Are Today's Furs Less Luxurious/Beautiful Than In The Past?

[JGalanos]

Just a general question. I was looking at some old 70's/80's fur advertisements this evening and I noted that many of them looked much nicer than a lot of the furs you see today (in print and in stores). I also seem to remember when I started fur shopping in the early 80's that the furs were nicer than what I often see when I go into salons these days. I think the top firms (Alixandre, Birger Christensen, etc.) still make some spectacular furs, but I think the quality of commercial grade coats has declined in the past decade or two. Got me wondering if perhaps global warming, increased presence of chemicals in the environment, or some other factor could be impacting pelt quality ... Or perhaps it's simply that most commercial quality furs are coming from China these days and with our cost conscious culture lower grade pelts are being used and corners are being cut.

 

As a general rule, the typical men's furs I see in salons are over priced and uninspiring. All of my new furs were custom made and I approved the pelts (going through as many as four bundles until I found pelts that met my expectations) with the exception of one fur I bought "off the rack" ... And it was from a New York furrier who had finished it himself the week before I visited (he showed me the rest of the bundle of beautiful mahogany mink pelts he had set aside for a full length coat).

 

Your thoughts? Am I looney tunes?

[FrBrGr]

IMHO, the answer to your question is, with very little qualification . . . yes.

[White Fox]

Think you are correct. However, I do wonder if this is all part of the modern attitude of "Buy as cheap as possible. If item b is a hundred dollars less than item a buy it even if the quality is a bit lower."

 

W

[furcoatman]

Think you are correct. However, I do wonder if this is all part of the modern attitude of "Buy as cheap as possible. If item b is a hundred dollars less than item a buy it even if the quality is a bit lower."

 

W

 

that's it exactly. people today are used to the warehouse club mentality. if you are not getting 70% off then don't buy.

 

there never were sales like they are today. a mink coat cost as much in 1969 then it does now 40 years later, and more furs were sold. it is definitely not a case of "if enough people buy i can afford to mark the furs up less". there are fewer furriers and furs sold every year. not so much because of ar activists, but people just don't "go out" any more.

 

it's a very depressing state of affairs. but at least that is just this country. people in other countries are much more likely to wear fur on a regular basis.

 

anybody want to move to italy with me?

[Kappa]

In our own way, my gf and I had our own conversation about this. People have changed and along with that, style and dress as well. People just aren't the same and with that, what you can find has changed as well. It's a depressing trend but it has and (maybe is still) happening?

[JGalanos]

Another thing that struck me as I perused the old ads was how much the fur industry has shrunk over the past couple of decades. There used to be fur salons in most upscale department stores, fur salons in upscale malls, etc. Literally hundreds of furriers have simply disappeared since ~'88. I know this has been discussed before, but it really hit home as I came to the realization that over 50% of the firms in the ads have ceased to exist.

[White Fox]

Re how many have disappeared...

 

You k now I got to thinking about this the other day. This may not be all coming from the direction that we normally think that it is. Not that it helps much of course. But......

 

Today we buy shoes from a big box store, or a chain store in a mall. Clothing so often from one or the other. Many (including me) purchase food from a huge grocery store that can afford to stay open 24 hours a day. We buy repairs for different things from a hardware store as big as a whole town used to be. Lumber is the same. So, how can we expect people of this "mentality" to buy furs from a small store in the city down town. This is no excuse in itself of course for no furriers in malls or huge department stores, but on the other hand all of these stores are the same. Purchase a new product for $10 to sell in their stores. Next time they order they want it for $9. Next time for $8. and so on. Add to that each fur coat is different. In colour. In style. It is hard to get another blue fox that is "exactly the same as the last one I ordered" and sold.

 

In other words, the whole sales concept has changed from even 15 years ago. Huge big box stores. Ordering exactly the same product time and time again. As to how to fight that though, don't know what the answer is. Probably isn't one. Just hope that the concept changes. Not long ago, the big thing was small stores in huge malls so big you could get lost. Then, it changed to big box stores. What will next step be? Join big box stores with enclosed walkways or tunnels? Back to malls? Back to down towns? In Canada for instance in some large cities you can go almost endlessly in tunnels. They simply knock out the walls between basements of stores and allow you to walk or ride for miles. You walk and walk. When you come to the end of that tunnel, you simply jump on the subway, and go to the next one. You can shop all day, never going outside. Indeed shop in the winter, and if you can get a parking place near the subway, you don't even need to carry a coat. Who knows what is coming next...

 

W

[Guest]

With a foot from hell (12 A) I have to search hard for a fit. Most stores don't even carry B widths.

 

Much the same with other things I want which is why I am so loyal to those places I can find what I want such as my Food Coop and coffee roaster.

