Fur

Hello!

Today it is exactly three week until I go back to uni and I'm starting to really look forward to it - especially since I got my subjects today and they all rock! I was scared I was going to get all the crap ones becuase they make us sort of rank them in order of preference but there's no guarentee that you won't get all your last choices! I seem to have been very lucky though, if these are permanent! I went shopping today for paper and pens, that's how much I look forward to getting back to uni...

I bought this H&M dress ages ago when I was much skinnier and now it doesn't fit so well but I still kinda like it! The cardigan is from Primark and these Dorothy Perkins flats are in every post right now cos all my other shoes are ruined!

Yesterday my Mum and I went through to Glasgow for the Scottish Homes and Interiors Exhibiton, obviously more her kind of thing than mine but we had good fun! I didn't get my Primark/Urban Outfitters fix though as she refused to park in the city centre...fair enough I suppose but I was still a bit gutted! We headed to Glasgow Fort instead though which was a good enough substitute!

Same stupid shoes, tights from tightsplease, Primark skirt and H&M tee. The little stripey top is from ebay, but unfortunatly due to changing room excitment when a size small dress fitted me it is now ripped! These were my purchases, this black dress which is organic cotton (I don't really care...sort of just stating the facts!) and looks a million times better on than on the hanger!
This gorgeous long cardigan, it's so soft and has the cutest button detail on the sleeves. You can't really see in the picture but it's a pretty dark grey colour, expect to see it in many an outfit post!

So, my beloved grandmother (she's awesome and getting to that point of senility where she sends Christmas crads for birthdays - true story!) has offered me her fur coat as a 21st birthday present. Or rather she offered it to my mother who immediatly said "no" and when my mum told me of this I said "I'll have it!". I like fur, I'm not going to lie and say that I don't because that's the PC thing to do. I personally don't strongly disagree with the ethics of fur, as long as it's not an endagered species. I don't see how it's possible that it's not ethically done these days, like say, the meat industry? Aren't there guidlines that are followed? This is pure opinion and I am fully prepared to be corrected (by research or evidence, not by "don't kill rabbits, they're cute!"). I think that perhaps to object strongly to fur would be rather hypocritical of me - I eat (and enjoy) meat, I use leather products (when I can resist their plastic counterparts!) and in my years of studying biology I've dissected many a (once) living thing. Perhaps there is also a distinction to be made between vintage fur (as in the case of my grandmother's coat) and new fur? I suppose that one may argue that previously fur had served a purpose in keeping out the cold (those pre-central-heating-days) and that if the damage has been done, there is no harm in getting further use from the garment? Or am I simply justifying what PETA call "skinning animals and wearing portions of their remains as ridiculous clothes"?

My mum tells a great anti-fur story. She has two brothers (my uncles) a few years older than her and when she was a kid they had this tiger rug, you know the ones with the heads still on? Fangs and all. Her mean brothers hid in a cupboard cloaked in tiger and jumped out to scare her. To this day she doesn't care for fur, or her siblings!

No doubt you're all familiar with PETA's famous "I'd rather go naked than wear fur" adverts? It's funny that Playboy model and "girlfriend" of The Hef, Holly Madison makes this statement, because personally, I'd rather go naked than wear Playboy merchandise! Other celebrities who are famously anti-fur include Stella McCartney who apparently was enraged when one of her bras was used in an advert for fur chain Hockelys. The full article, including a picture of the offending bra-and-mink-coat advertisment, is here. Stella McCartney is one of the designers PETA list as being entirely fur-free, a list which also includes Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein.

Other designers, such as Fendi, are not fur free in any way! Fendi's Fall collection features fur, as do the collections of many other designers. According to that bottomless pit of knowledge, style.com, when Karl Lagerfeld began designing for Fendi (in 1965!) their mission was to put fur at the forefront of fashion. Some pictures from this season;


Micheal Kors also used fur this season. I'm not usually a huge fan of his designs, I think perhaps they're just a little old for me, but the two below I love! Pencils skirts and nipped in waists with geek glasses - yum! I also like the way fur is used in his collection, in addition to the usual huge coats (which the models wore mafia style, shun the armholes!) there were subtle accents in scarves and collars.

I know that this particular blog post may seem very pro-fur (in actual fact I'm sort of sitting on the fence!) but even I think these things are gross, they have eyes and paws! I don't need my accessories looking back at me, thank you very much!

After writing all that (I mean there was actual research invloved!) I found out yesterday that my Gran wasn't talking of giving my Mum the coat but of leaving it to her after she dies. No fur for me in the near future then!

I'll leave you with the wise words of Carrie Bradshaw, "women are no strangers to faking, we've faked our hair colour, cup size - hell, we've even faked fur".

I'd love to hear your opinions on fur...

Char x