Furs

reiterates this philosophy: "Each
customer and each coat is
different."
The cost of labor alone makes
remolding impractical for
inexpensive furs or less than top
quality furs. Remolding may not
pay, depending on what you want
done.
"Sometimes a customer is
better off buying a new coat than
remodeling an old one for
$2,000-$3,000," states Mr. Ilya.
Furriers will adivse you
whether or not your fur is worth
the cost of the job. Alterations to
make a coat roomier include
inserting V-gussets under the
arms all the way down the
sleeves and / or closing up the
buttonholes and replacing them
with hooks and eyes.
Lengthening a coat is a more
expensive job, because it
generally requires adding skins.
Joseph Roberts of Dittrich Furs
offers some innovative advice.
He suggests adding a fox border
on the bottom of a coat and down
the front for a tuxedo look. He
also mentions the idea of creating
a 7 / 8 jacket. "When remolding a
coat into a 7 / 8 length, it can be
done tastefully and not look like a
short coat."
There are many options in
restyling a coat into a jacket. The
sporty fur jacket, slightly longer
than hip length, can be very
fashionable. Usually, the body of
the jacket is mink; the sleeves
can be poplin, knit or, the favorite
choice, ultrasuede. The jacket
can have buttons or a zipper.
Some jackets are reversible;
some have zip-out sleeves
(which without the sleeves, turn
into a vest).
"In past seasons, we've made
hundreds of jackets over with knit
sleeves," says Glenn Ceresnie of
Ceresnie & Offen in Birmingham.
"We have made coats into hip
length style, utilizing all the fur
into the newer, looser and longer
contemporary fashions. We try to
utilize every square inch of fabric
in the restyling process," adds
Ceresnie.

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