Once in hiding, furs now are flying out of the closet

Take fur, for example. Animal rights activists pushed it into the closet toward the end of the 20th century. Celebrities and the fashion world shunned it.

People didn't stop wearing fur, but in metropolitan areas, it was worn carefully to places where protesters weren't likely to be lurking.

The fur closet door was always slightly ajar. Now it's wide open again.


	Zuki International's red-dyed and sheared beaver "Hearts" coat is definitely an attention-getter.

In New York, even children are seen in mink. In Alaska, fur trappers report increased demand for their wares. Here in the Pacific Northwest an economic slump, high unemployment and a couple of winters so warm roses are blooming in December, aren't keeping people away from furs. They're buying fur, real fur, in almost every imaginable form.

Animal rights protests haven't stopped, but it appears people are choosing to defy them.

The year 2000 was the fur industry's best ever, with sales of $1.69 billion. Though sales slipped last year to $1.53 billion, they exceeded what at the time were unprecedented figures in 1998 and 1999, Fur Information Council executive director Keith Kaplan told The New York Times.

At Eilers Furs in Seattle, owner Danny Stavnshoj has seen a rise in demand for detachable fur collars, trimmed jeans jackets, vests, blankets and pillows -- more accessories than full-length coats. Customers for these items tend to be women under 40. Customers over 40 usually want full-length minks -- coats that range from $3,600 to $30,000.

Bellevue-based furrier Michael Foerester can't keep sheared mink vests in stock. "For our area, they're simple, easy," he said. They can be paired with jeans and just about everything else. They also come in interesting colors.

Walk into a fur salon today and colors are hard to ignore. These aren't the black, brown and other neutral pelts of your mother or grandmother's era. You might see a selection of so-called "knit" fur jackets in celadon, rust or blue -- lightweight furs that can be worn almost year-round here in the Pacific Northwest.

These "knits" have been around for about 20 years, but the inventor's patent recently expired and they're now more available and less expensive, Foerester explained. That means price tags in the $1,250-$1,495 category.

Furs that don't really look like furs started appearing in the 1980s with the breakout of the animal rights movement, Foerester said. "People wanted fur that didn't look like fur. Today, it doesn't matter."


Much sought-after lynx is combined with white fox trim in a jacket by designer Zandra Rhodes.

He claims all it takes to bring out the buyers (and furs out of closets) are major designers showing furs on their runways and magazines featuring furs on their pages. The November edition of Harper's Bazaar, for example, featured fur handbags, fur-trimmed boots, shearling coats, fur-lined raincoats and fur vests. The December issue of Vogue declared a fur vest "Present Perfect."

You have to read the fine print to see if a magazine is featuring real or faux fur. And when faced with fur, it takes a sure touch and a good eye to determine if a fur garment started life on four legs or in a chemistry lab.

A red jacket that appears to be a corduroy patchwork, is mink. That denim jacket is actually shearling (a close-cropped sheepskin with the underside dyed blue, the fur side exposed in collar and cuffs.) An argyle pattern in cream has been stenciled on a sheared brown mink. A long, opulent scarf of a non-shedding rabbit is royal blue on one side, black on the other. A Persian lamb jacket reverses to its suede underside.

Spot fur trim on a vintage garment, however, and it's almost always the real thing.

Jen Strongin, of Seattle, said she wouldn't buy a new fur. But she is guilt-free about wearing her late grandmother's wool coat with mink collar and cuffs, a style from the late 1950s. "It was my grandmother's from a time when there weren't animal issues," she said.

She gives her coat a 21st-century twist with a knit hat and a velvet scarf.

With natural furs being sheared, colored and knit, and faux furs looking more and more authentic, it's not easy to discern who's wearing what. Anti-fur protesters have intimidated some, though Strongin said she's never been hassled.

Shasha Richardson, spokeswoman for Nordstrom, said the downtown Seattle store had anti-fur picketers the weekend following Thanksgiving. Only fur-trimmed items are available in the store and the majority of those are faux fur.

A Bellevue resident with more than one fur in her closet and a very busy social life said that furs are usually worn to parties in private homes and clubs. She recently wore a fur jacket to a hotel restaurant in Bellevue, but when she saw picketers at the site, she stayed in the car, drove home and returned in a cloth coat. She said she does have a sense of guilt about this, but noted that people in the picket line appeared to be wearing leather.

At the Four Seasons Olympic Hotel, a longtime banquet manager and observer of the social scene says she sees an occasional fur wrap, but nothing like the furs worn in the 1980s. And the staff at Benaroya Hall report furs are often seen, but they have no way of knowing if they're faux or real.

Foerester recently presented a trunk show in Wenatchee. "People were lined up to buy. It was like everybody wanted furs," he said. The first two customers bought full-length mink coats.

Long mink coats also are being sought by consignment store shoppers. At Ragamoffyn's in Kirkland, owner Gisela Manning said demand for furs has been growing for the past couple of years. And her customers want full-length mink coats. Depending on style, quality and condition of fur, they sell from $700-$2,000. New coats without a famous designer label would be in the $3,000-$5,500 category.


	David Rodriguez's purple-dyed fox trim for Saga reflects the importance of color in today's fur fashions.

Alana Fornoni who owns "Alana: Antique & Estate Jewelry" in Westlake and Northgate Malls, also sells pre-owned furs. She estimates half her sales are to tourists from Japan, Russia and Korea. Furs are being bought by people under 40, people who have always wanted, but couldn't afford a fur coat, Fononi said. And they prefer full-length minks.

New or used, Fornoni calls furs a good investment. "A mink coat can live for 50 great years if it's cared for," she said. With good wool coats carrying price tags of $200 and up, fur prices and longevity have appeal. Furs also can be remodeled and updated more easily than a tailored wool coat.

No matter how it's worn, fur can create a stir.

The Fund for Animals, a national animal protection group, is among groups engaged in the battle for public opinion.

"It is simply unnecessary to buy clothes made from real fur that was ripped or peeled off the backs of animals," a recent Fund press release said. The group also calls leg-hold traps "the land mines of the natural world."

Most furs, however, are farm raised. Foerester said less than 5 percent of furs used for apparel are wild.

The Fur Education Center lists 10 reasons why it makes sense to wear fur. At the top of the list: "Fur is a natural, renewable resource. The fur trade is carefully regulated by government wildlife departments and no endangered species are used."

Pierre Grzybowski, spokesman for the New York-based Fund for Animals, said he couldn't comment on increasing fur sales because he hadn't seen any current sales figures. "These products are still cruel, still unnecessary. I think it's a shame people are willing to make animals suffer for vanity products," Grzybowski said.

Furs may keep a low profile, or be used in different ways, but there's no denying the current demand or popularity.

At the conclusion of his book. "Living It Up: Our Love Affair With Luxury," James B. Twitchell writes: "The consumers of new luxury have a sense of entitlement that transcends social class, a conviction that the finer things are their birthright."

P-I reporter Susan Phinney can be reached at 206-448-8397 or susanphinney@seattlepi.com.

Add P-I Lifestyle headlines to