The Budget Fashionista

The problem I have with the fur debate is that both sides present it as too simplistic of a choice. Like most things in life, it’s not a simple black or white issue.

The Fur Coat Debate: It’s a Gray… Very Gray… Area

My friend Miss Meghan and I always have this discussion about growing up in the ridiculously cold upper Midwest and seeing women at the grocery stores in their long fur coats. In any other part of the country, this display of wealth would seem ostentatious, but in the pre-thinsulate, absurdly cold upper Midwest, the wearing of fur coast wasn’t only about fashion, but also about warmth. Did they need their fur coats? Well that’s debatable- it did serve a function, but a wool coat ( a really thick wool coat) would have done just fine.

In many communities, such as the African-American communities that I belong to, having a fur coat is a symbol of success and/or a reward for a lifetime of hard work and sacrifice. Now, are there better ways to reward yourself? Sure, in fact I could name about 10. However, who I am to tell my 70 year old aunts, who endured 40 years of sh*t working for people who didn’t appreciate them that they can’t buy the one thing they always wanted.  I can only imagine what would happen if a protester threw red paint on them as they walked up the steps to church.

So I ask you, is fur an absolute nay or yea? Is there a gray area? What about those of us who inherited fur coats? What happens when the personal (fashion) collides with the political (anti-fur)?

Note: I’m not passing judgment on anyone who owns a fur and I actually support those who are against it for ethical/political reasons. However, I inherited a fabulous fur (it’s seriously fab) , which I will not sell or destroy for personal reasons. At the same time, I wouldn’t go out and purchase a fur myself. I think a lot of people fall into the gray area with me.

P.S. Please be respectful to each other in this debate. I don’t like deleting comments, but I will. 

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