Morning:
8°c
Fashion for furs ... real and fake flies out of the wardrobes
Rashid Razaq6 Jan 2009
FASHION-CONSCIOUS Londoners are choosing fur coats and accessories to stay warm as temperatures plummet.
The Evening Standard found young women wearing mink, seal and ermine without any apparent qualms as they attested to fur's unparalleled insulation and comfort.
However, Pixie Geldof chose fake fur to keep out the cold as she returned home from a night out.
A snapshot of Brick Lane in east London, an area popular with fashion students, artists and designers, revealed real and fake fur as this winter's wardrobe choice whether as coats, hats or scarves.
Jade Moore, 22, a designer from East Finchley, was in a seal coat and ermine scarf. She said: "I get most of my clothes from the Absolute Vintage store where I work part-time. The coat and scarf were both finds from digging around. Even the scarf by itself keeps me pretty warm. None of the fur I wear is new, but I wouldn't wear faux fur. If you're not going to wear real fur, I don't see the point. It's just not the same."
Lizzie Atkinson, 19, fashion student from Whitechapel, wore a mink coat. She said: "This coat is probably around 50 years old. It used to belong to my grandmother. I couldn't afford to buy a new one. It is the warmest coat I have. You also have to layer your clothes for maximum warmth."
Jessica Gough, 25, an assistant designer from Camden, who was also in real fur, said: "In my defence, it's my grandmother's. It's an antique so it's better that I wear it and make use of it than it goes to waste."
Few of the women objected to wearing fur for ethical reasons, but the majority said they would only look for second-hand items.
Amber Butchart, 26, fashion buyer for the Beyond Retro vintage store, was in a fake fur leopard coat and Russian fake fur hat. She said: "All my clothes are vintage from the shop. I like fake fur. I think it can look just as good. But it depends on the climate whether you can justify wearing real fur. You don't really need it unless you're in Moscow in winter."
Lydia Davie, 19, a fashion student from South Woodford, wore fake fur jacket with leggings. She said: "I got my jacket from a charity shop. I've no problems with wearing real fur apart from the cost. I'd love to get a real fur coat. Fur is very popular at the moment and it's great for this weather."
Ella Bryant, 23, an MA photography student from Streatham, who was in a Tibetan hat and vintage coat, said: "This is my mum's hat. I found it at the back of the wardrobe. My look doesn't really change during the year. But I do wear more layers and knitted jumpers."
Reader views (14)
i dont think wearing animal furs is right,just because animals dont have a voice to speak up for themselves doesnt mean we should treat them so horribly and kill them just for fashion when there are plenty other alternatives that dont include killin poor defenseless animals.No human has the right to kill an animal for fashion every animal should be given a decent life and not be killed for someone else.
- Jade Coutts, livingston,scotland, 25/08/2009 17:29
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Doug from Guildford - it is because of the callous and shallow nature of people like that you that animals not only suffer individually but entire species die out. Shame on you!
- Sarah Bradshaw, Enfield, Middx, 08/01/2009 12:08
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Doug - your comment makes total sense. When will the AR groups admit the repetitive reference to 'skinning alive' video is not the norm. Some groups have suggested it was a put-up by an AR group to facilitate this argument. China has improved its animal husbandry (and continues to do so). The World is not perfect, but neither is cheap mass produced cotton T-shirts sold for vanity! Targeting Fur is just an excuse for perceived elitism.
- Steve, Australia, 08/01/2009 01:39
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Doug: Bravo to you. You make more sense than a dozen animal rights fanatics, who only think one way. There is nothing more inherently "cruel" about wearing fur than any other material. There are plenty of good reasons for wearing real fur; it is biodegradeable; it is renewable; it is all-natural; and it helps control animal populations, many of which would spiral out of control without some management. Most anti-fur people may mean well, but they are narrowminded in their outlook.
