Would You Wear Vintage Fur?
I stand around like this all the time, don’t you?
At a clothing swap months ago, someone brought a vintage wool coat with a mink collar. It was tossed aside for most of the swap, and the woman who brought it scooped it up after a few hours and handed it to me.
“This,” she said, “will be gorgeous on you.” When I tried it on, all of the other ladies in attendance agreed it suited me well.
I hesitated, though. Fur? I’ve never worn it, and would never buy it.
There’s the decades old joke about people picking on fur more than leather only because it’s easier to pick on rich ladies than biker dudes, but the fact remains that mink raises an eyebrow where my leather purse does not, especially in hip, liberal Brooklyn. (I generally avoid leather, too, but made an exception for my rib & hull heirloom tote purse, pictured above, after three faux leather purses in a row fell apart on me.)
When I asked for opinions on Facebook, my friends – including my thoughtful, vegan, animal-skin avoiding friend Kim – said wear it, and so I am, but with some hesitation still. I will certainly avoid wearing it around clients to avoid being offensive. It’s fabulous, though, and makes me feel like I’m channeling Margot Tenebaum! In other words, there are a lot of mixed feelings.
Do you or would you wear vintage fur if someone gave it to you for free? Would you buy it? Is new fur still taboo?
p.s. Aren’t my half-gloves amazing? They were a gift from Lindsey, an elopement client of mine who knit them for me. They are perfect for operating a camera in the cold.
photos by Lydia Phillips Royce
Kara
30 Jan 13 at 8:26 am
I wear vintage fur. I have two pieces, a silver mink stole and a blue mink jacket. Both of them are from the mid to late 1930s and were first owned by my great-grandmother. I like the fact the I can look at old family photos of my great-grandmother and grandmother and see them wearing the same pieces that are hanging in my closet… the same pieces that I pull out and wear on fancy occasions. It may be silly, but it gives me a feeling of continuity and connections across generations.
I know that doesn’t really answer your questions, but that is why I wear vintage fur.
(Also, I would say that fur taboos – vintage and new – vary by location. In the upper midwest leather and fur keep you warm in ways that synthetics do not. So while fancy mink may be thin on the ground there, you will see a lot of shearling and fur lined coats and jackets.)
LOVE this! -Amber
Jamy
30 Jan 13 at 12:58 pm
I wouldn’t wear fur, but only because it creeps me out. I do have leather purses and shoes though, so it’s just my weird mentality. But the coat is GORGEOUS on you and it’s only a little bit of fur, so I totally think you should rock it!
misstraceynolan
30 Jan 13 at 11:00 pm
I would totally do it, especially if it looked that good on me! But you have to prepared for the potential backlash. I just got some emails from some online friends today about animal rights because of a new social media client of mine (who partakes in factory farming). Passionate people be passionate, yo.
Ashley
10 Feb 13 at 7:04 pm
I struggled with this for a long time, especially as someone who decided a long time ago to never buy fur. I also try to avoid leather, but it honestly is a slippery slope; I still eat meat and other animal products.
But when my great aunt, the one who has been my bridge that still connected me to my family and ultimately helped me to forgive offered me her fur coat from the late 60s, I really didn’t feel like I could or want to turn it down. I admire her do much, and it was one of the first things she bought with her executive promotion pay back in a time when black women were NOT executives anywhere. She also sent it to me because it is COLD YO, and the practicality smacks me in the face when my lame wool coat fails me. If I’m being blunt, the animal is already dead. It hanging in her closet instead of keeping me warm and wrapping me in some family love and solidarity for my journey is not somehow making any kind of real statement. I’ve felt very apologetic when I even think about wearing it, like I need some kind of sign that it’s vintage and from a dear family member. But I think that may actually be wasting some precious energy that could be redirected. Wear your vintage fur with panache, Amber! And make the rest of your actual life choices the statement