Comments on: Style on Trial: Faux Fur

By: M

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 06:01:43 +0000

That’s exactly my point…I’m not saying all these people who want to wear it should just buck up and wear it, I’m saying I find it ridiculous that other people can be so…aggressive about their beliefs.
I’m not saying I know how to fix it…it just makes me wonder sometimes.

By: Marie Vahl

Marie Vahl — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 20:27:53 +0000

I totally agree with Kuri.
I live in Greenland, where people are as natural about death to wild animals as to animals living in a stall. If you eat meat, you kill animals. That’s pure fact, just because Brigitte Bardot was photographed with a baby seal doesn’t make fur more cruel to wild animals than a hamburger is.
I understand why people won’t wear their fur in public, nobody wants to be abused, but it is a sad fact. What if we were all abused for eating meat in public?

By: The Fashion Police

The Fashion Police — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:41:28 +0000

M – if you’d seen some of the abusive comments we have to delete from this site every time this subject is raised, you’d perhaps understand why people worry about this. Some people have very extreme views on the subject, and while it’s one thing to read that kind of abuse on a computer screen, it would be quite another thing to have to deal with it face to face.

By: M

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 07:13:42 +0000

I’m a (straight) guy, and I don’t much like fur because I just don’t really like the way it looks.
That said however, does anyone else find it ridiculous that you can’t wear what you want for fear of offending others? This thought came to me when reading some of the comments, in which people were saying they didn’t want to wear fake fur for fear of people thinking it was real.
I didn’t read them all so I’m not sure if it was addressed or not, and I do not mean this as any sort of attack on anyone (even crazy PETA people). Just my $0.02

By: Si

Si — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:21:06 +0000

I love real fur; fake fur takes hundreds of years to decompose so it is actually far worse for the environment than real. Having said that I have two fake fur coats from charity shops which I love and wear. I have about ten real fur coats as well as hats, scarves, gloves etc. For all you people saying how cruel it is, I really hope you are vegans, otherwise you are just a hypocrite.

By: The Fashion Police

The Fashion Police — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:17:30 +0000

Thanks for the comments folks: it’s interesting to get your perspective on this because as I said, I do love the look of fake fur, but have been wearing it less, mostly for the reason cited by Kelly – even although I don’t really think the one fake fur jacket I own could really be mistaken for the real thing, I do worry about getting abuse from people who either think it IS real, or who think fake fur is just as bad as the real thing.
Janers – those examples you give are just horrifying Really, really disturbing fur.
I think kkd’s comment probably best sums up how I feel about it personally, but always interested in hearing more opinions – it’s an interesting subject, so thanks again to everyone for the thoughtful responses.

By: Paiton Goodwin

Paiton Goodwin — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:17:12 +0000

I voted for “Other-I’ll tell you in my comment” and heres my coment: Faux fur is alright. It’s a great look for some people but I,m not one of them. Faux fur makes me look bigger than I really am. I’m not that fat but in faux fur I look like I am. However, I think that for the people that it looks good on it is a timeless look that makes you look hot and traditional at the sme time. And I for one think that is a very hard look to pull off hot AND traditional!!!!

By: Janers

Janers — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:36:46 +0000

I love faux fur, as long as it isn’t that monster “fun” fur (worn seriously) or a purse that looks like a pet. I love that it wasn’t alive once only to die for fashion’s sake. I personally don’t think vintage fur is a animal rights sin, but I also can’t bring myself to wear a dead animals skinned off hair cells…:( ew. It’s nasty in my mind despite the so-called glamour.
High quality faux fur supplies the same look and soft feel. Plus that way I don’t risk wearing a cat a dog labled mink (which happens A LOT)…sadly. Not that a domestic animal’s life is more important, just closer?
Anal electrocution and skinning alive videos did it for me. Watching a raccoon with no skin in a pile on top of others, writhing in pain & batting long lashes, still alive was too much, or the foxes having their skulls stomped in.
I’m wearing faux for life.
I can’t seem to justify anything else.

By: Kuri

Kuri — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:26:39 +0000

Investing in real fur and leather (provided you intend to take care of it, get a timeless garment and make it last) is the most ethical choice. Having grown up in northern Canada, I know a number of responsible fur harvesters. It’s a more sustainable economic activity than many of the other manufacturing activities that produce fashion materials (such as petroleum based plastics and other polluting processes to create technical fabrics, polyesters and PVC). I always wonder why those concerned with ethics in fashion don’t further scrutinize the materials whose manufacture contributes to climate change, pollution and habitat destruction – in effect causing more deaths (and eventual extinctions) of fur-bearing animals than the fur industry could hope to achieve. Natural materials (plant and animal fibres along with fur) are in general less destructive than fake fur and other synthetic materials.
In short, it’s probably more ethical to wear real fur than faux, provided the fur is sourced from an ethical company. With fur as with any garment, it’s more ethical to invest in timeless pieces that will last along time, go in many outfits and then to care for them well. You will pay dearly (very dearly, in fact) for ethically sourced fur. But then, if it’s a coat that will last 80 years (such as the one that Am talks about above) it’s a worthwhile investment.
To make a comparison with meat-eating, wearing faux fur is like eating soy-infused junk food that clears whole rainforests for cultivation and elevates the presence of destructive environmental estrogens. Wearing locally-sourced, ethically produced fur is like buying grade A, free range, organically raised beef. The latter really is less bloody.

By: kkd

kkd — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:48:11 +0000

The historical attraction to fur wasn’t aesthetic, it was based in survival. People needed to stay warm, and animal hide was the warmest thing they could use. It was based in necessity.
Anyway, I don’t feel faux fur is glamorizing or promoting real fur. We’ve found a way to make something people obviously like in a way that is less harmful or offensive. It’s the look of fur, not the actual dead animal, that people are drawn too. I don’t see the harm in that.