This guide is for anyone shopping across the old men’s and women’s lines: trans women and men, nonbinary people, and crossdressers. A trans fur coat is not a separate kind of garment. It is a coat cut to fit the person wearing it, in whatever colour and length they want, and that is what a furrier’s workroom is for.
Below: a little history, what actually differs between a men’s and a women’s coat, how a coat is made to your measurements, and how to see one on yourself before you come in.
Fur and Queer New York
New York’s ballroom scene goes back to the drag balls held in Harlem in the 1920s, and through the house culture of the 1970s and 1980s it has always prized the entrance. A full-length fur is the most dramatic way to make one, which is why fox and mink in loud colours have been part of the floor for as long as there has been a floor. Our coloured furs come straight out of that tradition.
The Stonewall uprising of June 1969 happened a short walk from the fur district where we work, and it changed what people felt free to wear in public. Fifty years on, plenty of the clients who come through our door are dressing for themselves in a way that would once have been impossible. A good coat is part of that, and we have been cutting coats to order in New York since 1870.
What Actually Differs Between a Men’s and a Women’s Coat
The difference is in the pattern, not the fur. A men’s coat is cut wider across the shoulders, longer in the sleeve and straighter through the body; a women’s coat is narrower at the shoulder, shaped at the waist and roomier at the hip. They also button on opposite sides. That is the whole of it, and none of it is fixed: our men’s furs and women’s coats are made on the same tables by the same hands.
Where it matters is fit. A trans woman with a broad frame may find a women’s coat pulls across the back and stops short at the wrist. A trans man may find a men’s coat long in the sleeve and loose at the shoulder. Off the rack, the answer is a size up and a compromise. In a workroom, the answer is to cut the style you want on your own measurements, the same way our plus size coats are cut for a fuller figure.
Made to Your Measurements
A fitting is you, a three-way mirror and a furrier with pins. We take shoulder, chest, waist, hip, sleeve and length, then cut the pattern to them. Want a women’s silhouette with a men’s shoulder, or a men’s coat that buttons on the other side? Both are ordinary requests. You can design your own coat from the fur up, or start from any piece on the site and have it altered.
Come to the fitting in what you plan to wear underneath and the shoes you will wear it with, because both change where a hem should fall and how much room the body needs. Length is the other big choice: a jacket stops at the hip, a stroller between the hip and mid-thigh, a full-length coat near the ankle. Our mink strollers are the easiest everyday length to start from.
Call ahead and we will set a time for your fitting at 212 West 30th Street. If you would rather settle on a style first, the try-on below lets you narrow it down at home.
Colour, and Coats That Were Never Only for One Gender
Bright fur has never belonged to one side of the store. The rainbow and multicoloured pieces below are cut on women’s patterns and sell to everyone; the pink fox coats include several cut on men’s patterns. Fox gives volume and a big collar; mink gives a sleeker line and lighter weight, which matters on a full-length coat. Our fox coats and mink coats show the difference side by side.
Every one of these can be ordered in another colour or cut to a different pattern. The men’s coats below show the same colours on a broader cut, for anyone who wants the shoulder of a men’s coat with the brightness of a coloured fur.
See It on Yourself First
Our virtual fur try-on puts any coat on the site onto a photograph of you, from your own phone, at home. Upload a photo taken straight on in good light and the coat appears on you in about a minute. It is free, needs no account, and everyone gets three try-ons a day.
It keeps you exactly as you are in your photo, and every picture carries a small credit line at the bottom. It shows how a colour and length suit you; the final fit is settled at the fitting.
Real Fur or Faux?
Faux fur is cheap and everywhere, and it has a place. The difference shows up close and over time: real fur moves, keeps you warm, and lasts decades with care, where most faux is plastic and goes flat within a few winters. Our guide to real fur versus faux covers it in detail, and a real coat stays in condition with cold storage and cleaning each summer.
Questions
Can a trans woman get a women’s fur coat that fits her shoulders?
Yes. We cut and alter in our own workroom, so a women’s style can be made on your shoulder and sleeve measurements instead of a standard size. How made-to-measure works.
Do you make men’s fur coats in pink and other bright colours?
Yes. Pink fox, multicoloured mink and rainbow pieces are cut on men’s patterns as well as women’s, and most styles can be ordered in another colour. See the pink fox coats.
Can I see a coat on myself before I come in?
Yes. The virtual try-on puts any coat on the site onto your own photo, free and without an account, so you can choose before a fitting. Open the try-on.
Every coat is made and fitted in our New York workroom. Browse the coloured furs or try one on your own photo first.