- Smarty, Michigan, U.S.A., 07/01/2009 16:52
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To the anti fur people. Stop being emotional and think things through for once. Wearing fur does not need an excuse. No more excuse than the cotton and synthetic trades need for the toxic, and unsustainable damage they do to the world and the unmentionable destruction of wildlife. the wiping out of whole species as land is cleared for monoculture, and the suffering imposed on associated workers, children and animals. Face it, humans have an enormous population that need clothing somehow. Whatever we do is going to cause suffering somewhere. Surely the use of 20 animals to make a coat that will last you, your children and possibly grandchildren is infinitely better than the unsustainable rape of Nature for the huge quantities of other clothing that is produced and thrown away after a few wears. You get amotional about the tiny number of animals killed for fur just because you can see them. But everything you use in your life in this overproductive mass producing world is causing suffering somewhere.
Oh! and get your facts straight. The majority of fur used in the West comes from European and N American sources, produced under strict animal welfare regulations. The West do not skin animals alive. No one condones that. Anti fur people dont have exclusive rights to compassion. Calling someone ugly just cos they dont agree with you and wear fur, is definately not compassionate and perhaps says more about the ugly nature of some animal rightists' minds than about fur wearers'.
- Doug, Guildford, 07/01/2009 14:21
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There is simply no excuse for wearing fur. Life is hell for millions of animals in fur farms - the vast majority of these are in China (as it is cheap, no surprise there) where cats, dogs and other animals suffer terribly during their miserable lives before being skinned alive, often after watching their companions howling and screaming whilst they are being killed. Animals feel fear. Animals fear pain. Watch undercover footage from fur farms available online - although I doubt many who wear fur have the guts. How can anyone be kind to their pet dog or cat yet walk around with fur that has been ripped from the back of another animal? It beggars belief that people consider themselves compassionate and yet think fur is acceptable. WAKE UP.
- Sarah, London, UK, 06/01/2009 17:11
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Do people wear fur when they climb Everest to keep warm?! i don't think so! Just put some layers on and stop supporting unnecessary cruelty!
- Kate, cheltenham, 06/01/2009 17:00
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Dannyp of Egham doesn't know verymuch about the majority fur faming. Finland may be an exception, but it certainly doesn't provide most of the massive amount of fur around. Suggest he investigates before making assertions.
- Helen, norwich, 06/01/2009 13:58
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Fur coats are for beautiful animals and ugly people. You don't have to be an animal rights fanatic to understand that, just a decent and compassionate human being.
- Jimmy, Fulham, 06/01/2009 13:47
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The animal rights movement will need to exist as long as people perpetuate animal cruelty in the name of fashion.
There is simply no need for real fur, and it's sad to see these sickening fashion throwbacks making an appearance again.
I guess cruely and vanity will never go away.
- Andy, London, 06/01/2009 13:36
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m/s Bradshaw should focus on the inumerable cruelities taking place in this and leave a few aged minks to those that want to wear them Fed up with this animal rights bunch
- Sheila, london uk, 06/01/2009 12:30
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Sarah - If you eat it, you can wear it. Also if you go to Russia you will find lots of men in furs.
- Jeremy E, London, 06/01/2009 11:01
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Note to Sarah Bradshaw: there is no point in fake fur, other than to allow people to "appear" to be wearing an animal skin without having to pay the real price. Good quality fur costs money. Only animals who are treated well will give good quality fur. It is the market places insatiable desire for cheap clothing that perpetuates the Chinese fur traders and their low quality pelts. If you believe about the fur trade so strongly then even wearing fake fur is wrong, as is wearing leather, eating meat, etc. Well managed fur farms in Finland provide good quality fur and fox meat (very tastey but alas not readily available in the UK). By the way I am a man and I wear fur.
- Dannyp, Egham, 06/01/2009 10:52
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Note to Jade Moore: the point of wearing fake fur is it doesn't involve wholesale cruelty to animals in the form of their being gassed or skinned alive for their pelts. A few days of cold weather is no excuse for this sickening trend. In any case, you don't often see men wearing fur, do you, and we all know they are the weaker sex.
- Sarah Bradshaw, Enfield, Middx, 06/01/2009 10:20
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