Fur Real?

So, when did fur become ok?

I don't know if it was the same when you were at school, but admitting that you were considering wearing fur was tantamount to social death, applicable immediately. It just wasn't the done thing. And we were all horrified by the death of little animals for the sake of clothes. We shopped in Body Shop and appreciated Peta campaigns and felt political. Under no circumstance did we consider fur. No one did except the matrons of Park Avenue and people in Italian Vogue, and we scorned them.

When I was a student I happened upon a delicious white fur hat in a vintage shop. It was terribly Audrey Hepburn and terribly tiny. To the chagrin of a couple of other shoppers it fit my bijoux little head perfectly. And it was awfully soft and lovely. And it was vintage and I wasn't having an affect on the current fur trade. It didn't really count, did it?

But now fur is becoming infinitely more popular and people aren't flinching about it is the same way. It doesn't have the same stigma. The popularity of fake fur takes the attention off whether or not we are cool with the real stuff. And while it is both warm and glamourous and part of me wants to get involved I'm just not sure I am quite ready to throw away all my schoolgirl idealism and jump atop the furry bandwagon.