially about the latest trends.

She is currently working on a magazine layout exclusively about coats and jackets with faux fur collars so I thought I'd share the information with you.

We all know that an elegant look is currently being seen on the catwalks in London, Paris and Milan. It's reminiscent of the 1950s and early 1960s when women truly knew how to dress elegantly with sophisticated clothing and superb style.

Fashion journalists are welcoming this return to elegance.Today there's no need to endanger animals to get the same look. The fake versions are fun, stylish and sophisticated. What's more, today's fakes are remarkably affordable and achieve a designer look at value for money prices.

Caroline and I both went crazy over this one because of the tailored look. The colours will match anything in your wardrobe and this is an adaptable style that is so useful for just about any occasion.

It is stylish and smart enough to be worn for work but is perfect for casual wear too.

You should have heard Caroline raving about this - I wish I'd made a recording! As you can see, this adaptable collar that can be worn with any garment.

This can add drama - and a hint of luxury - to even the plainest outfit.

This is just gorgeous. It looks fabulous in this photograph with tight, cropped jeans, the lovely hat and those beautiful boots. But it looks wonderful when worn with a tailored skirt too. Very adaptable and stylish.

This too can easily look smart enough to wear on formal occasions but is great for every day too.

Definitely casual in style and look at that luxurious collar. This is a great garment for town or country. It looks super-chic in the photograph, worn with skinny jeans, a gorgeous black bag and those cute round sunglasses. It the nineteen sixties brought up to date.

The stars of yesteryear - as seen in the black and white images above - would invariably wear real fur. Fur was a luxury,it was a sign of success. In those days, a woman knew that she had arrived when she had a fur coat -or even better, a selection.

But over the years society and its values changed. We became more conscious of the environment and more concerned about the animals - sometimes endangered species - that were being slaughtered to provide clothing.

After all, this was fine back in the days when we all lived in caves,there was no alternative, but for a civilised society? The wave of public opinion changed.

All product photographs from Amazon. Black & white photographs from Wikipedia Commons.