Shear delight

Get cosy in fleece and fuzz

This summer might have been all about suede – especially a certain skirt – but as winter creeps in there’s a new hide to show about town: shearling. Whether real or imitation there’s more than one way to wear the trend this season: with curly fleece bared in a distinctly bohemian bent, or fuzz facing inwards and peach-fuzz skin outside. Don’t worry if you can’t choose – the most popular styles right now make the best of both worlds and combine the two techniques to create something that is at once cosy and cool.

It’s a trend that’s been building for a while, particularly since Stuart Vevers’s triumphant debut at Coach last February, for which he mined Seventies Americana and used tan shearling to create covetable and cosy outerwear, shoes and accessories. There was a hot fuzz over Seventies shearling on the catwalks again this season, at Coach, where it’s becoming something of a signature for autumn/winter, and at Chloe and Preen by Thornton Bregazzi too, where any bulkiness was balanced out by slippery silky dresses and skirts.

On the catwalks shearling is inevitably the real deal – the pelt of a sheep that has been tanned and treated with the wool left on – and that authenticity is also available on the high street too. But it comes at a price – financially speaking, it’s one that is often well into the high three figures, while ethically, it raises similar concerns to the use of wearing leather or suede.

Luckily, lots of high street retailers have grown adept at faking the fluffy stuff in recent years. The most passable versions tend to be those with the thickest fleece, which should be the palest caramel rather than bright bleached white which can look cheap and quickly gets grubby, especially at collar and cuffs. If the tan take is too reminiscent of Del Boy for you, look instead for black and grey versions, which are more subtle ways to keep yourself warm and fuzzy.