Fur. Grandma’s Vintage Fur: Is It Valuable? Is It Ethical? How Do I Sell It? Now for a much more seasonal post: vintage fur.
UPDATE! After oodles of queries I have created a new post, Selling Grandma’s Vintage Fur. This includes a vintage fur price range list for the winter of 2012/2013. You may find answers to fur price questions. Another image courtesy of Digitalpix! I am dealing with a spate of questions from people about vintage furs. I know that fur is not a neutral topic! I’ve put together some vintage fur basics, compiled from what I have seen online, what I have seen selling and not selling at vintage clothing stores around the world, and the furs I’ve had through my hands lately.
Lots of information behind the cut about what makes a vintage fur valuable, how to keep your fur, ways to recycle it, and how to sell it. What makes a vintage fur valuable? Fur types that are more valuable overall: mink, sable, fox, chinchilla; furs that are very light in color (white, champagne) or very dark (dark brown, black). Selling Grandma’s Vintage Fur. Dear Internet, you are asking me a LOT about how to sell a vintage fur coat.
Because I love you and want to help you out, here is a follow up to my piece on Grandma’s Vintage Fur. This is for everyone who wants to sell their vintage fur coat, stole, or other item. I’m also posting public answers to some of the more interesting questions that have come my way. The Step By Step Guide to Selling Your Vintage Fur Identify your fur. Left to right: Edie Bouvier, Mr. How Much Are Vintage Furs Worth? This Worthpoint price list seems to be on the money. Buying Vintage Furs: A Guideline on How Not to Get Skinned. Buying vintage fur is tricky.
There are so many varieties and not all of them hold up well over time. Most people just look at a fur, or stroke it and say, “soft!” And think that’s all there is to knowing if it’s worthy of your dollars and collecting space. More often than not, you should not buy the ones you find in many thrift/vintage clothing stores, unless it’s a high-end shop where you can be assured that the owner has knowledge of what she is selling and is willing to explain and disclose all to a potential customer.
First of all (here comes a vent), I must address the fact that NOT ALL BROWN FUR IS MINK! Mink is beautiful in all its colors and types, but Sable is almost indescribable in its opulence, luxury and, dare I say, decadence. Quite often, what a fur actually is, rather than mink, is “mink-dyed muskrat”. Just a quick aside on fox: Silver fox is NOT silver! With fur being a bit unpopular these days (although not with me!)
Vintage Fashion Guild : Fur Resource. Persian Lamb: Telling the Genuine from the Faux. Persian Lamb is a beautiful fur.
It’s warm, rather sturdy and can be sporty or dressy. It comes in different curl patterns, depending on the age of the lamb from which it was taken. So why can’t you find it anymore? The answer is, you can, if you are willing to pay couture prices to buy the designer goods which incorporate the different types of Persian Lamb. There have been stories of Persian Lamb being a cruel fur because it required the killing of a pregnant ewe in order to get her unborn lamb.
Persian Lamb is a beautiful fur. Persian lamb was very popular from the early 20th century until about the 1970’s, with the popularity waning a bit after that. There are many vintage coats around, usually dating from the middle of the last century. The term “Persian Lamb” can refer to many different types of lamb fur, sometimes called Astrakhan, Karakul or Broadtail. Faux Persian Lamb is easy to spot, if you know what you’re looking for. FUR COAT QUALITY AND PRICE GUIDE. A friend email-ed this article to me.
It is about looking for and buying a mink coat. This is a perfect article for those who are trying to decide which fur coat on eBay they should buy. It is a great article as it contains information about market prices and what to look for when buying. The same information can be applied to other types of fur coats and fur products. I don’t know who wrote the article, but suspect it came from the American or Canadian fur association. I have other information about buying and selecting a fur coat in my store. Think Mink. For years, women were trained to buy a standard mink coat at a standard price. For some of us, the image of Marilyn in mink or Bette Davis or Joan Crawford sparked a love affair with those precious pelts and inspired us to forever hold them on a pedestal.
Women soon learned that those $1,995 minks weren't quite the deal they were promised, as quality of both pelts and craftsmanship were suspect. Where was the garment manufactured?