JGalanos Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 I spent most of last week in NYC ... It was awesome! It turned cold shortly after I arrived. I wore fur every day I was there -- Including my black leather jacket and ranch mink scarf combo as well as my silver fox, ranch mink, fisher, and coyote coats. Fur was everywhere -- Mink was by far the most prevalent fur (in a multitude of colors) but I also saw raccoon, sable, Finn raccoon, beaver, fisher, and coyote garments. New York is great for furs -- Where else are you going to see two ladies conversing outside a bank (on the upper east side) both clad in marvelous sables??? I visited ~10 furriers while I was there and tried on over 50 fur coats and jackets -- It was my furriest experience ever. I tried on Barguzin sable, Canadian sable, chinchilla, blue iris mink, mahogany mink, ranch mink, whiskey mink, Blackglama mink, coyote, silver fox, red fox, indigo fox, black fox, brown fox, shearling, fisher, beaver, and tanuki coats and jackets. I was invited into a couple of work rooms and watched as sable and mink coats were manufactured (let out). Overall, it was a wonderful experience that I heartily recommend! P.S. One interesting tidbit I picked up was regarding tanuki (one of my favorite furs). I was told (I stand to be corrected by any of the professionals on the site) that Japanese tanuki is no longer commercially available -- The Japanese tanuki market apparently dried up when fur fell out of favor in the early 90's and it has never recovered. So any genuine Japanese tanuki coats you see are likely (1) used or (2) older coats that have yet to sell. I think the tanuki coat I tried on fell into the latter category. It had beautifully matched pelts but it looked like it had been on the rack for a while. Tanuki from Europe has a distinctly different look than the tanuki from Japan ... I think that's why Finn raccoon and tanuki are often confused nowadays. P.S.S. Enough rambling ... Have a great day (or night depending upon where you are). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGalanos Posted January 8, 2008 Author Share Posted January 8, 2008 One other thing I learned during my fur tour ... As you might imagine, there are huge cost savings associated with outsourcing production to China -- I was told the labor cost difference between a New York manufactured and China manufactured mink jacket was around $1200 (!). Depending on who I talked to, I was told either that Chinese manufactured furs were equivalent to New York manufactured furs or that the Chinese furs were vastly inferior to New York furs. Based upon my experience, I would tend to side with the New York furs are better folks. While some of the China goods I looked at were very well made using American pelts ... Some of the other China goods definitely had a "second tier" look/feel to them. P.S. Kaufman Furs is still in business. I walked by there but (based upon a previous visit) did not go in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadisonAvenueFurPrincess Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 I live in NYC and I cant say I've seen two women together in Full Length Sables in at least 10 years, You were pretty lucky it sounds like! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 Thanks for the report, JG. I've found that "Made in the USA" may just mean final assembly in the US: that is, fur origin USA, coat assembled in China, and lining installed in USA. For our part, our minks come from US or Denmark, and the coats are made in Canada or Italy. Beaver from Canada, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReFur Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 JG, Nice reading about your furry adventure. Gosh, I love NYC fur district!! Wonderful memories there!! Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbas3175 Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 JG, Great story. I'm very envious! You had a magnificent time. I visited New York last winter, but too early in the season when it was very mild. Sounds as though you timed it just right! Where did you find the Barguzin and Canadian sables? And how did you get to New York - did you fly? Just wondering how you managed to travel with so many fur coats in your luggage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGalanos Posted January 9, 2008 Author Share Posted January 9, 2008 The sables were at Maximilian. Trying on Russian sable was high on my priority list ... It was wonderful -- Unbelievably lightweight and utterly decadent. I drove to NYC, taking my four furs along in garment bags. My long hair coats (fisher, coyote, silver fox) are HUGE (55" long, wide sweep, big collars, very full pelts), so taking them on an airplane is not really an option. I was somewhat surprised that of all my coats the coyote caused the most stir (personally, I think my silver fox is da bomb). The fisher, silver fox, and ranch mink are all darker colored coats, whereas the coyote is light in color (unusually white pelts). Apparently you don't see men in dramatic furs very often any more ... Even in the Fur Capital of the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Fox Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 I wear even more dramatic than that often JG. You are right. But many have been the times I have heard "If I could find a coat like that, I would buy one immediately". Yet, at the furriers it is generally "dark brown" or nothing. I just find dark colours to be depressing in winter