Fur used by music stars...

[brandy-uk]

OK..

 

This may be a topic that could spark off a few arguments..so I will move slowly through it and hopefully we can have a good discussion without the too much hassle..

 

I have just watched the 'British' version of 'My Sweet 16'..

 

On it was a young lad from the South wales area who was a son to a very wealthy family and styled himself on many of the more successful Black rap Stars of America..

 

He wore large 'fur' coats everywhere.. in my own personal opinion.. he made himself look very silly on TV and made himself look very shallow and monetary oriented... this gave a very poor reflection on the wearing of fur and made me think...

 

"If I wear my furs around.. with this current trend of fur being worn by Rap Stars..am I being perceived by the public as trying to imitate a 'Music singing stars'....

 

Is fur losing its identity to the a new cultural evolution..?

 

Brandy

xxxxx

[AKcoyote]

An interesting and thought provoking topic Brandy. Personally, I doubt that concept is considered regarding female fur wearers. But it could be a perception possibly associated with male fur wearers especially if they choose to wear furs like fox. I know from my working part time in a fur store that the occasional male who is looking for a fur for himself, is considering a bit weird by the store owners if he is interested in fox (such as red fox, blue fox, or silver fox).

[FrBrGr]

Brandy, this has been something I have wondered about myself, and is a bit upsetting to me. Unsetttling to say the least.

 

Except for the animal rights wackos in society, fur is an accepted and even cherished fashion for women. Like most feminine fashion, fur fashion is versatile in its style, color and type. An outlandishly styled and colored fluffy fur on a woman is regarded as being "trendy," a "fun fur." A conservatively-styled full-length mink is considered to be sheik and very acceptable in business circles. A sable is classic. Chinchilla perfect for the theater or opera. And a woman wearing coyote, fox or lynx just about anywhere is the envy of all who see her.

 

What about the men, though? Now that's a different story, to say the least! I will be purchasing a fur coat for myself before this next winter, and I think that it most likely will be either made with fisher or crystal fox. I know I will get many compliments on it, and I can't wait. Up until now, I have had two fur-lined coats. Actually, an opossum-lined leather jacket and a full-length trench coat, fully lined with New Zealand opossum. It has a large shawl collar. These are separate from the rather large collection of furs I keep for indoor wear and play . . .) I have received many compliments on both the jacket and the coat, but invariably there is one or two comments I get about the coat. It has been referred to as my "pimp coat" and my "hip hop" coat. One of my colleagues wanted to try it on one day, and after he allowed himself to really enjoy it's softness for a brief moment, he had to get cute and started immitating both a rap singer and what he regarded as an impression of a black "pimp," complete with the slang and dialect. It wasn't done to insult me; he liked the coat and I know he wishes he could have one. I showed him pictures of some men's furs, and he pointed to a coyote coat and exclaimed that he'd love to have one. He was just acting out what seems to be an impression that is common today. Like most of men's fashion, if the fur is conservative, drab and boring, then it's an acceptable fashion statement for any man. Beyond that, it's for a specific culture and a specific sub-culture. Check out men's furs in the online links provided in the links section here. The majority of them, it seems to me, are modeled by black men. Particularly fox, chinchilla and rex. I think most of us have really liked what Marc Kaufman has done with his website, but most, if not all, of his men's furs are modeled by African Americans.

 

Why is this image promoted? Most of all, why is it promoted by furriers? Has anyone else observed this?

[Guest]

Brandy;

 

I've gone through a somewhat extended period of pulling it up to wear fur publicly. The history of my posts here has an accounting of those events and my angst over it all.

 

I designed and had made primarily fur lined jackets to take this public. Some are in The Gallery.

 

I was first shocked over the LACK of response other than the occasional "look". Not negative looks either.

 

Gradually I began to get compliments and I have yet to receive the first negative comment and this is from wearing them on to construction sites where the "worst" comment was "I sure would like to have a jacket like that today". It was a friggid day where the building was ten degrees colder than the ambient.

 

My visits to Ungar Furs have bolstered that awareness with coats Horst has made for guys that are truly outrageous like the huge full length Silver Fox he has made for a local business man.

 

I think Kevin and Shelly will give you similar accounts with his Crystal Fox Jacket and his other furs.

 

I'm now in disbelief of this notion of negativity towards furs by the public since I wear mine shopping to the Supermarket parties with friends and everywhere! And I don't live in the fashion center of the western world either.

 

My next Big fur is going to be a full length Beaver. I'll have to start going to the Symphony in Seattle for a place to wear it however.

