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In this week's installment of Alex K.'s Amazing Adventures of the Ladies Who Lunch, our fearless reporter goes fur shopping. At first, she's put off by the idea — apparently she's got a dog she rather likes — but, naturally, the ridiculously expensive decadence grows on her.

I tried on a shearling coat in chocolate suede. Again, it was so unlike the shearling coat I owned that it does not even belong in the same category. There were no bulky pockets; the inside was cut so that I didn't look like a sack of potatoes. It was my birthday. I bought it. (It was $5,000, and all I can say is that I'm glad I spent the last year paying off my credit cards.)

Oh, we are, too, Alex. In fact, nothing makes us glad like a multimillionaire successfully paying off her credit-card debt. And just in time to drop $5K on a coat!

A Christmas miracle.

My First Time, She Purred. The Furrier Smiled. [NYT]