time. Winter is depressing anyhow, so why does everyone want to wear very dark colours. Added later. By the way. I would love to see a nice full length chinchilla in a fur store that was big enough to try on! That would be my objective to see one just once! All the times I have been at fur stores, I have NEVER saw one. Saw a couple of poor quality jackets, but never anything nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbas3175 Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Is Maximilian in Bloomingdales? Or do they have their own store somewhere? Your coats sound fanastic - just the kind of thing I like! Very full length, big sweep, big collar I'm hoping to take some of my coats to the White Turf races in Switzerland. Not quite sure how to transpot them, though, as they are similarly bulky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGalanos Posted January 10, 2008 Author Share Posted January 10, 2008 WF -- I tried on several chinchilla jackets while in New York -- But no full length coats. The jackets were very fine quality -- Incredibly plush. I tried on grey tone, brown tone, and even a natural white chinchilla jacket -- I was told white chinchilla is very rare which was supposed to explain the exorbitant price tag. E -- Yes, in Bloomies at 59th & LEX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 JG! Did you visit USA furs by George on 30th street, near Kaufman Furs? And what was your best fur sighting? I'll be in the city (hopefully) on Sunday. In my new Christmas coat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minkme Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 One other thing I learned during my fur tour ... As you might imagine, there are huge cost savings associated with outsourcing production to China -- I was told the labor cost difference between a New York manufactured and China manufactured mink jacket was around $1200 (!). Depending on who I talked to, I was told either that Chinese manufactured furs were equivalent to New York manufactured furs or that the Chinese furs were vastly inferior to New York furs. Based upon my experience, I would tend to side with the New York furs are better folks. While some of the China goods I looked at were very well made using American pelts ... Some of the other China goods definitely had a "second tier" look/feel to them. Interesting time in NYC. I wish I can be there. A China made Ranch Jacket is $1200 cheaper? Is that with or without lead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGalanos Posted January 10, 2008 Author Share Posted January 10, 2008 Hi, Joe. What Christmas fur will you be wearing? Yes, I visited USA Furs ... And remembered you had made a few posts re: them over the years. I tried on some great furs there -- Well made mink, fisher, and fox garments. There were so many fur sightings it's difficult to pick just one ... But I'd say my favorite sighting was a tall, beautiful brunette wearing a beautiful (literally) ankle length blue iris mink coat walking up 7th Avenue. The coat was a great color with great style and terrific sweep and generous turnback cuffs (which I love). The coat was incredible -- But what really stood out was how the lady wore the coat -- Elegantly and confidently. I wanted to ask her where she got the coat (I followed her uptown for several blocks and could not take my eyes off the glistening pelts) but the sidewalk was very crowded and the opportunity never arose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGalanos Posted January 11, 2008 Author Share Posted January 11, 2008 My second favorite fur sighting was the two ladies in sable coats I saw standing outside a bank on the upper east side. It's unusual to see one lady in sable ... Two is a rare treat! My third favorite fur sighting would have to be me wearing an extremely long Blackglama mink coat ... So long the fur "pooled" on the floor, surrounding me in a sea of luxurious mink. As a side note ... I saw several men in fur -- All jackets -- And was somewhat surprised that all of them were members of minority groups ... I was the only WASP-y fur-bearing male. The fur-bearing females, on the other hand, were all over the board. Looking furward to Worker's and Joe's NYC reports! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGalanos Posted January 11, 2008 Author Share Posted January 11, 2008 I'd say my favorite sighting was a tall, beautiful brunette wearing a beautiful (literally) ankle length blue iris mink coat walking up 7th Avenue. The coat was a great color with great style and terrific sweep and generous turnback cuffs (which I love). The coat was incredible -- But what really stood out was how the lady wore the coat -- Elegantly and confidently. After I typed this it occurred to me that some denizens (especially the long-haired fur fiends) might think "Blue iris mink -- Bah -- I see that here in my city." What really stood out for me was the combination of fantastic mink coat and a very attractive woman who obviously knew how to wear fur. She could have been a runway model. In addition to generous turnback cuffs, very wide sweep, very long length, and incredible pelts, the coat had a very large shawl collar. The lady used the collar to full effect (it was a cold and windy afternoon), raising it in a manner that flattered her lovely face. In my experience you often see great furs on women who really don't know how to wear them ... So seeing a great fur on a woman who knew exactly what she was doing was a real