 

OFF

[brandy-uk]

Are the fur styles of the future being threatened by the bad press received through 'Rap Stars' and their cultural image?

 

What can we do to stop this and try to bring fur into the positive light..?

 

I completely agree with FrBrGr.. I have seen similar action portrayed by friends of mine when they have worn my fur coats for photo shoots..

 

 

Any ideas?

 

Off.. you seem to have a positive stance towards fur and how you want people to receive the fur image.. how do you think things will turn out?

 

Brandy

xxxxxx

[paul2809]

I think its a time that alot of the artist are really takin onto whats been keeping us warm for years to come and fur is the best choice. Grant it that there are alot of creative iedeas out there of the different furs that are availble. I personally love wearing my faux fur bomber mens jacket and i dont give a dang about other peoples opinions here in Louisiana and Texas when around me par say. You guys i definitly dont mind but yeah. Fur is something that I think is loved by alot and not liked by few and for a few of some poeple know whom im talking about. I ever encounter them, i have no problem of telling them how I feel and having them charged for harrasement.:):):):) I do encourage wearing fur to other people bc of its beauty and warmth, how ever, its just one of those things that I dont think we as humans can live with out. I think the vast majority is skeptical of fur ina way but we need it regaurdless bc of its wonderful properties that I know we love....

[Worker 11811]

I think a lot of fur wearing by rappers and hip-hoppers is done out of desire to show off their excess wealth and out of rebellion against what they perceive as the establishment.

 

You can't have jewelery, cars and furs unless you can scratch up the cash to buy them. Flaunting them is just a way to show that you've got money.

 

In the media, fur has been made out to be taboo. We all "know" that the media is controlled by liberal, white, rich people. Wearing fur and flaunting it is a way to fly in the face of the media who then feed off the controversy they create with their lifestyle.

 

So, basically, wearing fur and acting like an idiot is just a way for a group who perceive themselves to be disenfranchised from society to gain some kind of control over those they feel are trying to control them.

[cbernard92]

I noticed there was a "models needed" sign in the Kaufman Furs store window when I was there this past march.... maybe he was going to diversify his store image???

[cbernard92]

Worker,

I don't want to flaunt my political views or get into an argument.... but I'm liberal and I like furs, I know plenty of other liberals who like furs too!

cbernard92

[Worker 11811]

Yes, when I said, "We all 'know'...", you'll notice that the word "know" was in quotation marks.

 

Let me rephrase:

 

The majority of disenfranchised, urban Blacks who participate in the Hip-Hop/Rap/Gang culture believe that the media is controlled by rich, white liberals who try to keep them confined to a social under-class. Wearing fur and flaunting it is a way to fly in the face of the media who then feed off the controversy they create with their lifestyle.

 

Better??

[AKcoyote]

Following up on what cbernard92 said:

 

Actually in the US these days, most large media entities are owned by conservative rich people. There is a very noticeable conservative slant to much of the news and a lack of opposing viewpoints. Also big media fails to report many stories because they see no "entertainment value" in them.

 

The anti-establishment rebellious sentiment is definitely part of the Hip-Hop/Rap culture.

[fursRme]

You should check out John Rich of the country band Big & Rich. He wears furs all the time. On the last Country Music Awards He came out on stage wearring a full lenght Red Fox coat! He is even doing a reality show where he brings differnt signer from different types of music and teachs them to do country music. He wore a few different furs on that program. Funny to see a cowboy wearing a cowboy hat, boots, and a fur coat! And I like country music!

[brandy-uk]

I think the fear comes from the press...

 

many stars are scared to break 'press' taboos because they fear their career could tumble over night..

 

new music celebs want the fame so they will avoid upsetting the press with fur and the same seems to rumble over into existing musics celebs who fear the onslaught of the young talent and so need the press to keep their profile high..

 

It seems that it is the arrogance of the young rap stars who wear the furs as a symbol of power and financial success are the only ones changing the fashion for fur.. but again the question hangs.. is it a good future for fur if this is how the public will receive the image in 10 years time??

 

Kisses

brandy

xxxxxx

[Worker 11811]

AK; I think you're right on the conservative/liberal angle. I stand corrected on that one.

 

However, it's not my intention to talk about politics so I won't.

 

Let's think about this as a social question instead.

 

We all know that social attitudes change in cycles. As generations of people grow up and bring their attitudes with them, the social attitudes of the people, in general, change along with them.

 

If the younger generations of people, at large, are favoring fur as the Hip Hop and Rapper crowds are, there's hope that a generation of people will grow up and bring an appreciation for fur with them.

