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Original poster

WWYD if you really needed a winter coat, bought one in a charity shop and then found out it was real fur?

108 replies

HettyAmaretti · 06/12/2011 16:49

That's what I did.

Obviously I could see it was furry when I bought it but I assumed it was fake, think the staff did too otherwise I'm sure it would have been more expensive. Paid 25 quid for it.

It's lovely. It's very cold outside and I have no other coat Sad

Fuck.

WWYD?

OP posts:
hermioneweasley · 07/12/2011 11:26

I have a second hand mink jacket. Agree it is lovely and warm, have never had any negative comments. I wouldn't buy new fur because I don't want to perpetuate the fur trade, but second hand is ok in my book.

FrillyMilly · 07/12/2011 11:30

Surely there's a difference between using an animal for meat and also leather/wool and breeding animals just for fur? I once saw some footage of a fur farm with animals skinned alive that has haunted me for years so I cannot wear fur. I will eat meat though but make choices such as free range and British pork.

MarleneOnTheWall · 07/12/2011 11:32

There's no way I would wear it but the impression I am getting from your posts is that you really really want to wear it and really really want someone to give you the ok to do so!

How on earth would it be disrespectful to the animals not to wear it? Would you then feel that they had "died in vain"?

Charity shops do coats for much much cheaper than £25, I've got them for a tenner many times.

Pandsbear · 07/12/2011 11:47

I have two vintage boxy-shaped fur coats bought from charity shops years ago - assumed they were fake (like the OP because they were from a charity shop) but one is real fur I subsequently found out. It is substantially heavier than the other one.

worldgonecrazy · 07/12/2011 11:48

Maybe we should go back through the thread and replace the word 'fur' with the word 'sheepskin'? Does that help?

MarshaBrady · 07/12/2011 11:53

I wouldn't. But I think you should keep it as you love it so much.

suburbandream · 07/12/2011 11:58

It looks quite like astrakan to me. It's an antique coat so the bad deed has been done - if you take it back someone else will buy it anyway so I don't see the sense in it.

Original poster
HettyAmaretti · 07/12/2011 12:09

Much as I'd love to discover it;s sheepskin and not fur, I really don't think it is. Definitely hairy rather than wooly. The curly bits are also clearly hair. Will add a close up.

Marlene I don't need or want permission from anyone (apart from my own conscience) to wear it. I am not yet sure if I have that or not.

OP posts:
HugosGoatee · 07/12/2011 12:09

Oh my word it's beautiful

If you love it, wear it. Everyone will assume it's fake anyway. It must have cost a fortune new.

HugosGoatee · 07/12/2011 12:10

(or send it to me Grin )

Northumberlandlass · 07/12/2011 12:11

It's beautiful Hetty. Wear it.
I don't have a problem with vintage fur, but I wouldn't wear a real fur coat that was made last year...if there is any sense in that ! Confused

HugosGoatee · 07/12/2011 12:15

I have a beautiful cross-body real fur bag I bought in Zara in Spain about 7 years ago. I assumed it was fake when I bought it, but it's clearly real - I don't tend to tell people and they don't ask - fake fur is such good quality nowadays.

worldgonecrazy · 07/12/2011 12:17

Astrakhan isn't wooly, it looks like short black hairs, most of which curl over into the random curls, sometimes in the areas exposed to wear and age, the fur uncurls a little. If you post a close up I can give a definite yay or nay.

worldgonecrazy · 07/12/2011 12:20

I can't tell from the picture. The link you posted to a men's mink coat looks like it is made up of a patchwork of fur - they do this for some of the cheaper fur coats. Your close up does not look like mink, rabbit, squirrel or any of the usual furs, so I'm still inclined towards Astrakhan. I will have a look at my astrakhan tonight and see what it looks like close up. Does the fur feel soft but stiff, or just soft?

Original poster
HettyAmaretti · 07/12/2011 12:22

Close up posted. Looking at the inside (when I had the lining out) it's made of a patchwork of small pieces, knowing that its clear to see on the outside that some of the pieces are curly and others have flat hair. Confused

OP posts:
Original poster
HettyAmaretti · 07/12/2011 12:24

x posts, yes, soft but stiff. Not as stiff as stroking a terrier would feel but not as soft as a cat feels. This is quite disturbing to type

OP posts:
paulapantsdown · 07/12/2011 12:25

Well I'll buy it off you if you decide you can't bear it! I will sit in it and eat lamb chops!

worldgonecrazy · 07/12/2011 12:25

Here is a link to an ebay item that has close ups of Astrakhan. Does this help?

gazzalw · 07/12/2011 12:26

Didn't think charity shops were allowed to knowingly sell fur coats because the anti-fur brigade could then target them!

daveywarbeck · 07/12/2011 12:27

It's beautiful. Wear it.

ChippingInNeedsSleep · 07/12/2011 12:35

I wouldn't be able to wear it (I don't buy leather or sheepskin either & I'm vegetarian).

I have pondered this for a while and read all of the arguements.

In your situation I would sell in on eBay for a good some of money to someone who would appreciate a vintage fur coat (or to Hugo/WorldGoneCrazy at a price to cover your costs) because I think that whilst you can't bring the animal back, you can treat the coat with respect so that it lasts a very, very long time. If it is your only coat, you are not going to be able to do that. You need a functional coat and if you treat this as such it will not last.

ChippingInNeedsSleep · 07/12/2011 12:36

a good sum of course Blush

Original poster
HettyAmaretti · 07/12/2011 12:40

Mmmmmm, some of the smaller curly patches do look like the astrakhan in the link, most don't. The ones that do are softer than the rest. Most of the curly bits dot and the flat bits definitely don't. Could it be a mix of all sorts of animals, or doesn't that happen?

OP posts:
HugosGoatee · 07/12/2011 12:41

I agree with Chipping - you should sell it to me Grin

The bit about it being your main winter coat - it will get trashed really quickly. If you could save it for evenings, it will last better. Not in the rain and snow.

Original poster
HettyAmaretti · 07/12/2011 12:41

x post chipping. That is a very good point.

OP posts: