I’ve written on this blog before about my love of vintage fur. I just think it’s a great way to enjoy fur (recycling!) without contributing to the killing of animals. That said, I have no problem with people wearing new fur. Vintage is simply my preference, and I also love the vintage designs of coats more so than the new ones.
I also am a big fan of fake or faux fur when it looks real. (I hate the fakes that are obvious, or worse in muppet-like colors.) And the last time I went to Anthropologie, which happened to be Black Friday, I saw a few fabulous, very real looking fur jackets in vintage-inspired designs, one of which is illustrated here.
I’ve been having Anthro on the brain since then, since I was lucky enough to win a $100 gift card that day at the store in Philadelphia. All customers on line (I was buying Christmas gifts) had a chance to win some sort of prize by pulling the string on a tiny gift box to pop it open and see what was inside. In my case, it was the gift card; whoo-hoo! One of the well-dressed employees even took a pic of me smiling from ear to ear after I won to put on the company’s Instagram. I have yet to find it though I don’t have an Instagram account so that may be part of the problem.
Anyway this illo of a girl in an Anthro jacket, dress and shoes is my way of saying thank you to the store, and also my way of saying I don’t think you can ever go wrong in spotted fur, which is somehow a glamorous and neutral look at the same time.
I realize this seemingly innocent question may start some debate here, but is anyone else feeling excited by fur, real or fake, right now?
What a fantastic illustrator you are! Love this one! Lucky you as well, I bet you’ll have fun with that gift card during the after holidays sale season to get plenty of bang for your buck!
On fur (a subject I find quite interesting as to views): I have always bought vintage fur, as well as vintage faux fur. Vintage fur (many of mine are inherited from treasured family members & friends so I feel like I’m getting a big hug from them when I wear them!) to me is recycling as well as less harmful to the planet as its not only already produced & a natural fiber that will degrade once its outlived its usefulness. Ethically I feel the animal already gave its life decades ago so to me it would be disrespectful to just toss, at least honour the life that once was by utilising it. Many years ago I found out how terrible new faux is for the planet (it takes something like 10,000 years for a faux fur to degrade, not to mention the chemicals used in creating it are leached into the earth — its also essentially a plastic, petroleum based product so there’s that angle to think about). I don’t buy new fur now (last one purchased was a Mongolian lamb jacket on super sale about 4-5 years ago — have no problem with Mongolian lamb as the animal is utilized fully; at one point in the early 90s a designer found that the pelts were just being tossed into huge piles & burned as so much is consumed as a food source) & I have no problem with others choices be it new or faux. There are actually very ethical fur farms (some countries have very strict laws regarding fur farming), so I would like to think one buying a new fur would look into its origins. I’ve seen faux fur made from recycled plastic too. If one loves a new faux fur, I would hope they would think ahead to how much use/ how long it will remain as part of their wardrobe. Memory spark; just remembered buying 3 different faux fur coats/ jackets for my daughter at different stages of her growth. Each has been recycled some way, either by passing on to a friend or my refashioning so I can use it, one jacket I can still wear! (It was weird sizing, plus I’m kid-sized anyway!) My daughter wore 2 of them for about 3-4 years each & I have no plan to be rid of them. They’re great quality & if I get sick of them I would refashion into something different, or they will go to a friend or charity to keep the cycle going rather than tossing. It really boils down to personal preference & choices the way I look at it — I wear leather because it lasts & I try to keep my consumption levels low (exceptions made for second-hand!) so things like handbags & shoes which I’m very hard on are always made of the sturdiest of materials I can afford so that I get great “mileage” out of them, to me this is the utilisation of the whole animal and while I do not condone any sort of animal cruelty (it is now so easy to find ethically raised meat products) realistically IMO the world will never become a fully vegetarian or vegan planet.
Whew, sorry I sort of got carried away there! Thank you for stopping by my blog, I love yours & have added it to my reader so I can keep up! Love finding interesting new to me blogs! XXX Jet
I agree with you Sabina! I own couple vintage fur coats myself. This is a very nice illustration and your blog is adorable! Thanks so much for your kind comment in my blog. I hope to hear from you again.
xo
Carelia
Mysmallwardrobe.com
Love the illustration! <3
"Without contributing to the killing of animals", I LOVE fur! The textures, patterns, exotic feelings of fur is just so attractive and irreplaceable.
When you love in cold country, you have no choice: you’ll be definitely excited about all kind of fur)
beautiful illustration!!
xx Vera & Rony
http://wattwewear.com/
Sabina – you have such talent for illustration! I am glad to have found your blog, the sketches are absolutely gorgeous. I am lucky if I can draw a stick figure 🙂 Congrats on the gift card win, hopefully you found some sparkly trinkets with the new loot. xo
beautiful work. i do not care either way about fur… i don’t really wear it myself, but i’m not bothered by other people wearing it. i do buy and wear sheepskin and leather… does that count? nice blog.. you are a talented artist!
That’s a beautiful picture! I definitely love fur, although I prefer faux because it’s cheaper and I don’t feel guilty about wearing dead animals for my own personal comfort. Spotted and natural colors are definitely the way to go, and at least right now I’m really into coats and vests. Great post! I wish I got $100 to Anthropologie…
thesarcasticwasian.blogspot.com
Thank you so much for the comment on my blog! I love anthropologie, and your illustrations are amazing! Do you ever do art trades?