What Do You Know About Furs?

FINE furs have always been, and very likely always will be, comparatively rare, and therefore costly. The world supply of sable, mink, ermine, and the like, is definitely limited, even with the new trend toward ranch growing of furbearing skins. This scarcity, and the fact that even the not so expensive furs are limited, have been enough to put good fur beyond the average reach for most of civilized history. But as the supply has grown scarcer and prices have risen, the technique of manipulation of cheap furs once considered unfit for human use has advanced to the point of being a fine art. To-day almost anyone in this country may own fur coats or scarfs which are attractive to look at and pleasant to touch. Their warmth and their durability will vary greatly, but this is true also of the most expensive skins.

Since to-day, however, there are so many more kinds of furs available to the consumer, and since an inexpensive fur may be made to resemble a costly fur so exactly as to confuse all but a few experts, it is advisable for buyers to know more about all furs in general and about individual ones specifically before they are purchased. As in all fields of merchandise, imitation of appearance does not necessarily carry with it the duplication of other generic qualities. At present, terminology and description of furs in advertising or selling are about as precise and informative as Chinese mythology. Not only may one name — such as Persian lamb — cover a multitude of unindicated grades, but such grades may in certain furs be marked by quite different coined names, understood, undoubtedly, by manufacturers and retailers, but less certainly by consumers. For instance, sealine, beaverette, French seal, erminette, chinchillette, Mendoza beaver, and lapin are all terms for types of coney skins manipulated by various processes. Although the Federal Trade Commission requires advertisers to complete their descriptions by naming the original fur, — French seal must be called ‘seal-dyed coney,’ and so on,— the ruling does not go far toward helping the consumer distinguish between grades of these skins.

That a difference exists is only too true. Coney skins are first graded as bucks and does, the buck being a stronger, thicker pelt than the doe, with a probability of about four years of wear as against one or two from doe skins. Lapin is almost invariably made from doe skins, while the best of sealor beaver-dyed coney is made of buck pelts, though cheaper grades may be made of does. Incidentally a best-grade sealdyed coney-skin coat may be a much better buy from every standpoint than a poorer grade of Hudson seal, although the latter will cost more.

It happens to be true also that manipulation such as is used in imitating one fur with another is not necessarily harmful in these days. Dyeing and processing were once a great gamble, but to-day if these processes are well handled the durability of the fur is not harmed. That ‘if,’ however, is a rather shaky bridge, since no consumer is in a position to tell how the processing of skin or fur has been done. For such hidden qualities as properly dressed skins, a minimum of mended seams, good dyeing, and careful handling, any lay buyer must depend upon a retail guarantee obtained either from the manufacturer or through an impartial testing laboratory. To do without such a guarantee is an almost inexcusable carelessness, however inexpensive the coat or garment.

Nobody can hope to know everything about furs, but there are some general facts and a few specific ones which may be of practical help to the consumer buying them.

First, for instance, there is the fact that a fur coat per se has no unique warmth qualities, as is generally supposed; many fabrics have an equal resistance to air flow. Furthermore, furs themselves vary considerably in their warmth, because most of that desirable quality comes from the dense, thick under-hair next the skin. Where this is present in great quantity, the fur is warm; where it is skimpy or almost absent — as in the case of many flat skins such as caracul, galyak, kid, pony, and so on — the warmth does not exist to anything like the same degree. The long outer hairs called guard hairs, very conspicuous on some types of skins such as fox, raccoon, and the like, are what their name implies — a protection for the tender under-hair which constitutes the animal’s real ‘red flannels.’

Furs with long guard hairs usually wear better than the furs with only a soft dense under-hair, and they resist the damage usually done fur by water. Beaver is an exception to this; yet, though not harmed permanently by moisture, beaver does mat badly when wet and must be restored by glazing or electrifying. Incidentally, there are several processes in use to-day for making fur moisture-repellent, and the results are encouraging. Fur coats properly so processed come out smiling from heavy showers. If all fur coats, however, are carefully handled after being wet, kept from heat and allowed to dry naturally, very much less damage will be done than if they are simply thrown over a chair before an open fire.

