Fun fur: The Look

No 57

Jacket from Autograph range at M&S (available October, £149, marksandspencer.com)

And when is fur fun?

When it's not fur at all. Faux, fake, whatever you want to call it, you can have a lot more fun wearing something that's not ethical kryptonite.

Wouldn't wear the real thing, but I'm not sure about the fake stuff either…

The problem with fake fur is that, at times in the past, it has tried too hard to be the real thing and failed.

And now?

Now there are two schools of fur forgery. The first, most fashionable approach is unashamed artifice. So forget natural tones and embrace obviously inorganic hues, such as this bright-red jacket from good old Marks & Sparks' Autograph range (available October, £149, marksandspencer.com).

What's the second approach?

This pulls off a higher degree of realism on account of the quality. Ruby + Ed makes luxurious faux coats that are pretty damn close to the real thing (from £199, rubyanded.co.uk).

Man-made is still pretty pricey, then?

You get what you pay for, and quality fake fur is no exception. If it's a bit much, think about pimping up your winter coat with a fake fur collar – Ruby + Ed also has some cute candy-coloured pieces from £80.