There's a photograph of my mother in the "good" family photo album (i.e. the one that only contains black and white images of my mother and grandmother and is inspiring from a style point of view...as opposed to the later albums featuring 70's and 80's clothing which should, quite frankly, be given a decent burial) which I've always wanted to pay homage to...mainly because of the coat she's wearing.

In the late 50's/early 60's when the image was taken it would have been referred to as sheepskin...in these more p.c. and less literal days we're calling it shearling...either way it summed up a sort of chic practicality which was very alluring. Modern versions that I've come across have always been clunkier and less refined than their older counterparts...at least, they were, up until the point I saw this little number from Spanish designer Masscob. I hate the idea of pairing it with a pussy cat bow (as it is in the image to the right)...but with a black dress or plaid shirt I think it would just about reach perfection.