While I am for a fur coat or a cowboy hat, yes that outfit is eccentric. First of all Dr. BP needs a darker colored mink to go with her coloring and even to go with the cowboy hat. Then throw on some boots to pull it all together.
I never named a charity. I do not know that she only donates to a “puppy rescue”, which is why I did not single one out. I totally agree with you that she probably donates to many different charitable causes. She certainly does not need to consult me before donating. The point I hoped to make was that her ability and willingness to donate a sizable amount of money should be a different issue from her choice of wearing a fur coat.
I’m not condemning or condoning anything, but am I the only one who thinks that the coat isn’t even very cute?!
I do not know Dr. Parker, but IMHO, the outfit is gauche!
[QUOTE=orangecrush;8017951]
Here is a pic. If you look at a close up shot, I think she is wearing a polo shirt underneath so I doubt this was really a planned ensemble. I am sure that I have been seen in many fashion disasters while at horse shows—just no one cares to post about it on the internet thankfully:)
http://www.phelpssports.com/viewarticle.php?id=10013184[/QUOTE]
I can’t tell for sure…is that a straw hat? If so, a FASHION FAUX PAS! Everyone knows you don’t wear a straw cowboy hat in winter. And, the block on that hat is definitely outdated. Someone needs to dress that woman, for God’s sake!
I beg to differ with those who say that modern technology has eliminated the need for fur. Take for example the following paragraph from an essay on surviving winters in Moscow (which is not even one of the coldest parts of Russia):
“After one winter in Moscow, you will also want to abandon your morals and buy ??? (fur coat) or maybe ??? (fur jacket), if only to fit in with everyone else on the metro. You resist. By the second winter you begin to think: It’s either me or the minks. By the third winter, you fit in.”
I, too, have learned from experience that nothing beats a well made fur (or fleece), for warmth, although my father told me that the warmest and most protective coats, jackets and hats are the ones made with the fur (or fleece) inside, and well-tanned leather out.
My all time favorite winter coat was a beaver I inherited from my grandmother. Nothing else has ever kept me so warm and dry.
P.S. IMO, fashion is mob rule idiocy. Faux pas becomes chic long before well made clothes even begin to look worn. What a waste!
Dr Betsee really needs a stylist! DESPERATELY! She could be very pretty but not in that outfit or with that hair!
[QUOTE=fish;8018069]
I beg to differ with those who say that modern technology has eliminated the need for fur. [/QUOTE]
Recently on Good Morning America, the weather gal went to Iceland to report live from a volcano. While she was there, the real temps were around zero, or beginning to hit negatives. She said she was outfitted head to toe in modern technology and she was freezing her assets off until she borrowed some good ole caribou hide duds from the locals. I’m sorry, but the modern stuff isn’t a replacement. My mother’s warmest coat is full length shearling (rough out). Awesome stuff!
Honestly guys - all this fashion criticism is bugging me a bit. Just seems a bit petty to be calling someone out for fashion choices different from what we might choose for ourselves.
I say this as someone who has always dressed in my own way, and who has been repeatedly stunned by people’s suggestions that I could be “so pretty” if I’d just wear more make up or spend more money on clothes. I mean, seriously?
I don’t know Betsee Parker at all, but I do know that she donates a lot of money to charity, and makes a point of retiring her old show horses instead of throwing them away. To me, that’s what’s important. Not how she likes to dress.
This thread is a great example for why outsiders have no interest in the hunter discipline based on the opinion that we’re all a bunch of snobs. It’s disgusting how petty and mean some can be on a pubic bulletin board, towards the person who funnels more money and support into the hunter industry than probably anyone in history.
Five pages on this? Really…must be cabin fever setting in.
Who knows…maybe she didn’t buy that coat, either, like many of you who said you wear one. Who know? Could have been a gift. She could have inherited it. We simply do not know.
Also, maybe she wasn’t expecting the weather to be so cold, and she happened to have it laying in the car, or wherever. Better to be warm than worry about fashion. Again, we don’t know! Granted, it’s an expensive item to be laying around, but WHO KNOWS. AND WHO CARES.
Carry on. 
What is a “sable” anyway??
[QUOTE=ParadoxFarm;8018276]
What is a “sable” anyway??[/QUOTE]
Small critter similar to a marten or mink
[QUOTE=ParadoxFarm;8018276]
Who knows…maybe she didn’t buy that coat, either, like many of you who said you wear one. Who know? Could have been a gift. She could have inherited it. We simply do not know.
Also, maybe she wasn’t expecting the weather to be so cold, and she happened to have it laying in the car, or wherever. Better to be warm than worry about fashion. Again, we don’t know! Granted, it’s an expensive item to be laying around, but WHO KNOWS. AND WHO CARES.
Carry on. 
What is a “sable” anyway??[/QUOTE]
A mean little bastard that deserves to be made into a coat.
ALSO A JOKE
[QUOTE=Go Fish;8017947]
I don’t have any opinions one way or the other on people wearing fur. I grew up on a ranch and we killed things…fact of life.
That being said, everyone defending the wearing of fur because it’s warmer make me laugh. I don’t recall seeing climbers on Mt. Everest wearing a mink coat. I think it gets pretty cold up there. :lol:
Fur is a too h
The difference between the cost of a mink coat and a down coat is substantial. The down coat will keep you just as warm, if not warmer. I think wearing fur is a statement by the wearer that says “see, I can afford a mink coat.” Nothing wrong with that, though. Just be honest about it.[/QUOTE]
Fur is too heavy for climbing Everest. It is however significantly warmer than anything else that I have ever worn, including some of the technical ski gear etc.
As the saying goes: “Haters gonna hate”.
How many of these critics would dismount in a hot minute from their self-righteous high horses and don Dr. Parker’s fur and cowboy hat themselves, if it meant they could trade bank accounts and horse flesh with her?
“…hate, hate, hate, hate…” Thanks. I now have a silly song stuck in my head. :lol:
[QUOTE=corgif;8018325]
As the saying goes: “Haters gonna hate”.
How many of these critics would dismount in a hot minute from their self-righteous high horses and don Dr. Parker’s fur and cowboy hat themselves, if it meant they could trade bank accounts and horse flesh with her?[/QUOTE]
Yep. Call me a walking faux pas with my out of season straw hat and heaping pile of roadkill across my shoulders and I will weep all the way to the bank, and my farm in Middleburg, and to every top show in the country.
My mother has some beautiful fur coats (mink and beaver I think). I remember always wanting to pet them as a child! So soft. My mother always said they were the warmest things she owned (we lived in Alberta) but she doesn’t wear them anymore now that she lives in BC. and I would never wear them. I have a pet rabbit, and just cringe at anything with rabbit fur on it.
Thanks to whomever it was above who suggested the idea about selling them; I imagine my mom would get some nice pocket money. I’m going to have to look into it.
I had that happen to me, too (decades ago!). My favorite response was “if you weren’t so stupid/ drunk/ blind (take your pick), you’d see that I’m good-looking enough just as I am.”
I don’t know Betsee Parker either, but think she looks gorgeous in those photos-- and the coat is unquestionably a work of art. If this picture of her had been taken in 1964 instead of 2015, my guess is that most people here would see that-- just as (I hope) they recognize the period masterpieces we feast our eyes on in Downton Abbey. This picture gives me the definite impression that Dr. Parker has enough confidence (with obviously ample reason!) to dress precisely as she pleases. If she ‘needed a stylist,’ lord knows she could easily get one-- but I suspect it would cramp her style ;).