 

So, then, the question in my mind is:

 

Does the trend for Hip Hoppers and Rappers wearing fur foretell of a younger generation of people who secretly appreciate fur despite negative attention in the media and who will be inclined to show off their love of fur in years to come?

 

I'm hoping that, in 10-15 years, all this P∂TA crap will be over and people will be able to wear fur if they want to without some whacko idiots giving them grief.

[cbernard92]

Okay so basically we had a little miscommunication, I wasn't exactly sure what the quotes around the "know" were supposed to mean, but I was like wait a minute, the media is owned mostly by conservatives (Rupert Murdoch for example!) so I was a little bit confused what akcoyote meant by saying liberals controlled the media....

[thursdayfullcollapse]

As a white left leaning middle class 20 year old, as far as I'm concerned the trend of the "hip hop community" to wear fur has done nothing but good for fur as a whole and the current ressurgence in fur can largely be attributed to to growth and integration of that community into the norm.

[foxkid]

As a white left leaning middle class 20 year old, as far as I'm concerned the trend of the "hip hop community" to wear fur has done nothing but good for fur as a whole and the current ressurgence in fur can largely be attributed to to growth and integration of that community into the norm.

 

I have to say I'm in the same boat... & I do generally agree. While I'm not a rap/hip hop fan (in fact commercial / gangster rap / R&B / hip hop are a few of the music genres I refuse to listen to), I do think that due to the image, that groups like PeTA are really not going to make any impact towards this demographic, so it does help the fur industry a lot, especially with the younger generation. On the other side, I do agree that modern urban rap culture has a tainted reception by the media and therefore it certainly would be good to see a ressurgence from other more positive sources too.

[Worker 11811]

It's called the "slippery slope".

 

First the hip hoppers and the gangsta' rappers wear fur.

 

Then the rich, white kids whose mommies and daddies spoil them and give them too much money to spend will buy fur to imitate the gangsta's.

 

Then they grow up to be responsible adults who still like to wear fur only more conservative styles.

 

Then THEY pass their furs and their love, thereof, on down to their kids who buy furs when THEY grow up.

 

Although, I don't care for gangsta' rap I don't mind if they wear fur. The furrier the better, AFAIAC!

[FurLoverinFL]

Worker wrote...

Then they grow up to be responsible adults who still like to wear fur only more conservative styles.

 

Then THEY pass their furs and their love, thereof, on down to their kids who buy furs when THEY grow up.

 

Unfortunately, I disagree. Parents may try to pass their love of furs down to their kids. Kids will probably view their parents furs as a sign of their conspicuous wealth and rebel by not wearing furs. And, unfortunately, the cycle starts all over again. Furs come into favor... go out of favor... and so it goes.

 

FLinFL

[Guest]

Probably a bit of both.

 

OFF

[FrBrGr]

Worker wrote...

Then they grow up to be responsible adults who still like to wear fur only more conservative styles.

 

Then THEY pass their furs and their love, thereof, on down to their kids who buy furs when THEY grow up.

 

Unfortunately, I disagree. Parents may try to pass their love of furs down to their kids. Kids will probably view their parents furs as a sign of their conspicuous wealth and rebel by not wearing furs. And, unfortunately, the cycle starts all over again. Furs come into favor... go out of favor... and so it goes.

 

FLinFL

 

Probably even of greater influence is what today's youth is hearing from their teachers (God help us!). My guess is that they're hearing a mantra of animal rights . . .

[Worker 11811]

Where do you think all the hippies from the 1960's went? They didn't evaporate off the face of the earth. They must be here, some place.

 

They grew up, took off their love beads and tie dyed shirts and put on ties and suits. Now THEY are the teachers and the politicians. No wonder there are so many people in high places with screwed up thinking. Our government and our schools are all populated by aging hippies.

 

But don't worry. Look who's coming up behind them. We're on the cusp of the 70's era kids growing up and taking charge. Another 10 years after that the 80's will take over.

 

Pretty soon the hippies will all die out and their influence will be gone.

[FurLoverinFL]

Worker's real identity revealed.... He's Eric Cartman!

 

FLinFL

[cbernard92]

hahahaha!

[brandy-uk]

The 80's kids will be running the governments soon.. oh no.. we will all be wearing flanal suits with the sleeves roled up and no socks.. just deck shoes....like Don Johnson..!!!!

 

Where will the fur be then???/

 

ha ha haha

 

Brandy

xxxxxx