All Fur Coat And No Knickers Meaning

(idiomatic, derogatory) Having a superficially positive appearance that is belied by the reality, e.g., superficially elegant and beautiful but actually common.

Example: 1999, David Brock, Michael J. Powell and Christopher Robin Hinings, Restructuring the professional organization: Accounting, Health Care and Law‎,
  A nurse spoke for a number of her colleagues when she said that she felt that these developments were a waste of time and 'all fur coat and no knickers' (personal interview, 1994).
2003, Cliff Moughtin, Urban Design: Street and Square‎,
  From this viewpoint some forms of Post-Modernism mean new façades for old concepts, dressing the skyscraper, or the vast supermarket in the garb of the tart - 'all fur coat and no knickers'.
2005, Michael Robotham, Suspect‎,
  "What about the wife?"
  "Bridget. She was all fur coat and no knickers. A real social climber."
  "But you liked her?"
  "Yes."