Chesterfield topcoat - fur on collar/lapel

[HappyStroller]

Another Shanghainese tailor has disappointed me again. My Chesterfield topcoat came without a velvet collar.

Unfortunately, I had forgotten the collar should be velvet (and only the collar need be different from the rest of the coat's material) and ordered the mistake rectified by asking a furrier to add black mink to collar and lapels. Now I dread to see myself wearing something not exactly what a Chesterfield should look like. How sad.

I was also surprised the Herringbone cloth used was much lighter than something like Melton used for a Navy British military warm. Anyway, this thinner "Chesterfield" should be ideal for the current climate in Shanghai, which has a day temperature ranging between 5 to 15 degrees Centigrade (41 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit).

[flannel]

HS, I have no idea of the 'legitimacy' of the fur retrofit, but won't it be a tad incongruous at 10° C?

[Algernon]

Why not just ask the tailor to replace the self collar with a velvet one?

[Costi]

Why not just ask the tailor to replace the self collar with a velvet one?

Indeed, the collar face is relatively easy to replace, too.

[HappyStroller]

Good point, Flannel. Just didn't use my head, as I was preoccupied with the Look of a Chesterfield. As mentioned, I had forgotten it should have been only a velvet collar (black, I believe, for a grey Herringbone topcoat).

Anyway, with a mink collar and mink lapels, perhaps, with the world climatic temperature dropping a few degrees annually, the coat is preparing itself for an eventuality I had not foreseen.

HS, I have no idea of the 'legitimacy' of the fur retrofit, but won't it be a tad incongruous at 10° C?

[HappyStroller]

Great suggestion, Algernon and Costi. Hadn't thought it could be done. But now that I recall it, the mink is attached as a separate layer with the use of thread loops and tiny frogs, therefore detachable. All I need to do is get a similarly attachable (black, I believe) velvet layer for only the collar.

How nice, now I can have a topcoat that looks exactly like how a Chesterfield should, and when the opportunity strikes, use the mink collar and lapel layer for attending the Oscars on a cold San Francisco evening.

Indeed, the collar face is relatively easy to replace, too.

Why not just ask the tailor to replace the self collar with a velvet one?

[Algernon]

If you want a velvet collar it might be better to ask for the self collar to be unstitched,removed and replaced with a velvet one; I don't think one that buttons on, so to speak, would work.

[HappyStroller]

Thanks, Algernon, for your constructive tip.

I wonder what would the most appropriate colour be for the velvet collar considering the topcoat is made from medium grey with some black and lighter grey Herringbone pattern material. The image desired for the wearer is a very prosperous and substantial tycoon or a very powerful and successful top executive.

[Costi]

The image desired for the wearer is a very prosperous and substantial tycoon or a very powerful and successful top executive.

If that is what the wearer is, his natural taste is sure to guide him towards the choice that best embodies such attributes. If not, it will still be his personal taste...

As far as I know, historically the velvet collar of the Chesterfield WAS in fact designed to dettach so it could be cleaned/replaced when it got soiled by the long hair gentlemen used to dress with Macassar oil (remember Balzac's Cesar Birotteau?). I would choose a darker tone in the same colour of the coat, for the sake of keeping the tradition of the velvet collar.

[Algernon]

Ah, I had always assumed that is was replaced by removing the old collar and sewing on a new one.

[HappyStroller]

Well, got my Chesterfield back from the furriers. I found the mink collar quite appropriate for the current Shanghai day temperature of zero to 5 degrees Centigrade (41 degrees Fahrenheit).

As for the idea of having an alternative velvet collar, after observing various folks in Shanghai wearing winter coats, most of which seem to incorporate rabbit or fox furs, I decided not to downgrade from mink to velvet. It's one of those green-eyed class envy, or whatever, thing which I couldn't help, I guess.

Thanks for all your various suggestions, folks.

HS, I have no idea of the 'legitimacy' of the fur retrofit, but won't it be a tad incongruous at 10° C?