Posted on 12/16/2005 4:23:55 PM PST by qam1
It's not the rabbit fur of the '60s or the big brushed pelts of the '70s and '80s.
But fur is back.
Just look at Canadian actor William Shatner.
The Fur Council of Canada says the industry set records last year with $2 billion in sales across North America.
Fur has become the new mark of cool.
And the one demographic that's pushing the trends is twenty- and thirtysomethings.
The people who follow the likes of P.Diddy and other hip-hop artists who have pushed fashion tastes toward beaver, or mink in a sheared look.
Alan Herscovici, the council's executive director, said the industry has been hard at work countering criticism about trapping from animal rights activists. But it's the new fashionability - not acceptance of the industry - that is driving sales.
"A few things have happened over the years but there's a new generation of young designers who are reinterpreting fur."
Herscovici said fur sales have increased about 25 per cent since 2000, and most of that growth is rooted in younger, fashion-forward shoppers.
Betty Balaila, executive director of Zuki Internationale, a leading Canadian fur designer, said more than half the customers are now under 45.
Teresa Eloy, communications director for the council, said women favour the short look to their new furs - a design she said isn't necessarily warm but popular.
Paul Kindy, who co-owns the century-old Kindy Furs in Selkirk, says that isn't necessarily his experience, but he agreed fur sales are strong. He said the industry was due for another upswing anyway.
"I understand it's the rappers who have brought attention back to fur. I'm 65 and I don't follow that, but I'm happy to see it," he said. "What brought the fur business back to its feet in the '60s were rabbit furs, which women wore over tight mini-skirts. It's time there was another resurgence."
Herscovici said the council has responded to consumer concerns about the ethics of the industry by arguing it is better for the environment than synthetics, which are generally made from petroleum, a non-renewable resource.
He also says the industry supports the efforts of about 60,000 trappers, many of whom are aboriginals in Canada.
"Trade is extremely well regulated, no endangered species are used and we support research to ensure excellent animal welfare standards."
Herscovici is passionate in his argument that, by using sustainable trapping and farming methods, the industry is providing employment and protection of habitats for many species.
"We are trying to tell our side of the story. Having said that, I feel it's the fashion that's driving it. People want to be reassured so they don't feel guilty about it."
It's not just younger consumers. Fur has gone mainstream, if the Chrysler TV ad with William Shatner in a fur coat is a sign.
The council says sales to men jumped 8 per cent last winter in North America.
Steve Konstantinidis, at Nadel Furs, said he has sold a few more furs than usual to men this year, particularly chinchillas.
Eloy said while men aren't necessarily wanting to look like rappers, they are moving to a more stylized, sheared-front look, in lighter tones, such as grey beaver coat.
"It started with hip-hop and now it's trickled down to the street," she said. "It's not the old-style raccoon coat."
You are like me Diana, I'm into flea markets (swap meets to you yankees), yard sales and thrift stores. Why pay three times as much for something when you can get it nearly new for so much less money.
Fur is cozy.
Do you use the skins of the deer you harvest? I love the feel of deerskin. I'm hoping next year my sis's grandson or I get a deer on my property. I want to use the skin as a rug to hang on the wall of my cabin.
I never payed much attention to Joan Rivers till I read one of the PETA freaks threw red paint on a fur coat she was wearing once, and, if I remember correctly, she was about to kick some butt, till the freak got away.
I also read about how her late husband had bought her that fur, and what a special meaning it had for her. She's a pretty tough gal for a city slicker.
Bravo! I think I'll set some conibears and snares tomorrow.
I would pay money to see what happens when a PETA member splashes paint on some gang-banger's new fur jacket (although I would want to observe from a distance and behind bullet-proof glass)
I am very envious; I got to work in my daddy's GROCERY store......LOL.
"I am very envious; I got to work in my daddy's GROCERY store......LOL."
Well, you know...a cloth coat lined with freshly smoked bacon would be nice & warm, too. Though there's that "dog chasing you home" problem to overcome, LOL!
At least you had FOOD! We were naked and starving under our fur coats! *Insert sad violin music here* :(
It was a "mom and pop." I was 16 before I realized lettuce didn't come WILTED. :-)
LOL...nice. Notice, the room is devoid of anything but beaver. Oh, and carpet.
What else could you need?
Many girls get minks the same way minks get minks...
"Do you use the skins of the deer you harvest? I love the feel of deerskin."
My brother Dave is a master at tanning, so there's always some buckskin (technical term, if it doesn't have fur) around here to use.
This year, he's hogging the five capes (that's what they're called before you tan them) because he wants some skins for the hunting lodge he's building out on the parent's Back Forty. He started building them back when we were in High School. Back then, we just called them "Love Shacks" because that's where we'd go with our boy/girlfriends to make out, LOL!
The new one he's building (we're in our forties now) has windows and maybe even heat, LOL! The next one will definately need handrails at a minimum and wheelchair ramps as a luxury, LOL!
Funny. None of us feel any older than when we were in High School, eventhough our kids are all at that age; and no, they don't have permission to hang out in Uncle Dave's Love Shack, LOL!
You probably feel that way, too. As my Grandpa said at his last birthday pary, "Eighty Nine trips around the Sun and it STILL isn't enough!"
ROTFL!! Sounds like a great retort!
I like the smooth, sleek, look of mink, and I'd love a knee length coat, however, I'll likely never get one because I want to move South and stay there! Maybe a knee length leather coat instead; not too warm.
Well, that's the old joke: "If God didn't want us to eat animals, why did he make them out of meat?"
More Beavers .....:o)
OMG, reminds me of my raising.
Growing up we hung out at the lake (the mayor's daughter got caught skinnydipping there once on a summer night with a full moon providing the spotlight) and learned the ways of the world there.
Poor *****, about 15 of us teenagers did this on a dare, and when the lake patrol officer came by we all were hiding in the brush, laughing OBO when she (the last one
out) comes running for cover. The lake patrol cop caught her in his spotlight.
It was a REALLY small town, had just been incorporated.
No, we weren't bad kids, and nothing bad happened. Our town was so small there was no movie theater, or anything else whithin 20 miles. So, we made our own entertainment.
You missed the South Park "Vote or Die" episode then.
He is going to slice that one foul into right field. Where is his coach for crying out loud?
I know – fur is back bigtime. I got a coat, a couple of vests and a jacket which I bought recently, and I wear them with pride. Some people give me “certain” look... I just smile, lol. Love the look in their faces.
should read= "on" their faces.
Yes!! I'm tired of freezing! I recently got a fur lined coat and can comfortably wander about in below freezing weather now. It's comfort, not fashion that I'm after.
Synthetics are just not warm! And they're ugly too.
I think the other old joke is "Dead animals don't need fur anyway..."
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