The Ethics of Vintage Fur

Fur was a favorite of Marilyn Monroe's. www.thisismarilyn.com

photo credit: C. Tink

There's something not only lux, comforting, and warm about being wrapped in fur, but also charming, elegant, and old-world. For a long while in our recent history (about 50 or so years) fur has gone from a status symbol that everyone (including men) sought in the 1950's to something that marks a person out as a Cruella DeVil (who is, after all, named for being a Cruel Devil!). Just this year, in 2013, selling fur became illegal in some areas of California.

I was raised on AMC's Movie Classics and I love fur for its association with Old Hollywood glamour and 1950's innocence. I also love animals and I have to say, it is comforting to stroke fur and feel it against my cheek. However, I LOVE ANIMALS! and I've also been largely vegetarian for the past 13 years. The question arises: is it unethical to purchase and wear VINTAGE FUR? In this post, I'll just ask a few relevant questions that raced through my mind as I prepared to purchase a vintage fur this past March. I'll be taking up these questions and others in later blogs, as well as in a book on philosophy of fashion that I'm working on.

Modeling amidst other antiques as I contemplated my choice.

I found this beautiful vintage fur in an antique mall in Phoenix, Arizona with my sister, Summer, during my Spring Break this year, just an hour before I left for the airport. I have to say I was in a bit of a panic about whether to buy such a beautiful piece. Of course, people in Phoenix would sweat in a fur no matter the season, especially a long one like this. What's more, I found it in March, when the temperatures were already in the 80's. Living in Massachusetts, however, I felt that such a purchase could be justified, as it is cold about 7 months of the year in my area. Thankfully, I discovered that the fur was a beautifully made faux fur by a charitable designer, Adolph Schuman, and likely from the early 1970's as evidenced from the tags. However, I still felt that walking around in such a nice coat would likely give the illusion that I was wearing a real fur. And if it's unethical then isn't wearing a good replica also unethical because it is a way of promoting the real deal? If people mistook me for wearing a real fur, isn't it still in a way linking me to Cruella DeVil?  More precisely, does it say something negative about me that I would wear a fur? I joked with my sister that I could make a little hanging tag in back that said "This is a fake" to maintain both my cleanness of character and to discourage any paint or coffee throwing.

I took it home, but have yet to wear it out and about town.

The Ethics Questions: To what extent is fur unethical? And how does it compare ethically to the eating of animals or wearing of leather? Is it unethical to purchase and wear a vintage fur? And does a well made faux fur give off the impression of a bad character or promote cruelty to animals?