Wearing Fur: A Fashion Dilemma.

When I landed this coat, thanks to the lovely generosity of the Universe, I was overjoyed, mainly because a medium length mink is the coat of my dreams. It's only been through two wears and it's already a fashion staple for me and it's one of those pieces that I'm pretty sure I will be keeping and passing down to someone else when I'm old and gray.

There's something about this coat. Once I put it on, I instantly felt like royalty. I kind of felt like a girl in one of those tv shows that gets made over from looking frumpy to being glamorous. It was lovely! It's amazing what a singular piece of clothing can do for my self-esteem and personal outlook.


What I didn't anticipate, however, was the looks and reactions I'd get from people. Apparently, people either really hate, admire or find it quite shocking to see someone in a fur coat. Wearing fur lends an air of "I'm rich" and in a way, it almost seems like a blatant and boastful show of one's wealth because brand new, they are rather pricey. For these reason, while wearing fur, people will look and they will keep on looking for whatever reason.

Personally, I find it interesting and I don't find the looks offending or threatening in any way. When it comes to the issue of animal cruelty in the garment industry, I'm all for the ethical treatment of animals, but I don't see anything particularly wrong with the people wearing fur coats. Man has worn animal fur since the dawn of time, and that won't stop anytime soon. As long as the animal isn't an endangered or extinct species and they're offered a quick and possibly painless death, I don't really have much of a problem with the production and sale of fur apparel.

It's really so simple.

Fur is warm, it's beautiful and it's quite comfortable.

It is predatory to the animals? Yes, but most of the animal-human interactions that most of us engage in  are predatory to animals. If you're against wearing fur, you better be a hardcore vegan that doesn't eat meat, drink milk, wear leather and hunts for sport. If not, you don't have a leg to stand on...not with me, anyway.

I find it interesting that fur gets such a bad rap while leather for the most part is socially acceptable. They're both made from animal bodies. The only difference seems to be that fur tends to made from smaller, and cuter animals while leather mostly comes from cows, which people don't seem to care about so much anyway. I do now that wearing fur may rub a lot of people the wrong way, but it's my personal decision and I stand by it. 

On that note, I will be spending what is left of this winter figuring out a mlllion ways to wear this coat.

For this look, I paired with a black turtleneck and Ankara pants and my handy dandy leather booties.

I got these Ankara pants made while I was in Nigeria this past summer and I love tailored clothing because it fits my body almost perfect( but I have lost a wee bit of weight and the waist has gotten a tad loose :( )

I can't wait to put together some more looks with this lovely coat!

Stay tuned for more!

Love & Light,

Rachel.