I don’t have any fur although I have a couple of lambskin leather jackets. And we had a couple of lambskin rugs from the animals back home when I was a kid, loved the feel of those - mmmm.
Anyway, I’m a bit surprised that synthetics are now indistinguishable from fur. Fur just has that silky, sleek soft fur feeling that I haven’t seen in any synthetic.
But I’m too cheap to shell out for fur personally, and it seems to be in the grey area of a utilitarian maximization of happiness…
I agree, at least regarding fur coats. They’re the fashion equivalent of those super-stretch limos with the garish running lights. More proof that “wealth” does not necessarily equal “taste.”
What’s so tasteless about fur coats? When I see old film reels of movie stars from the 30’s, 40’s, or 50’s wearing fur coats they look just fine.
Marc
I remember an old UL about how a rich, snobby woman wore her fur coat to a fancy-shmancy restaurant in the middle of summer. Legend goes that she died from the heat or something.
Are fur coats evil? Nah. Is it the greatest thing sinced sliced bread? Nah. Would synthetics be a better choice? Probably. Is wearing fur tacky and tasteless? Not always. Should I stop asking questions and then answering them? Yup. So why don’t I? It’s nearly 3:00 AM, you moron, go to bed! No, why don’t YOU go to bed? I AM you! Oh yeah…
OK, spoofe- slooooowly click the “x” in the top right corner, then push the little button that has a funny squarewindow thingie, thn hit “u” and enter. Brush the teethies and go to bed.
Synthetic or faux fur does not breath. While I cannot understand fur coats, really, what is wrong with shearling, or coats with a fur collar?
Deep Thought generalizes:
Sweeping categorizations tend to make things simple. They might not be correct, but for simplicity, they can’t be beat.
As for the attraction of real fur over synthetics, a part of it might be: It’s because it’s real.
It’s the attraction of champagne over cremant, diamonds over zirconiums, paintings over reproductions, Harley Davidson over Honda Shadow. While I’m not interested in neither jewelry nor cruiser-type motorcycles (or, for that matter, fur), I can certainly see the attraction in having the real deal - and where I do have an interest, I’d certainly much rather spend the money and get the original. The copy might be a better deal or might even be a better product, but it’s still a copy.
That being said, I might agree with fur opponents on a few points: Endangered species are beyond the pale. (Doesn’t the Washington convention prohibit this, anyway ?) I certainly have a problem with trapped animals as well.
But I do eat meat and I do enjoy the benefits of animal-tested medicine, and I see no big difference in killing an animal to eat it versus killing it to wear it. I like my leather jacket (and boots), thank you. I like modern medicine.
And to the PETA people: I hope you’ll pardon me if I’m more concerned with the ethical treatment of people.
S. Norman
Yeah, but some animals are killed specifically for their fur, rather than for food.
Personally, I have no objection to the killing of animals for food and/or clothing. However, when animals are killed to meet some ostentatious and decadent desire – such as the wearing of luxurious furs as a status symbol – then I have grave reservations. Killing an animal is one thing; killing it for ostentatious purposes is another.
I do not own any fur, myself . . . Though I expect someday to inherit Mummy’s fox coat. But real fur is warmer and lasts longer than fake fur. Fake fur also looks cheap; I have never seen a fake-fur coat that didn’t look, up-close, like a toilet-seat cover.
I might also add that fake fur is evil from the standpoint that it’s made from petrochemicals. Do those PETA people care about all the oil-covered birds, fish and mammals that die from the petrochemical industry, or the naturals lands that are being ruined by the lovely people who bring you fake fur?
If your an animal rights activist, you should stay away from the colder regions of the world. In Russia, it is not only the rich who wear fur, just about everybody does. In fact they were appalled when we told them about people throwing red paint on people for wearing fur. I’m assuming this is the same in other colder counties, but I’ve never been to any other. It was kind of weird at first seeing so many fur coats but when I felt how cold it was I understood.
(and ran out and bought a leather coat w/ wool lining). Fake fur and leather is looked down upon, I know the reason for fake leather is the same reason Hilander10 gave, it will crack in very cold temps. They also judge each other by the clothes they wear, even if your poor, you are expected to dress like you aren’t, but I think this has less to do with it than the weather.
I’ve never seen quality fake fur but the stuff I did see was not anything like real fur. And fake leather just doesn’t break in as well as real.
Captain Amazing wrote:
That’s my take on the matter, too.
In ancient times, you flaunted your fur coat as a way of saying, “Look at how prodigious a hunter I am! I am an economic powerhouse!”.
Now, you wear your fur coat as a way of saying, “Look at the difficult-to-make stuff I can buy! I am an economic powerhouse!”
About farm raised animals: awhile ago, some activists near the University of Wisconsin-Madison decided to free as many farm-raised minks as they could. They did so, and kudos to them. Too bad they neglected to factor in the busy highway nearby. The minks were probably better served in their cages than as roadkill.
While I don’t wear fur myself because of personal preference, I guess I have no icky feelings about it. I used to. However, a) the life for animals raised for their fur isn’t that great, and as long as no one’s endangered and their deaths are humane, I don’t see a difficulty; and b) I adore my leather coat and couch. Why is fur seen as an explosive issue while leather seemingly isn’t?
I do have an issue with trapping or hunting for fur, but then, I have an issue with hunting altogether. That’s my personal take. But if the animals are raised for that purpose, and treated as humanely as possible during that raising, I see no problem.
Snickers wrote:
Two reasons I can see:
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Leather is an incidental by-product of making cow meat. Minks, on the other hand, are raised explicitly for their pelts – their corpses are hardly ever eaten by us humans.
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It only takes one cow to make a leather jacket. It takes many, many minks to make one mink coat.
Personally, I think you’d make a more impressive statement by taking that silver-fox’s or mink’s head, mounting it on a pole, and using it for your Battle Standard.
Yeah, yeah, fur will keep you warm, but so will lots of other synthetic fabrics. The appeal of fur is exactly as stated above: the snob factor.
Went to a swanky charity benefit on Saturday. I thought I was at the freaking zoo, there was so much fur. (On a side note, I wonder if the Friends of the Zoo wear fur for their benefit?)
Personally, I won’t wear fur. Came to this conclusion all on my own, as a 10 year old, when my cousin came in wearing a rabbit coat. I thought it was disgusting. I also think it’s cruel to club little seals and kill lambs for ANYthing.
However, I’ll readily admit my hypocrisy since I eat meat (though no baby animals). I’d give up meat on principal if I wasn’t so weak.
Well, for one thing, a parka hood trimmed with wolverine won’t get ice built up on it. If you think that is trivial, you don’t live north of the arctic circle, where oil workers labor outdoors in -70°. Let see you do that with polypropylene.
Is is (was it) actually fashionable to drag one’s fur coat on the floor to show disdain for the high cost of the coat?
Anyway, the original target of my OP was people who wear fur for fashion, not Inuit people.
Interesting responses, though.
Picasso, indeed. 
Peace,
mangeorge (Likes Zircons just fine)
Sofa King: I happen to have a hairy-looking blue bathrobe, and every time I wear it I think of the Cookie Monster’s skin splayed out to dry at my primeval campsite. It’s a powerful thought.
Sofa King, I like you. I mean, you’re deranged of course, but in an extremely fresh and original way. 
I see I’m not the only one to spend time north of the circle.