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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:
PeppaPigHostage · 07/12/2011 12:52

If you sell it on ebay and get some cash for another coat try H&M, I needed a new winter coat but only wanted to spend a little and I got a great coat for £25. I was a bit worried about how warm it might be and whether it would keep its shape after some wear but I've been so impressed with it, especially considering the price. Hope it works out for you.

Catsmamma · 07/12/2011 13:01

I'd wear it ....and give you £30 for it! I think it's beautiful! I always looks for good coats in charity shops. Never seen a decent fur one though.

Last year and the year before Portobello, Camden and Spitalfields markets were FULL of stalls with old fur coats on when we went. If I have not been so hot (we always boil to death when we visit London) I'd have probably bought one. It's the ultimate in recycling these days.

Original poster
HettyAmaretti · 07/12/2011 13:04

worldgonecrazy have added another close up with better detail (you seem to be the resident expert)

OP posts:
colditz · 07/12/2011 13:13

I'd wear it, and I think it would be completely hypocritical for anyone who isn't a vegetarian to complain.

I wouldn't buy a new coat, but would definitely buy a vintage one. And that particular one is beautiful. Have you never had a leather handbag or belt? never once eaten a chicken nugget?

SirCliffRichardSucksEggsInHell · 07/12/2011 13:14

I'm sure someone else has suggested this but you could ebay it and give any profit to an animal charity.

colditz · 07/12/2011 13:16

www.polyvore.com/overcoat_zl_dodo-s/thing?id=43259249

Looks like sheep fur to me anyway./

colditz · 07/12/2011 13:18

<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=black+ovine+fur+coat&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&biw=1024&bih=629&tbm=isch&tbnid=ZU3xp9J8KLtvLM:&imgrefurl=www.liveauctioneers.com/item/9254115&docid=e1MnvpSDG6fSyM&imgurl=p1.la-img.com/323/25222/9254115_2_l.jpg&w=400&h=600&ei=SGffTrpawrOEB7S8yIAF&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=378&vpy=181&dur=377&hovh=127&hovw=94&tx=93&ty=95&sig=118006909999264576361&page=3&tbnh=127&tbnw=94&start=38&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:38" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here

SirCliffRichardSucksEggsInHell · 07/12/2011 13:31

Hmm, well it's nicely fitted but I hate those huge furry collars. Someone would pay a darn sight more than you did for it on ebay though.

I'm a voracious meat-eater and not very sentimental when it comes to animals, however I would not wear fur because these animals are killed for no other purpose than to be skinned. I believe in making full use of the animal and to merely skin it and throw the rest away is such a waste.

Couple that with the appauling conditions in which these animals are kept and you can see why so many people have a problem with it.
We don't live in Siberia so there is no other reason for a fur coat than to show off. I'd sell it on ebay, use the money to buy another equally warm coat (with a woolly scarf) and any leftover I would donate to the RSPCA or somesuch animal charity.

worldgonecrazy · 07/12/2011 13:38

Definitely looks like astrakhan, even the non curly bits.

sircliffrichard the animal carcasses from the fur industry are not thrown away. They are turned into fertiliser, animal feed and bio diesel amongst other things. Also the animals are kept in rather better conditions than most food animals (unless you're buying organic happy meat) as stress and illness damage the fur and therefore the profits. It makes financial sense for a fur farmer to take good care of his animals.

fantagrape · 07/12/2011 13:40

You clearly love it to bits. If you can't stretch to a Primark coat you have no other option but to wear it...

P.S noticed on your profile your recent thread about "shall I buy this £95 Whistles dress." Hmm

P.P.S I don't like it, I think it looks like a bad wig.

Original poster
HettyAmaretti · 07/12/2011 13:50

fantagrape - not sure how being skint precludes me from commenting on other posters expensive clothing Hmm

OP posts:
Original poster
HettyAmaretti · 07/12/2011 13:52

Right, astrakhan, good Grin definitely feel better about that than mink. thank you both.

I shall wear it for a wee bit and consider selling it on to get a more suitable one.

OP posts:
HugosGoatee · 07/12/2011 13:54

Well if you want to start a bidding war, pop back to this thread! Wink

doggiesayswoof · 07/12/2011 13:58

I used to be vehemently anti-fur and I was vegetarian for years.
But I never stopped wearing leather and I recognise the hypocrisy of my former position...

