We caught up on our newspaper reading over the weekend and were intrigued by this article discussing fur on the front page of the Wall Street Journal‘s Life & Style section.

In the weeks leading up to the inauguration, and apparently in spite of the recession, fur sales spiked in boutiques in and around Washington, D.C. While Michelle Obama says she chooses not to wear fur, some consumers report that they’re breaking out their minks because the new administration makes them feel like elegance is chic again. The secondhand market is also booming:

Many D.C. residents have bought second-hand furs. Georgetown consignment shop Inga’s Once Is Not Enough sells furs including a $6,000 long Fendi mink, a $1,000 crocheted sable stole from department store Neiman Marcus and a $500 Gucci mink handbag with a gold buckle.

Owner Inga Guen says fur sales have more than tripled this year compared with a year ago. Ms. Guen, in a black mink Armani bolero one recent afternoon, said about half the store’s fur buyers are African-American, including several Chicago women close to the Obama administration.

Karen Brown, a 56-year-old retiree who shops at Inga’s Once Is Not Enough, wore a long black mink to meet friends for lunch on Tuesday when temperatures hovered below freezing. She’s noticed other black friends in fur lately.

“Michelle and Barack make you feel like, ‘Oh, I can get dressed and look elegant and wear fur,’ ” she says.