To the unaccustomed eye, it might look like NYC has its own version of Big Foot. Furry creatures that live in the subway systems (perhaps?) and emerges when the temperatures dip below freezing. They walk among us and New Yorkers are so jaded we don’t bat an eye? Are they some Star Wars lovechild of Wookiees and Ewoks?
Nah, they’re just women who aren’t afraid to wear fur in New York City.
You might think this looks like a messy PETA confrontation waiting to happen but it’s surprisingly common in the Big Apple.
New York City is fur country, ya hear?
I’ve seen a anti-fur protest or two (mostly outside Canada Goose in Soho) but they involved graphic signs of coyotes and chants like “Fur isn’t fashion! Where the hell is your compassion!”
In this lawsuit loving lanD, the days of fake blood being thrown at fur coat wearers are long gone.
Fur is a strange beast. Many of these full length coats have a history a passer-by could never guess. A fur coat is something that people pass down from generations. It’s still one of the warmest things you can wear. It’s easy to agree that buying new fur is a pretty shitty thing to do…but what if it’s a sentimental gift? What about buying vintage?
My dear friend, Kathleen McDermott, is documenting her year of “Non-Buy” and drew this wonderful sketch illustrating this exact issue.
Kathleen is a bonafide artist and fashion historian and challenged herself to buy no clothing for one full year! I adore the way she is documenting this – so creative and fun. Definitely check her out @diva_museum.
What should we do with the ethical DILEMMA inherited furs?
Kathleen lays out the options:
1. Wear them?
2. Leave them in your closet?
3. Leave them reverently in a deep wood?
Sell them on Ebay and donate the money to a wildlife sanctuary?
What do you think??
What are your thoughts on wearing fur? Have you inherited any pieces? Do you have a fur lining on your coat that you feel a little weird about kinda pretend doesn’t exist (just me?)?
I once had a chance to try on a full-length, fur coat from Russia. Fur turned to the inside. Nothing chic about it. But it was warm!
Real fur actually feels GROSS to me? Maybe I’ve got a mental block against it as a vegetarian, but it feels oily and rough, and I can always tell real from fake if I touch it and it feels like the bristles of a cheap hairbrush. That’s what real fur feels like to ME!
But I have a similar ethical dilemma about an inherited LEATHER coat. It’s from my mom, it’s calf-length with BIG 70’s lapels, and it feels like BUTTER. It’s real leather, which I feel bad about, but it feels soft as butter and it’s SO CUTE. I don’t feel bad about wearing it because it’s second-hand, I didn’t personally buy it & contribute financially to the practice of killing animals for their coats. But I do feel a twinge of worry that I’ll be seen in public and mistaken for a carnivore!!!
Meghan Sara recently posted…Sorry Not Sorry, it’s another blog about Aziz Ansari
I have furs that were passed down to me, and some that I bought myself. I love fur! New fur! Vintage fur! All fur! I will never stop wearing fur!
Buying a new fur coat is not a “shitty thing to do”, as you called it. It’s a purchase, like any other.
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