Handsome Furs
By Allison Hall
Its winter time and I don’t know about where you live, but here in Toronto, it has been C-O-L-D! I have one of those down filled super warm winter coats and its nice and all, but it’s not the most fashionable piece of clothing that I own. I have some cute wool pea coats in my wardrobe that are much more flattering, so being the way that I am and in spite of the below freezing temperatures outside, I usually opt for one of the pea coats. I know, I know, if I don’t dress properly I’m going to catch a cold, but really…fashion is always going to win out.
I figured that since my body wasn’t going to be at its warmest, my head had might as well be, so I decided to purchase a fur hat to help fight the cold and let me tell you, my fur hat is the best purchase that I have made all season. Not only is it extremely cute (I get tons of compliments on it) but it keeps my head extremely warm!
I settled on a faux fur one as I couldn’t quite bring myself to purchase an animal fur one. The faux hats that I came across were all just as warm at the real ones. Most are lined the same way and from a glance you really can’t tell the difference.
Parkhurst, a Canadian company, make lots of winter accessories and I’ve found several different styles of their synthetic fur hats that are really well priced. You can find their accessories at The Bay and other department stores. Now, this may be a little controversial, I know that a lot of people are anti-fur, but if you opt for the real deal, I would recommend looking for a second hand one. There are lots of furriers in Toronto where you can find well maintained, clean and newly stitched second hand hats.
If you’re looking to be super warm and are considering a fur coat, again I would recommend that you go with vintage. There are lots of shops in Kensington Market that have rack after rack of fur coats and when I perused the neighborhood last week; I noticed that a lot of those shops were selling their furs at 50% off!
Author: 
Publisher-Creator Mikhail Saavedra began life down by the deepest tip of southern Latin America. He started life with a deep curiosity for all things, with music and books being at the forefront, a curious child by all accounts. As he grew and opened his eyes to the world, he developed a sense of justice and dignity in part as a reaction to growing up in a military dictatorship. Alas, this did not fill him with fear or cynicism but a more rebellious spirit, which led him to being incredibly popular at the principal’s office and the local riot police department….
Then came Canada and it was here that he was able to formulate his deep desire to learn about the world, with Toronto being the kind of multicultural soup that could engage his need to know and embrace. It started with writing, then moved on to what became Toronto’s first Latin Alternative radio show, followed by an all-English show in the same vein. It was this desire to find the true “crossover” among people, which led him to the concept of “Alternavox”
He is a lover of wine, good food, Neruda, Eduardo Galeano, rebel music, revolutionaries, dancing, family and beautiful people. Believes that kindness in this much too cynical world is revolutionary, that you are a better person when able to give a little without asking for the change and that on the same token you should laugh at yourself and the madness surrounding you as often as possible as you set out to change the world bit by bit. 
Great entry, and many thanks for taking the time to publish it; really opened my eyes for some new perspectives that I hadn’t thought of before.