 

Recently more specialty shops and businesses have begun to respond to these needs and I am finding things that had previously vanished from the market place.

 

I would hope we fur lovers could generate enough need for there to be similar Furriers who will respond to new directions in fur fashions.

 

In my own small way I've attempted with Ace of Suedes and Ungar Furs to build my fur lined jacket passion and with some degree of success. If we could do such things and support the furriers who do these things for us maybe we will see some stabilization and response to these new directions.

 

OFF

[AKcoyote]

I would hope we fur lovers could generate enough need for there to be similar Furriers who will respond to new directions in fur fashions.

The remaining North American furriers are hoping that people will consider investing in furs and that there will be a resurgence of the industry in North America. However, the current economic situation and people's tendency to reduce spending in such times will probably force several furriers to close permanently.

 

As one who works part time in a fur store I have noticed that It has become almost impossible to sell anything made with fur if the price is over $100. And even the smaller items are difficult to sell.

[samurman]

Regarding the quality of the fur coats and the workmanship, I think this is also related to the incredible increase in the speed at which fashion is made fashionable, produced, marketed, consumed, and then thrashed in recent decades. I remember an article a few years ago discussing the success of the Zara brand. Before the development of just-in-time production techniques, and outsourcing production to developing countries, it took at least six months or even a year for an idea to be translated from designer's sketchpad to store racks for fashion labels. It was not just a matter of designing a garment. Fabrics had to be ordered and then produced in large quantities. They would then be shipped to the factory/workshop, cut, tailored, etc. Media campaigns had to be arranged. Each one of these steps developed in their own leisurely pace and took time. But Zara cut short that time to less than 3 months. And then, there are those internet sites, which can sell an exact replica of a dress or accessory Kate Moss, Lilly Allen, Paris Hilton, or Victoria Beckham wore on a particular occasion within days of it appearing in paparazzi press. Those sites do not sell a piece of clothing-they put the picture of a celebrity on a page, dissect it into elements, and sell the complete "look", from her sandals to sunglasses. I am talking about making a huge production chain work and churn out thousands of copycat items in a fantastically short time. Before, the stores would have two major collections each year, a winter and a summer collection. In September or October, you could see the entire stock of the fashion industry at the stores. Now, they have many in-between seasons, and they continually receive new goods. If you go to a store in February, you see new merchandise arriving for the winter season, which might include items resembling those worn by a celebrity just before Christmas.

 

The above picture is from the "supply" side of the equation, which is intimately related to the "demand" side. When what is fashionable changes so fast, it makes little sense to invest in something as durable as fur.

 

A related issue is that most people today seem to have lost their sense of fashion. I remember that in my childhood, everyone knew what size they wore. Now, it is all up in the air. It is partly due to the internationalization of fashion. Before 1990, each country was a closed world onto itself. But today, with globalization, a shopping mall in Dubai, Moscow, London, or Sydney carries fashion labels from all around the world. Personally, I wear XXL on UK sizes, XL on American sizes, anywhere from 46 to 54 on European sizes, but the greatest mystery is in shirt sizes for me. A shirt fitting me could be a size 2 or 3, 44 or 46, XL or XXL, or whatever.

 

Another factor is that ready-to-wear has completed its conquest of the world after 1990. In my childhood, 1970s and 1980s that is, many women of my mother's generation knew basic tailoring skills themselves, or had garments tailored for them by their friends, relatives or professional tailors. So, at that time, it was quite normal for people to have custom made garments which naturally extended to furs. Now, most of that is gone and many people do not know the experience of going to fittings or waiting for a garment to be made ready in a week or two weeks.

 

On an even wider scale, this is related to the deterioration of the general cultural level in our societies. Before, people working at a record store really knew music and were passionate about it. They did not need to check information on computers or on the internet (which did not exist then, and which I can do it myself, thanks). Before, people working at bookstores knew books and actually read some of them. Now, the megastores have reduced everything to the bottomline, which is sell cheap and serve cheap.

 

Sorry about the long post, but I had to pour it out.

[White Fox]

No need to apologize at all Samurman... Some very interesting thoughts there!

 

W

[furlondon]

your point is actually very interesting and very true. I had a conversation with a furrier and he had told me something very similar

[Cunning Fox]

Well put samurman. I had never really thought of things in that way but now that you've mentioned it, it makes sence.

 

I used to enjoy shopping for music when you could have a decent coversation with the shop assistant about music (often they were musos themselves) and get some insight or critique of an album before you bought it.

 

I guess, the times they are a changin'.

 

In the last year or so shops have opened in malls in N.Z selling cheep Asian made garments including jackets trimmed with rabbit fur. One day maybe we'll get back to the big hair and the bigger fox furs of the 80's, in the meantime there's Youtube and all the posts of Dynasty.