VintageGriffin.com

Martha Stewart used to wear fur. Then, somehow, the diva of domesticity crossed paths with PETA and they had a civil exchange. She was gracious enough to watch footage and read about the fur industry, and swore off pelts forever more. She took it a step further, and narrated a short video about fur practices.

I don't like to look at these things in general, but this one's worth watching. I ask you to please, please watch it, or at least just listen to the narration. It has bearing on vintage.

For casual looky-loos, vintage might seem like an inoffensive la-la land in which no controversy could ever exist -- because we're dealing with old clothes, right? Who's going to make a fuss over someone's old dress?


Well, if you've been around vintage long enough, you know that there are perennial issues that arise. A big one is fur.

(Note: I realize that a lot of folks have issues with Martha and/or PETA. In this case, I think it's advisable not to shoot either messenger. I just came across this footage randomly, and thought it was especially well-done and informative. I ask you to please watch it, despite whatever legitimate feelings you may have towards Martha or PETA.)




Martha Stewart used to wear fur. Then, somehow, the diva of domesticity crossed paths with PETA and they had a civil exchange. She was gracious enough to watch footage and read about the fur industry, and swore off pelts forever more. She took it a step further, and narrated a short video about fur practices.

I don't like to look at these things in general, but this one's worth watching. I ask you to please, please watch it, or at least just listen to the narration. It has bearing on vintage.

For casual looky-loos, vintage might seem like an inoffensive la-la land in which no controversy could ever exist -- because we're dealing with old clothes, right? Who's going to make a fuss over someone's old dress?

Well, if you've been around vintage long enough, you know that there are perennial issues that arise. A big one is fur.

(Note: I realize that a lot of folks have issues with Martha and/or PETA. In this case, I think it's advisable not to shoot either messenger. I just came across this footage randomly, and thought it was especially well-done and informative. I ask you to please watch it, despite whatever legitimate feelings you may have towards Martha or PETA.)



Ebay (just like everyone else) has to obey federal regulations re the buying and selling of endangered and threatened species. Also, even if some species aren't legally threatened or endangered doesn't mean that there isn't a legal and moral gray area in buying and selling vintage made with animal parts. You'll also find that a lot of sellers won't discuss this openly, for fear of turning off customers. I understand. It's a topic that can get pretty heated pretty quickly.

For my part, I don't like selling fur items. When I do purchase or sell them, I do it with either a curatorial or costume bent (i.e., they're antique pieces, for display or research). I draw the line at anything (in my opinion) that would serve to glamorize fur (even old fur, because that would encourage the use of new fur) as a fashion accessory or trim. So, I have a few antique muffs and stoles in the vintage wardrobe, and when I'm aiming for historical accuracy I will use them in that fashion, in that limited venue. But I won't trot out on the town with a fur muff, if I'm going to dinner with friends. That would be glamorizing fur.



I'll shine the spotlight on myself. I have a 1920s dress on this site that has fur trim along the hem. I love the dress but I don't like the trim. I bought it with a bunch of other things. I regret it. My first thought had been that no one wanting to wear modern would gravitate to it, and it would wind up being worn to some 1920s event, which seemed appropriate. Now I'm not so sure, and I wish I could go back in time and just not buy it.

When I read eBay listings or read descriptions of fur items on vintage sellers' Web sites that describe fur in terms like "luscious, luxe, sumptuous, sexy" it makes me pretty uncomfortable. It is at that point that fur is no longer an unfortunate artifact of times past, but being promoted as something desirous in and of itself, in the present.

Regarding the selling of fur, long-time visitors to this site will notice that I really don't sell fur items past a certain decade. I tend to draw the line at the 1940s/1950s, because I see a lot of people who incorporate vintage into their everyday wardrobes using fur from more recent time periods (like those '50s granny coats with the fur collars), and I don't want to promote that. Animals traditionally used for fur are done no favors when people see their skins in a fashionable, modern light.

In a lot of eBay auctions, you will see fur items incorrectly listed as being from a "legal" animal vs. a protected one. For example, leopards (a now-protected/illegal species) were killed by the thousands in the '60s because Jacqueline Kennedy helped make their spotted skins a popular fur item (pillbox hats, coats, etc.). There are a lot of leopard coats listed on eBay as being from "Geoffrey's cat" (a non-protected species) in order to sneak them into the listings.



Most people have become enlightened about fur, and choose not to buy it when they're purchasing new clothes. But the fur industry and the fashion industry (e.g., Vogue's Anna Wintour, John Galliano) contantly push fur on the catwalk. It certainly doesn't look glamorous to me. In fact, it looks even more cruel and selfish, given our alternatives, and the increased awareness regarding the capacity of animals to suffer.

There's no getting around that the lives of these animals, whether trapped in leghold traps and snares (many times in agony for days or weeks until the trapper comes to check the trap) or raised on "farms" (in which they endure overcrowded conditions and are killed in horrible, inhumane ways, like anal electrocution) are brutal and the pain they endure is immense. I certainly don't want to promote fur, old or new, as a fashion item. The message I would like to send is that fur, as a fashion element, is a thing of the past.

"So much violence in the world seems beyond our control. But this is one cruelty we can stop by being informed consumers."

Martha Stewart

I wish Martha would talk to J-Lo, Susan Lucci, and Joan Rivers.


P.S. There's a bit of advertising irony going on here. GoogleAds pick up on key/common words used on a page. I'm talking about fur, so the word "fur" is a key word to Google, which is translating into some link ads for fur stores. I'm not happy about that, but there's not much I can do about it. On the upside, I did see a text link ad on this page for faux fur. Now that's cool.


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