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 vegan 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 vegan fur A long haired vegan fur that parts and falls back, quite different from a flat plush or a curly sherpa, made without any animal fur.
• 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 a plush fur coat with no animal in it, and who prefers a short coat that stops at the hip to a long one.

Why It Works

Most cheap vegan 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. It wears as an open front coat, held closed in the hand or left open over a knit, in a long dense vegan pile with the collar standing on its own and a relaxed dropped shoulder.

Quick Product Facts: Long pile vegan fur coat; the maker describes it as imitation and artificial fur; 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 vegan 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 this vegan? Yes. It is a vegan fur made without any animal fur, the maker's own sheet describing it as imitation and artificial fur, with no animal named anywhere.

How long is it? It is a hip length coat. The maker gives a garment length of 50 to 65 centimetres, which sits at the hip over jeans or trousers rather than at the thigh or knee.

How does it fasten? It is an open front coat, worn open over a knit or held closed in the hand, with the stand collar framing the neck. That easy drape is part of the look.

How warm is it? The pile is long and dense, and the maker describes it for warmth over a knit on a cold dry day. It is a layering coat to throw on over a jumper rather than a technical winter shell.