So I've been looking for someone too tell me what these new furs are like. I haven't been able to find anything about them or with a comparison anywhere so I went ahead and bought some to share with all of you~
Let's start off with the Taupe Alpaca. To me, this fur looks far too similar to Monkey/gorilla shag to not be called such. As you can see, it even has a sparse backing. It has a thin feel to it but it appears to be very thick (Like MKSH). This one is from Fabric.com and comes in some pretty awesome colors like a nice Steely blue and a Mossy looking green as well as Black and White! It looks like these may be here to stay too since they're supplied by Shannon fabrics~ ($29.98)
Next up I have a few different furs from Distictive Fabrics (Omit the long taupe in the top left)
Starting in the top left, we have a peachy looking fur with black tips. This is called "Metropolitan frosted black Pumpkin" The name is actually kinda deceiving because I was expecting a more orange colored fur. It's actually more pink in color so be aware! This might as well be called"Metropolitan frosted black Peach". If you want a more orange color, go to "I'm stuffed fur" for their tipped yam (It's a muted orange that's right on the verge of being rust colored).
Right next to the peach, we have "Metropolitan frosted black burgundy". It's exactly the same as the other and it's pretty much exactly what I would expect from a burgundy fur. These furs are about an inch long with nice dense piles that's easy to shave to for me, very easy to manage on a suit~ It's a lot straighter than your typical shag and sleeker but not quite as soft. ($29.00 for both)
Next, here's a different line of fur. It's the "Marmot" fur (This is the black swatch and the pink swatch)! I was really excited for this one but now I'm a little more on the cautious side. It's noticeably thin and I would only recommend fursuit making vets use this if you're comfortable with shaving. For me, I use a long enough trimmer head that I *Could* make this work but on the lighter colors, I wouldn't chance it. It would work wonders for a tail or body where no trimming would be needed though! BEWARE, the pink above is listed as "Coral" but it looks more like a papaya color to me (I think coral has a smidge more orange to it) They are both sleek and soft and have piles of about 9/10ths of an inch. it just BARELY makes that 1" mark. ($19)
Then there's a more well known Purple sparkle fur (bottom right). This is pretty common and has been around for a while (I didn't intend to post a review on this) but if you'd like to know more about it, I'll let you know in a comment~
Now let's switch gears back to Fabric.com! This is a gray fur I wasn't at all optimistic about. I actually bought it because a commissioner of mine wanted to know if it would work. Unfortunately, you can't buy a swatch of this stuff. You have to buy at least half a yard in order to get it to see if it's even worth it. Well, I think it's quite worth it. The particular one I bought was the "Coarse Hair Faux Fur Dark Grey" . They have a silver but I didn't buy both (until now). Like the name suggests, it's pretty coarse in texture and has a pile length of about 1"-1.2". Even when it's ruffled up, it still looks pretty appealing. It's a warm grey which I've never seen available before so this was pretty awesome to find on a site like Fabric.com (The lighter grey is your typical LS gray for comparison). Be sure to check them out periodically. They tend to have the same stock year around but occasionally, you can find hidden gems like this that makes any lengthy searching work while. ($19.98) (P.S. These furs will not last long. there is a very limited supply. Since this is not marked as being sold from Shannon fabrics, there is a high possibility that once it's gone, it's gone!)
They have an LS burgundy for sale at the moment which isn't normally in stock. It's different from maroon in that it has a bit more of purple-ish tone to it while still being a nice, dark and rich red color.
If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask! I hope this helps anyone who's been curious about these new furs that have become readily available~