My eyes were temporarily assualted when I flicked through the September issue of UK Vogue to find a 6 page Paris Vogue promotion of fur nestled in the middle. Now, let’s just get a few things clear and let’s keep it short and sweet. I don’t pretend to be an eco warrior who lambasts people for their unethical treatment of animals. I eat meat very happily, I wear leather gladly, I don’t feel a particular affinity with animals to be honest. The honest truth is that I’m very selfish in my consumptive habits involving animals. I eat free-range or organic chicken not because I feel particularly sorry for battery-farmed chickens, I just prefer the taste. This applies to fur as well. Of course I don’t condone the cruel treatment of animals in the fur farming industry but my main objections is my aversion to the material itself and that is simply because I’m just not a fan of having animal skin draped over my body. By animal skin, I mean animals purposefully killed for nothing but it’s skin. Sheep are shorn not skinned, leather is a bi-product of our consumption of meat. It just freaks me out to know that a part of a mink stole or a fox fur coat once covered these creatures’ face and actually, just seeing a fox’s head is enough to make me nauseous. Then there’s the material – it’s just so bulky and in your face. It’s like swathing around in unsubtle luxury.
Therefore it perturbs me that this material is once again all over the catwalks for autumn/winter like a heinous rash. Then to have it fed to me in a magazine, not just via catwalk roundups but as a piece of obvious publicity – well, I’m not at all impressed. Seeing these models attractively photographed does not compel to want to buy fur in the slightest. Yet, there it is. A blatant promotion. A sign of condonement.
But wait, the fur trickery at Vogue get even more cunning. In the August issue of Vogue Italia, I flick through and see what at first glance looks like vintage images of people in fur coats, and I though to myself ‘Ah, perhaps Vogue Italia are suggesting people go down the vintage fur route instead (which for a lot of people is the ‘ok’ fur route).’ I was mistaken. This is yet another promotion of fur that used vintage photos with contemporary fur garments superimposed on top. It seems they’re vehemently and violently thrusting fur in people’s faces and they don’t care what devious route they go about to try and convince people to buy this stuff.
Please Vogue, allow us to have an iota of intelligence to decide for ourselves whether fur is good or bad and not use such heavy handed promotion.
it just makes me sad. i didn’t have much fur but i sold it all in last couple years. it was vintage stuff but i just couldn’t do it anymore.
Susie, love your ascerbic wit! This is exacly how I feel about fur.
I love fur, I feel so luxurious wear9ing it, but I’m also scared wearing it because of peoples reactions to it.. what are people opinions about some one wearing not-a full on fur coat but fur pieces?
ImO it’s very french.
I’ve seen videos of how they kill the animals for their fur. Its really disturbing. I have fur… but its fake hehe. I wouldnt dare to wear fur. I prefer cotton or even bamboo. Yea they are making clothes out of bamboo. So I do agree with Susie.
my fur is vintage.. does that make it more right?
How do people feel when you see someone on street wearing fur?
While I’ve eyed vintage fur from time to time, I can never bring myself to buy / wear it. It kinda makes my skin crawl. I’d much rather a luxurious faux version, if I was feeling thus inclined 🙂
But that said, that’s *my* opinion and *my* choice, and I’m not interested in bagging those who choose to wear it.
I believe in Freedom of Fashion. You may not subscribe to another person’s style, and certainly you’re entitled to that opinion; but when people start attacking them for it, particularly in a violent fashion…
You can’t preach about non-violent ‘methods’ of clothing, and then act violently towards your fellow humans – that’s the kettle calling the pot black.
thanks for sharing your opinion of fur. sometimes i feel like our opinion is of the minority. chelsea: what does bamboo feel like? i think i’ve read somewhere it’s very soft like cashmere, is that true?
i have these weird vintage fur pins, they were my aunts and they are hideous, i feel like i have to wash my hands after i touch them, maybe im just ocd, but i think fur is the most DISGUSTING THING. and it has that smell
I do wear leather, I don’t eat red meat (I was totally vegetarian for about 16 years, but it took it’s toll on my health so I now eat chicken) I am pro-animal and I even like animals better than people most of the time, so I am very against the wearing of fur, because of the huge cruelty involved for such a superficial thing. But even simpler than that, no matter how you dress it up, it looks tacky! In my opinion, and rather ironically, fur just looks cheap. It’s just so OBVIOUS, it reeks of “look at me, I’m rich” – well as the old saying goes, ‘money can’t buy you taste’.
I agree with DJM, fur is more of a status symbol than anything I think – kind of like look at me I am loaded. I think you can get great fake fur these days which looks fab but without the horrible smell and guilt of wearing another beings fur on you. I cant bear the idea of it, even leather makes me feel a little queasy when I think about the fact that that was an animals skin. Vintage fur I think is no better, at the end of the day, an aminal was still killed in a hideous way to make it.
I never did really like fur that much untill one day while searching my grandma’s closet I found a 1950’s fox fur cape. It feels quite funny and unusual wearing it but I like it, it’s very warm and after looking at some old photos from the 1920s-1950s I decided I like the look of it. I don’t see it becoming much of a trend item and if it was I wouldn’t buy it. I don’t have anything against fake fur either but I find it very rarely in the stores anyway and if it is, it’s in a hideous colour and style.
I felt exactly the same when I saw that. Did you see it says “French Vogue Promotion” which is bizarre. I’m sure British Vogue will get letters of complaint – I was almost compelled to write one. As far as I’ve always thought, fur is just not acceptable to British women as it is elsewhere in Europe.
oops just saw that you mentioned it’s a Paris Vogue promotion. They don’t usually do that do they? Only one reason for this horrible fur assault:£££
nowadays with more materials available, i don’t find it nessecary to kill animals for fur. =_=” synthetic fur is good enuff. the poor animals!
be more of a hypocrite why dontcha. first you say you dont care about animals, then you imply you do. i think what it really is, is that you can deal with the knowledge of animals being tortured and abused as long as you dont have to actually see it yourself. and if you do your research, you’d know that sheep are indeed harmed in the production of wool. go to peta.com and see for yourself.
^I’m sorry if this post wasn’t as well-researched as you would have liked. The main point was really to rant about these heavy-handed ads thrusted in my face by fashion magazines.
With regards to my hypocrisy, my objections against fur is primarily because of my dislike for the aesthetic qualities of the material itself and then secondarily, the treatment of the animals.
^^ oh wow, that’s cheaper than I thought they would be instead of her!!
Is there a website for her gowns?
It seems the flagitious bands are sized differently from the be lodged of the dress! on the gunmetal i ordered, the disgraceful bands fit okay, but the relaxation of the dress went on too easily.