Thursday 20 January 2011

warm things to get through winter


its freezing & theres no way i want to look at springlike outfits yet, i'm still trying to figure out this not being cold all the time...
 while in montreal i saw an abundance of fur, & although i've always guiltily enjoyed seeing fur, i've always only worn faux fur (which now i've learnt is actually made of a plastic by product that doesn't even decompose anyway, pfft). my first fur item, was a fox tail i've attached to my purse & sport all the time (& a mini minx tail for enid) all from audrey cantwell's table across from us at puces pop table, i couldn't help myself. so in small doses i'm beginning to really love this vintage fur & i  know it won't be until next year in montreal that i can really brave the vintage fur w/out an upset stomach,  i can't wait. i also won't say no to any peeked fur caps either (when i'm not saving up to move to montreal). although i can't afford the most  perfect length, perfect everything vintage fur from tarantulasisters etsy shop (shown above), i know exactly what i'm looking for next year around. ok it's off to freeze again.
(below photos, the first image is from miss moss & from her colour comparisons series, love, love love this, other photos  c/o mr newton & fillipa berg)
you might like to read this on considering the fur issue






11 comments:

  1. I love fake fur accessories, but still have yet to take the plunge on a larger item like a coat.

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  2. i know what you mean about the fur guilt. i spent a long while pondering the issue, until one day i found my mother's rabbit fur earmuffs, which had been given to her as a gift, and thought they were too beautiful and a wonderful memory to refuse to wear. the thing about re-wearing fur or acquiring vintage furs in this day and age is that, in my opinion, now we all know where it comes from and the fact that it's not an ideal material. but since the fur is there, i prefer to honour the animal's life by wearing what has already been made, a decision that was made a long time ago by someone else and was out of my hands. i won't buy new real fur again (and don't like fake fur for the plastic reason), but i feel ready to be accountable in wearing old fur. i've had some people imply that even wearing old furs continues to glamourize the idea of it being okay, but i personally am ready to say that i am wearing it for my own reasons, and that i know i am grateful for where it came from.

    anyway, sorry i know i just blabbed on there! but it's such a touchy issue and i think that there are different perspectives on this. i'd rather take vintage fur and wear it as much as possible because i wouldn't want it to be forgotten in a closet? no. i think that with vintage furs, what's done is done - so let's take them and actually wear them, re-work them, and for those like me, tell ourselves that we will do what we can to avoid starting the cycle all over again.

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  3. I'm with you (and Camilou) on the issue of vintage fur, and I do remember your Montreal posts and thinking "They wear a lot of fur in Montreal!" (although I think I see it a lot here too). I have fur earmuffs and a collar on my coat, and I do agree that since the material is already out there, it should be used. But I do still feel the occasional twinge, like when I pet my cats and see that they are soft like my earmuffs, or when I accidentally clicked on a movie about the fur industry... gah. But then I eat meat and so I would be a hypocrite to condemn fur, especially after hearing stories from my dad about what he found one day in the dumpster behind a chicken battery farm.

    My mom bought a fur coat when I was little and every time she wore it I almost had panic attacks because I thought someone was going to throw paint on her. It's funny how things change. There are still lots of anti-fur campaigners but I think with the popularity of vintage it's definitely becoming more acceptable.

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  4. I wuoldnt support the modern fur industry, but I think vintage furs are great and better to be worn than rotting in a closet or landfill. Faux fur is extremely bad for the environment- Ive read about that too.
    Thanks so much fo featuring my vintage coat Tara-Lynn :):)
    xoxo
    Audrey

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  5. I avoid eating and using animal products, and yet I cherish the memories of nuzzling up to my mom's mink coat as a child, and would probably automatically nuzzle up to it if I saw it today. There's definitely an awkward conflicted feeling with the whole fur thing, but I buy vintage leather which is the same! Living on the west coast, I don't really have a logical reason to own fur, but if I was living in Ontario (or Winnipeg, where I was born), I could see myself seeking out vintage pieces to keep me warm! That, or stealing my mom's coat.

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  6. I agree with all of these ladies and their sentiments! The vintage furs have already been 'processed', if you will, so why not get some good use out of them and honor the animal in a sense?

    I have a vintage capelet/stole type piece which I wore on Halloween and I think a few people were offended, but I made sure to blurt out that it was vintage at every possible moment. I'm fine with it being a vintage piece, but I really didn't want to get into a discussion with someone about the whole issue!

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  7. It makes me sad that someone as stylish and influential such as yourself (and a few of the bloggers who already commented) would swoon over fur, vintage or not. I'm in the camp that believes that when you wear fur it glamorizes it or at least starts to make it socially acceptable. You're not going to walk down the street with a sign on that says "this fur is vintage" so people who see you won't necessarily know that it's vintage. People might see you and think "Wow, she's got great style" and consider fur as a stylish option in the future. The fur industry is working so hard right now to make fur cool and hip and appealing to the younger demographic and it makes me kinda sick to see it actually working.

    Just my 2 cents. I like your blog and have been a regular reader for a year or so but I couldn't let this issue go without commenting. I hope you don't mind....

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  8. I've been on a winter denial so far..I think the sunshine that peaks through my windows every morning is deceiving. But I've finally come to terms with how cold it is outside and the only thing I want to so is wrap myself in furs! And by that I mean vintage fur, as well. I'm not one to wrap myself in huge amounts of fur but when it comes to keeping warm a little bit of vintage fur doesn't hurt ;)

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  9. I don't have an ethical issue with fur, as a hard core meat eater and wearer of leather. I've always seen fur as a level of status. Those who wear is are rich old ladies or pimps on da street. If you see a man on the street with a fur and some bling, you know someone means business.

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  10. Krissy, I think I understand how you feel, and I sincerely respect your perspective and beliefs.

    It's just that, perhaps unfortunately, perhaps irresponsibly, I don't feel the responsibility of being a role model for what to do/what not to do to other people out there. In my reality, and with my Aboriginal background, I have a different relationship with the furs I have worn over the course of my life, which have mostly all been re-used. And a lot of these, including the ear muffs, were made in the Great White North by Inuit people when my family lived there 200 miles north of the arctic circle for years. It was a way of life for many, a way to make a living, a way to stay warm, an art form. Now that I live in more urban areas, I still have those items - mukluks, my mother's old jacket made by an Inuit neighbour, fur mitts and hats, etc - and I know that I have an understanding of where the fur came from and how grateful I am to still have these items. These cultures have a great understanding and respect for animals and the circle of life. Every part of these animals were used, as well. I know this is a touchy subject, but for me personally, it is part of my past and my culture. And barring that, it appears that the other women here seem to have that same understanding and appreciation. I feel, however, that it is not my job to teach people to do one thing or another. The world is a complex place and it could get pretty nuts for people to do that about other things that are nearly or just as bad, like being seen with leather, or junk food, or using plastic products that are really, really bad for the environment. Plus, my mother passed away a few years ago and the comfort I feel from wearing her old fur things surpasses this need to explain myself to others. And yet I still get your stance, and I understand your point. But it's a personal thing. Magazines and design companies that use and portray new furs have a bit more responsibility because they actually choose to portray images and sensationalize things. But a girl walking down the street in her vintage fur, I don't think that she is a huge vehicle for making new fur cool. Just my two cents!

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  11. thanks to everyone for all your well thought out & very valid points of beliefs... you will be seeing me in vintage fur for the record!
    but i do have to say that there's no way i am anyone's influence, i give everyone who reads my blog enough credit to use their own brains, noone should ever think i am an influence to anyone, i would never want that ever!
    i'm just a girl with a million typos

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