Does anyone have any advice for buying fur coats?
I grew up in Arizona where there's no need for fur coats, but I live in Chicago now. It is so cold here. Last year I bought a rabbit fur hat and in changed my life. The fur hat made everything so much warmer. It made -5 degrees feel like 20 and it made 10 degrees feel like 40. I would highly recommend anyone who lives in colder climates to buy one.
Because my fur hat worked so well I've decided I definitely want to buy a fur coat. I care a lot about animal rights. I eat meat, but only about twice a month and in those cases I only eat meat where I know how the animal was raised and how the animal was slaughtered. I have a relative who lives in Berlin, Germany and she has inherited coats that were made in the Weimar area. I figure if I buy one fur coat and use every day during the winter for 40 years, I am affecting the environment in a less negative way than if I keep on buying wool coats (which you have to replace every four years or so), or worse, coats made out of synthetics.
I've tried to buy fur coats in the past, but it seems sales people here are clueless. Once, I told my salesperson I wanted a coat like "Kate Moss" and the sales person didn't know who that was. It is important to me that I find a fur coat that is neither "aging" or "suburban." I'm 24 and I want to find a fur coat that looks age-appropriate and, yet is timeless. Originally, I wanted a fox coat, but the sales people I talked to told me that fox ages poorly because it sheds. Sales people have told me that mink ages the best, but I feel dark brown mink is aging.
Last year, I decided I wanted a lynx coat. I tried several on, but they were too wild for me to wear to the office. I also considered buying a mongolian sheep coat, which I loved, but it was also to "wild" to wear to work. Right now, I plan on buying a knee length grey mink coat, which I feel is the right balance between "classic" and "aging"
I will probably buy a vintage coat, but I have hesitations, because I don't know what to look for in a good vintage fur coat. How do you tell if a fur coat is well made. For a vintage coat, how do you tell if the fur is high quality. Has anyone else had a similar problem? Does anyone have any advice on how determine if a fur coat is in good quality?
