The faux fur trend and furry shoes DIY

Hello everyone! How is your autumn going, mine's totally finished here in Minnesota haha. Since it snowed a week ago (and is too cold for the snow to melt) I have already began to feel in the winter spirit. Suddenly the christmas decorations out in every store don't bother me as much, and I'm looking at getting a new christmas tree haha. I feel kinda bad that Thanksgiving gets no attention anymore besides being a big glorified day for  retail corporations to shore up their massive proftis/pad their shareholders' wallets, but it wasn't that great of a holiday anyhow. However, since winter is in full swing now, that means warm clothes to keep you safe from the chilly winds!

One of the obvious trends of this winter season is the fluffy furry trend. It manifests in many ways, but most obviously is in furry accessories. You will be hard pressed to find a brand that hasn't released some fur covered item recently. You can find fluffy material sweaters, skirts, socks and berets, and fur covered shoes, earrings, bags, coats and as trim on all types of clothing. I'm generally speaking about Japanese brands here, but you can see it creeping up a bit in western brands as well!

 lilLilly // Merry Jenny // Bubbles // Bubbles // Swankiss // Top Shop // Candy Stripper // Missguided

The must have item though is Bubbles Tokyo's pom pom earrings, maybe out of low pile fur fabric in a multitude of colors. You can see girls sporting them in just about every other street snap out there, Bubbles as been a leader in trend items lately and their pom pom earring certainly took off. You can find pom pom earrings in a huge variety in Japanese stores now, so there's no end to your options. It's an affordable and eye catching way to stay on trend.

Another item I'm catching more and more glimpses of are furry shoes! From loafers with pom poms by g.v.g.v. to furry sandals by Lillilly to completely fur covered like Swankiss's platform shoes - you'll find a style to fit your taste. Personally I took a liking to Lillilly's take on the fur shoe trend, especially when Risa Nakamura sported a pair on TV. Western brands like Top Shop and Missguided are offering similar looking items (The ones at Top Shop always sell out quick!), but I was looking for a specific shape and color. As I can't fit Japanese shoes, I decided to make my own!

DIY Furry Sandals

Firstly I knew I wanted pink shoes, it's my favorite color and the Lillilly pink colorway ones looked so good on Risa haha. It is rather hard to find cute pink shoes in the west, but luckily I found some Satin sandals on Missguided. These type of barely there strappy sandals are a trend in the west so you'll have lots to choose from when making your furry shoes.

I already had pink fake fur on hand, but you'll likely need to go and purchase some. I recommend a medium pile fur, I used long pile but for a more beautiful look medium is best. A 5 inch wide piece should all you need cut at the fabric store, but make sure to measure the length of your shoe's front strap to be sure.

Materials needed: Faux fur, pattern, needles, thread (not pictured shoes and scissors)

I created a template with a paper towel to use as my pattern. You will need the exact length of your sandal by the width doubled with about 1/4 inch added seam allowance. I just wrapped the paper towel around the strap and marked where it should be cut.

Next I laid the pattern on the back of the fur fabric, make sure the pile of the fur is pointing towards the bottom of your pattern. You want the pile to lay horizontally. Then just cut the pattern out, keep your scissors close to the fabric base using small shallow cuts so you don't cut up the fur pile a lot.

Sewing the fabric seam together

Finally align your fabric around the sandal strap, stitch the two sides together with the wrong sides facing out. Sew the seam together facing you and when finished just rotate it to the underside of the strap and you are finished! Fur fabric doesn't fray so you don't need to worry about the raw edges. For tips about hand sewing check out this page.

Would you like to give the furry shoe trend a try? Doing it yourself will save you money and allow you to control the color and look. If you want get your hands on some fur pom pom earrings, they are hard to find in western stores, but easy to make!! Check out this Pom Pom Tutorial, then just add some earring hooks to make your own :)