Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Can I wear fur?

137 replies

CosmopolitanCocktail · 31/12/2025 17:16

I have two fur coats previously owned by my great grandmother.
I have kept them in my wardrobe for the last 20 years.
One is a short mink coat so now bang on trend.
I am a total animal lover but these animals died 60 years ago and the pelts are beautiful. To just discard them seems wasteful so truly torn.
So would I AIBU to wear it?

OP posts:
WildFlowerBees · 31/12/2025 18:12

ThisHazelPombear · 31/12/2025 17:43

They skin them alive, I wouldn’t do anything to make wearing fur more acceptable or common.

Also it’s not a nice coat the colours a bit dowdy and the style is very dated. I’m 48 and you can age yourself a lot with clothes. What would look delightfully quirky on my nieces would make me look frumpy.

Agreed.

TheGrimSmile · 31/12/2025 18:10

Dartmoorcheffy · 31/12/2025 17:23

Leather is a byproduct of animals that have been humanely killed for the food chain. Fur absolutely is not and involves the unnecessary and cruel death of animals purely for their coats.

Show quote history

That's not true. A lot of leather is not a by-product of meat

Parker231 · 31/12/2025 18:09

I wouldn’t - I don’t like the look of fur or the animal deaths

VoltaireMittyDream · 31/12/2025 18:08

Everyone back to Ordinary’s for minkmeat and squirrel pie!

NeverDropYourMooncup · 31/12/2025 18:07

LighthouseLED · 31/12/2025 17:55

Sanctimony is also never a good look, yet so many women choose it

Show quote history

Nah, I'm cool with it.

Justlostmybagel · 31/12/2025 18:06

Sleepasaurus · 31/12/2025 18:04

Those suggesting that op say it’s fake, why?

Presumably, because they think the OP is worried about other people's reaction to her wearing real fur.

NotAnotherPylon · 31/12/2025 18:05

CosmopolitanCocktail · 31/12/2025 17:27

Doesn’t bring them back to life though does it?

Show quote history

I’m not sure why you sought reassurance here if this is your attitude to someone making a perfectly civil suggestion. You sound like you want to wear the fur. So just wear it. Oh look - you already are.

Itsmetheflamingo · 31/12/2025 18:05

Sleepasaurus · 31/12/2025 18:04

Those suggesting that op say it’s fake, why?

So someone doesn’t throw paint/ drinks/ whatever over it?

Sleepasaurus · 31/12/2025 18:04

Those suggesting that op say it’s fake, why?

GingerBeverage · 31/12/2025 18:02

No one eats meat that’s had to be electrocuted through the anus.

Crankyaboutfood · 31/12/2025 17:57

AnnaQuayInTheUk · 31/12/2025 17:19

I personally think there is a lot of hypocrisy over fur. Most people have leather shoes, most women own at least one leather handbag. Some people have leather jackets. You're either ok with wearing the skins of dead animals or you're not. I wear leather shoes and boots

Be prepared for criticism though.

I agree and have stopped buying leather, though i think much leather is a by-product of other industries. Fur is grotesque. i feel for you in this decision.

LighthouseLED · 31/12/2025 17:55

NeverDropYourMooncup · 31/12/2025 17:49

It doesn't look good to wear the results of peeling a bunch of animals alive any more than it looks good to wear the results of shooting a herd of elephants or contributing towards the extinction of the snow leopard.

If waste is a concern, buy a second hand fake fur coat.

Sanctimony is also never a good look, yet so many women choose it

CinnamonJellyBeans · 31/12/2025 17:54

I have vintage furs and wear them when i go out, so does vegetarian DD. We would not purchase new fur garments.

I judge people who eat battery chicken at Nandos.

maddiemookins16mum · 31/12/2025 17:54

I’d wear it. You can bet those who are aghast at it have leather shoes and think nothing of eating a steak.

SamBecket · 31/12/2025 17:53

It looks like death. Because it is.

SoulSearchBeHonest · 31/12/2025 17:50

GingerBeverage · 31/12/2025 17:19

The passage of time does not erase the nature of the abuse.

This.

Not sure clubbed to death baby seals, shot Leopard or other animals is a great look.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 31/12/2025 17:49

It doesn't look good to wear the results of peeling a bunch of animals alive any more than it looks good to wear the results of shooting a herd of elephants or contributing towards the extinction of the snow leopard.

If waste is a concern, buy a second hand fake fur coat.

IForgotTheApricotJam · 31/12/2025 17:47

Not my cup of tea but if it was a hand me down I would just wear it and say it's fake just to avoid confrontation.
I wouldn't buy a new fur coat though, that's just wrong.

TooBigForMyBoots · 31/12/2025 17:44

I wear mine occasionally. The only people to pass comments have been older women who recognise it's real and want to reminisce and have a wee stroke.😁

YANBU @CosmopolitanCocktail. Go for it!

Sunandfrost · 31/12/2025 17:44

Dartmoorcheffy · 31/12/2025 17:23

Leather is a byproduct of animals that have been humanely killed for the food chain. Fur absolutely is not and involves the unnecessary and cruel death of animals purely for their coats.

Show quote history

Unless it's a rabbit fur like mine tho.

Not all leather is byproduct like not all fur is the only product

Weirdoero · 31/12/2025 17:43

I would wear it. My grandmother had the most beautiful full length black mink coat. In the really bad anti fur years about 20 years ago my mother put it away and didn’t wear it anymore. It survived a number of years but then sadly got moth killed in the cupboard.

You really have to wear fur to keep it in good condition. So wear it!

ThisHazelPombear · 31/12/2025 17:43

They skin them alive, I wouldn’t do anything to make wearing fur more acceptable or common.

Also it’s not a nice coat the colours a bit dowdy and the style is very dated. I’m 48 and you can age yourself a lot with clothes. What would look delightfully quirky on my nieces would make me look frumpy.

cupfinalchaos · 31/12/2025 17:43

GingerBeverage · 31/12/2025 17:19

The passage of time does not erase the nature of the abuse.

I agree with this, but you’re not fuelling the fur trade by buying an item that will be replaced. I was skiing last year and so tempted with a jacket but after reading the minks have been known to gnaw their legs off to free themselves from the traps, I wasn’t so keen.

Idontknowwhy15 · 31/12/2025 17:42

It doesn’t look mangy, it looks beautiful. Of course, not as beautiful as the fur would have looked on the animals but it would be wasteful to bin it

XGiveMeStrengthX · 31/12/2025 17:42

OrdinaryGirl · 31/12/2025 17:23

My (entirely made-up but internally consistent) policy is that I would wear anything that I would eat, as long as it’s vintage.
So, cowhide, rabbit, mink, grey squirrel - yes. I would eat all those things.

Fox, pony skin, cat of any kind - no!

So I say wear the vintage fur coats. It seems like a terrible waste otherwise. I don’t think you’re endorsing or perpetuating the demand for new fur by doing so.

Updated to add: I don’t actually own any fur but do wear leather shoes.

Edited

You’d eat a mink?! 🤢🐿️🦨