treat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGalanos Posted January 12, 2008 Author Share Posted January 12, 2008 And the icing on the New York cake ... I'm going to buy one of the mahogany mink jackets I tried on in New York. The furrier offered me an incredible deal on the jacket, but I hesitated (How many furs does a man really need, anyway?). I called him back today and, after confirming the jacket was still available, told him I would take it. So ranch and mahogany mink will soon inhabit my wardrobe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FurLoverinFL Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 JG asked.... How many furs does a man really need, anyway? IMO one more than he currently owns! FLinFL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGalanos Posted January 14, 2008 Author Share Posted January 14, 2008 One other thing I heard in New York ... That one prominent Midtown furrier (retailer, not manufacturer) routinely marks up its furs 550% (of wholesale price). So even at "50% off" the marked price they are still making a killing. Buyer beware indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 Oh my...550%!! JG, that is one of the best pieces of information we could have. And I totally believe it! Very, very interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firstfur Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Well, fur friends, this New Yorker has a cooroborating report from the front--but not from the furriers themselves, though I know that 550% has to be truer than true--in a great many places. But this evening, having a couple of hours free (a rare opfurtunity) to check a favorite January haunt I did just that. I dropped in at Bergdorf Goodman (men's store and then women's), hoping I would be in time for their second markdown, which is 65-70% off their original price (which I can't call "regular" price because there's nothing regular about it....oh how the play on THAT word tempts me). But I digress. The men's accessories department had some scarves and gloves on sale at 40% off (that's the first markdown, with the second maybe days away), but the fur hats and fur scarves (a luscious selection of scarves but only fairly exciting hats) were all there at their original prices! This is vastly different from years past, when I scored a number of wonderful Adrienne Landau scarves in knitted rex rabbit and plain rex, at prices that were 70% off, and hats like sheared beaver marked down from $395 to $139. The big problem with all this is the original prices, and until tonight I was prepared to swallow that aspect in the hope of doing well down the road. As I say, that was until tonight. The same exact knitted rex scarf from two years ago is back--and at $395/not on sale at all...or at least not yet. OK--so they can do what they want, we might say. But then the nice black mink scarf at $1600 (not marked down a bit)--who knows, I might be off on the high side by a hundred or two, such was my shock--made me shake my head in disbelief. The beauty I found in a thrift shop, with its long horizontal strips of black mink, cost me a huge $45--and it's so much more attractive. But the moment of true trauma was still to come. Loro Piana, the Italian maker of the very finest things, has a rather stunning sable scarf (I was too "stunned" indeed to notice the country of origin, though I think I saw China) or even to notice how long it was. I asked the saleman to show me it, telling him that it looks like sable to me. "Yes, it is," he said, giving me no hint of the price to come. WELL, fur lovers, would anyone like a sable scarf, marked down from the stratospheric $9300+ all the way down to a grab-it-now price of $6200???!!! Imagine what we fur lovers could actually buy for that kind of money (if we had it in the first place). Perhaps the real reason I am writing all this comes from what followed that sublimely ridiculous Bergdorf experience. I returned to my office via the bus, and along the way, a homeless man struggled to climb aboard the bus lugging a big shopping cart. Wrapped around the handle of the cart was a large blue fox stole with thick, soft-looking fur--not half bad and in the context of what I'd just seen at BG, a sublime fur moment. It was all I could do not to offer the man money for the stole, and were it not for my real concerns about where it had been and what might be lurking inside, I could have snatched it up that instant. So you gotta love New York, and I am so glad to read that many of you have gotten here in the past couple of months. Please don't hesitate to write and let me know you're coming next time. It would be so great to meet you all! Hope the new year brings you wonderful furs--and more (I know, for some of you it already has--congrats)! Best to you all, Firstfur Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGalanos Posted January 22, 2008 Author Share Posted January 22, 2008 Two other things I have remembered from my time in the District ... (1) I was told that one of the most common repairs to furs was replacement of worn spots on sleeves associated with driving a car (and so to never drive a car while wearing a fur ... one of those things that made me go hmmm). (2) I was told to periodically (once a month or so) run a ruler (wood versus metal, I assume!) over the fur to keep the guard hairs fluffy and full. (1) makes sense ... Has anyone else ever heard of (2)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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