Screw PETA! I left Alaska after 20 years for Florida and then Hawaii, and didn’t think they’d be necessary or practical. (I made a mistake; I do need/want them now!) One coat was seal that my ex’s aunt, a loooong-time Alaska resident, had before seal became a PC problem.
One was mouton that was incredibly hot, even in Alaskan winters, in the traditional Eskimo-Indian style with a band of leather around the bottom. One was muskrat, dyed a gorgeous blondish tone. And a fox.
Nothing, but NOTHING, keeps the cold out like fur! Men, women, and even kids, used to wear fur, in the dead of winter, in Chicago. When that wind whops off Lake Michigan, it can be waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay below 0 and while a coat keeps parts of one warmish, the rest of you freezes.
The whole PC crap and knee-jerk reaction to seal, is was and still is ridiculous. It took away many people's livelyhood ( which they needed )and it was a useful, moneymaking way to cull the seal herds. My mother and grandmother has seal coats, as well as other kinds of fur coats. They were beautiful and kept them toasty warm. :-)
When my father was stationed in Alaska, he brought me home a pair of muklucs, to wear as slippers. I loved those things as a kid.
My dear mother-in-law passed away in 2003. I inherited her beautiful full-length mink and some type of fox fur/ leather jacket. They lived in Florida...she rarely had a chance to wear them, but when she did, she looked stunning! The mink was bought in Orlando. Not sure about the jacket. He might have gotten it overseas in the 80s. It’s very unique. I asked her husband what kind of leather/hide was used. “Not sure....but I think it’s endangered “. He’s a pip. :).