![[flourish]](http://ethicalstyle.com/wp-content/themes/es/images/topFlourish.png)
![[flourish]](http://ethicalstyle.com/wp-content/themes/es/images/leftFlourish.png)
‘Is It OK to Wear Fur If It’s Vintage?’
One of the most common conundrums for fashionistas who are opposed to wearing animal products is where vintage fur fits into the debate. If it’s a garment that has survived the test of time, isn’t wearing vintage essentially a form of recycling?
Erin Flaherty at TheFrisky.com weighs this very question:
It’s getting cold out, and I keep seeing these gorgeous girls sashaying around in silky fur vests and hats and stoles and jackets and, well, they just look so warm and chic. For the first time in a few years I’ve noticed stores displaying all manner of fur items in their windows, and something about them looks cozy and enticing despite uncertain times. Life can’t be so tough if you’re wearing a fur coat, right?
Did I mention I’m a fervent animal lover?
As you might expect, the comments section on that post is lively. So let’s get the conversation started here as well. How do you feel about vintage fur?
![[flourish]](http://ethicalstyle.com/wp-content/themes/es/images/botFlourish.png)
Since I support anti-fur/skins it would be hard to be anti-fur then wear a fur coat but only because it’s vintage. It seems a bit contradictory to me. At the same time I don’t believe in waste either, in that perspective, it would be a tough decision to make. I like to think of it this way, if it’s not necessary, don’t do it. There are many types of clothing that does not have an animal fur or skin that is very stylish. Save yourself the worry and just don’t buy it.
Comment by Melanie — November 2, 2009 @ 1:32 pm
I actually wrote a blog article about this a while ago [http://endoexo.wordpress.com/2009/03/14/people-eating-tasty-animals/], because I had sort of “inherited” a vintage fur that my mom had picked up at a consignment shop decades ago. I was immediately blasted for it, to the point where I had to delete a lot of comments just because they were so repulsive.
I think buying faux fur is just as wasteful as buying a brand-new real one, although of course the faux doesn’t have the cruelty factor — at least not right away. One has to think about how the faux will be disposed of once its fashion life is over, and with our society’s track record of recycling (read: none), there’s no guarantee that it wouldn’t be thrown into a landfill to leech into the ground and screw up the lives of animals who had absolutely nothing to do with fur coats in the first place.
Comment by Gabrielle — November 4, 2009 @ 4:36 pm
Before I launched my online green vintage clothing site, I did a lot of soul-searching on how to handle vintage fur.
As a vegetarian for well over a decade, I am totally opposed to the use of fur in today’s fashions but I have to admit I still wear my vintage fur pieces.
Somehow having a beautiful vintage fur coat cut-up and used for animal beds or seeing it clogging up a landfill doesn’t seem to honor either the animal who gave its life or the designer or seamstress who toiled for hours to create the garment. That’s why I’ve decided to offer vintage fur on my site but to donate a large percentage of the sales to an animal activist charity.
I know I might incur the wrath of some hard-core environmentalists but every vintage fur sale from my site is one less new fur purchased on the open market. And someday, fingers crossed, enough enlightened souls will walk our planet so the wanton killing of animals for fashion’s sake will cease entirely.
If you’d like to join my VINTAGE CRUSADERS and speak out on this issue or learn more about how you can join a group of hip, happening women who want to look good and do some good for this planet, visit http://www.zuburbia.com.
Comment by Mary Kincaid/Zuburbia — November 4, 2009 @ 8:56 pm
Hey Get on the Band wagon. Bottom line it’s re-cycling. Hello??!!! Recycling, simple, basic and no waste, no harm.
Comment by Claire — November 15, 2009 @ 2:41 pm
[...] I don’t want to open up the fur debate, because there are lots of posts around talking about just that. Personally, I’m on the fence about fur, and could [...]
Pingback by Love ‘em or Leave ‘em : Fur Spats | THE COVETED — November 18, 2009 @ 3:04 pm