IIWY I don't think it would bother me now if it was 2nd hand. My friend is a vegan and wears no leather or wool, but he does wear a charity shop leather jacket he bought. Feels justified because it was second hand and he was too skint to buy a new jacket.

(fantagrape, you do realise that OP didn't start that Whistles dress thread?)

SilkStalkings · 07/12/2011 14:05

Ethically I have nothing against vintage fur bbut I would see it with £££ in my eyes. I'd put it on Ebay for a minimum £30+p&p and the day you go to post it buy yourself a new coat and something nice just for you.

Original poster
HettyAmaretti · 07/12/2011 15:02

Well, am just back from the school run. wore it and felt all warm and snuggly it was very, very nice not to do the remember-to-keep-the-back-straight,-smile-and-look-like-one-don't-feel-the-cold walk of shame. Felt fine being out and about in it, which surprised me TBH.

No one said or asked anything, I was not attacked and no red paint was thrown. I did however notice one of the posh mothers wearing, what looked to me, like an obviously real fur gillet (very on trend styling so presumably new). which shocked me and then made me feel like an utter hypocrite.

I am in love with this coat. But I do still have reservations. Oh dear.

DS (2 1/2) called me mama bear when I put it on.

OP posts:
Original poster
HettyAmaretti · 07/12/2011 15:04

Sorry - am non-UK, DD started school a couple of weeks ago and is on short days (10 - 2). She's doing a couple of full days next week which is veey exciting.

OP posts:
Catsmamma · 07/12/2011 15:06

just came back to say I have a suede-y jacket with furry cuffs and a collar, had it when they were last fashionable! No idea whether is is real or not but dd used to love that jacket, she called it my Celebrity Coat, cause it looked like something a sleb would wear, and I have not been allowed to get rid of it cos she wants it!

Chandon · 07/12/2011 15:10

Don't believe you can't tell the difference, it is very obvious!

If it's real, sell on e-bay and with the money buy another coat!

SparklyCloud · 07/12/2011 16:46

worldgonecrazy you appear to be defending the appalling fur trade - why?
What do you have to say about the skinning alive of animals for fur? And how you can say they are kept in good conditions is beyond me.
Wild animals that would roam, kept in really cramped conditions, forced to live nearby other animals with no chance to re create normal behaviours, and their only activity?PACING up and down, up and down. That's it, their life, if you can call it living.

The whole thing is horrific.

worldgonecrazy · 07/12/2011 17:00

sparklycloud you appear to be under the impression that the entire world of fur farming is that which is seen in China. I don't think anyone would defend the skinning of animals alive that occurs over there and I would never buy fur from China. I am talking about the fur farming in Northern Europe which has standards of animal welfare and a certificate of origin for fur products.

As I said previously, the conditions of fur animals far exceeds that of the vast majority of animals reared only for food. Stress damages the fur, fur farmers want to maximise profits. It's a very simple equation and that is why the fur farming industries have carried out a lot of research into the best methods of animal husbandry. The animals are humanely gassed first, not skinned alive. Information here I don't think anyone can claim that fur farming is completely cruelty free - after all, it involves the death of an animal, but it isn't the big monster that it is made out to be by extremist organisations such as PETA. It is certainly kinder (on a voluntary basis) to animals than many methods of legal food animal farming.

madammecholet · 07/12/2011 17:10

wear it, if asked, say its fake. Wink

Tmesis · 07/12/2011 17:18

fantagrape, I think before you start setting yourself up as a thread detective you need to grasp the difference between a thread someone has posted on and a thread they have started.

Northernlurker · 07/12/2011 18:44

It's beautiful. Wear it and love it.

otchayaniye · 07/12/2011 19:23

i wear fur, always have. came in useful when i lived in russia (remember one time in Irkutsk it was minus forty....brrrrr)

if you wear expensive leather products (designer handbags) it is the same thing as the cattle are bred primarily for their hides, not their meat.

i also used to live in China and how they treat animals across the board is very different. personally i wouldn't support that trade (but would eat meat there -- see what a murky issue this is, riven with misinformation and hypocrisy. i put my hand up too