You take it off the hook by the door, shrug it on over a jumper, and the collar comes up round your jaw without you touching it

The pile is the first thing you notice. This is a long haired faux fur, not a flat plush and not a curly shearling: the strands are several centimetres long, they part when you run a hand over them, and they fall back. The dye is done in a smudged, uneven way so that the colour shifts from pale at the tip to deeper at the root, which is why the maker calls the shades smudged and ink dyed rather than plain beige and brown.

The shape is simple and short. A stand collar rolls up round the neck, the shoulder line drops, the sleeves are full and plain, and the front hangs open. The maker gives the garment length as 50 to 65 centimetres depending on size, which puts the hem at the hip rather than at the thigh or the knee. There is no visible button, hook or zip on any of the photographs, and the maker does not name a fastening.

Key Benefits

• Long pile faux fur A long haired artificial fur that parts and falls back, quite different from a flat plush or a curly sherpa. No animal fur is used or claimed.
• Stand collar The collar stands up on its own round the neck rather than folding into a lapel, which is what gives the coat its shape from the front.
• Smudged dyeing The colour is applied unevenly so it reads paler at the tip of the pile and deeper at the root. Every panel is slightly different.
• Short at the hip Fifty to sixty five centimetres of garment length per the maker, so it stops at the hip and sits over jeans or trousers rather than swallowing them.
• Four related shades Smudged beige, smudged moonlight brown, ink dyed gilt walnut coffee and smudged pinecone brown coffee, all in the cream to taupe family.
• Dropped shoulder, full sleeve A relaxed cut through the body and the arm, so a jumper goes underneath without the shoulder pulling.

Best for: Wearing over a knit on a cold dry day, for anyone who wants the look of a fur coat without an animal in it, and who prefers a short coat that stops at the hip to a long one.

Why It Works

Most cheap faux furs give themselves away in one of two ways: the pile is too short and reads as a blanket, or the colour is flat and reads as a costume. This one addresses both. The pile is long enough to move, and the uneven dye breaks up the surface so the light does not hit it as one solid block. What it does not have is a fastening, a lining you can see in the photographs, or any stated fibre. The maker writes imitation fur and stops there, so that is where we stop too.

Quick Product Facts: Long pile faux fur coat; the maker states imitation fur and names no fibre; stand collar; dropped shoulder with a full plain sleeve; open front with no visible button, hook or zip; garment length 50 to 65 centimetres per the maker; four colourways in the cream to taupe range; sizes S, M, L and XL; packing list reads coat times one.

How It Fits Your Routine

Shake it out when it arrives and hang it on a broad hanger for a day. Long pile compresses flat in a shipping bag, and it lifts again on its own once the weight comes off it.

Do not put it in a machine. A long haired faux fur mats permanently once the fibres tangle under agitation, and heat is worse still. Brush it in the direction of the pile with a soft clothes brush, spot clean marks with a barely damp cloth, and take it to a cleaner for anything more serious.

Store it hanging with room on both sides rather than crushed between two coats. A crushed pile takes weeks to recover, and a permanently crushed one never does.

FAQ

Is any of this real fur? No. The maker writes imitation fur and artificial fur on its own sheet, no animal is named anywhere, and we make no claim to the contrary.

Is it really mid length? Not by most definitions. The maker calls it mid length in its overview and then gives 50 to 65 centimetres of garment length in its own specification. That is a hip length coat, so we have described it that way.

How does it fasten? The maker never says, and no button, hook or zip appears on any photograph. Treat it as an open front coat that you hold closed or wear open.

How warm is it? The maker uses the word warmth and gives no fibre, no lining detail and no temperature rating, so we have nothing to measure it against. What is true is that the pile is long and dense.