One point about furs in general which is insisted upon by all experts is that consumers should invariably buy the best of any particular type of fur, whatever the price. In other words, if you have a limited amount of money to spend, put it into a coat, garment, or scarf which will represent the best skins and workmanship to be had in that field, rather than into a second or third grade of a more expensive fur. Grades are never mentioned by retailers, but furs tend to have a more completely stable intrinsic value than any other product. The first qualities stay in their price brackets almost invariably; ‘bargains’ are generally seconds or thirds, with their accompanying defects and weaknesses.

There are some specific points about certain furs which are also interesting. Take Persian lamb, for instance, and all the other lamb types — krimmer, caracul, and others with various names. These lamb furs are perennially popular, and yet not a great deal is known about them. It is taken for granted that Persian lamb will wear superbly. So it does if the skins have been properly treated and handled all the way along; but occasionally a woman finds that her Persian-lamb coat peels soon after she begins to wear it. This is due to a curious cause. Persian lambs have a double skin with a membrane between, and, since the baby lambs are killed when only a few days old, these skins are tender. If, then, they are not handled with great care, that membrane may become damaged; and once it begins to dry out and harden, the outer layer of skin will crack and peel away.

Persian lamb in its natural state may be black, gray, brown, or mottled. So may krimmer, which is often mistaken for Persian and miscalled Persian. To tell them apart is fairly easy. They are both, as a matter of fact, made from lamb skins of different type, and the skins are distinguished by tightness of curl. Persian lamb has a very tight curl, a beautifully high lustre, and a supple, pliant skin; krimmer has a flatter curl, with dull finish and a tougher skin; caracul is the same lamb type, but with a still flatter, more open curl. Obviously Persian, with its tight, close curl, will wear best. Incidentally most of the caracul to-day comes from China. What effect the present Chinese difficulties may have upon the caracul market is a cause of wonder to many fur people.

It may interest consumers to know that Persian lamb is not Persian at all, since it comes from Russia, Afghanistan, and Africa. But once long ago it was sent through Persia for sale. And another interesting point about the lambskin class of furs is the fact that galyak was for years considered unfit to sell. It is the fur from unborn lambs, and is excessively fragile. However, as a trimming it is now in high favor; and so long as no hard wear is put upon it, it should retain its texture satisfactorily.

Sealskin has been steadily coming back into its own for some years, and is imitated by many other types of furs. Nothing, however, can duplicate the wearing qualities of the first-grade sealskin. It also holds its dye well, and has great warmth. Nevertheless, it should be remembered that seal has three grades — even though this is seldom mentioned. The best is never cheap, and cannot be. Northern muskrats are skillfully dyed and processed to create what is called Hudson seal — which is not, as one naïve lady suggested to me, seal caught in the Hudson River and therefore cheaper than Alaska seal because it comes from nearer home! Hudson seal in itself has excellent wearing qualities, good color and texture, and medium warmth. And of course it costs far less than Alaska seal.

Mink is always a feminine favorite and it deserves its place, for it not only has in its best quality great beauty and warmth, but remarkable durability as well — ten or twelve years not being excessive for its life. But American mink should not be confused with Japanese mink; the latter is naturally a yellowish color and must be dyed for wearing. It is made to have an attractive appearance, but rates a durability expectancy of only about four years. There are first and second qualities of Japanese mink, too, with about $100 difference in the retail price and more than that in wear. Japanese mink ‘bargains’ are apt to be second-quality skins.

There is always some debate as to whether a natural American mink coat is best or a blended mink coat. I find that technicians agree that blending does no harm and may actually enhance both beauty and wearability. Blending is merely the delicate touching up with dye of mink skins to make all conform to a desirable dark tint. If you prefer unretouched skins, a simple test to determine if they have been colored is to wet a cloth in water to which a small amount of ammonia has been added and rub it over the fur. If color comes off, you will understand the furs have been blended. The amount of color reaction will be small — not enough to alter the fur. Shops, however, will probably not welcome such tests, although reputable stores will supply a guarantee at the customer’s request.

Finally a few points to watch in buying a fur coat of any type may be useful. Find out exactly what the name of the original fur is — do this when buying any fur, as trimming, scarf, and so forth. Check it for durability on the list at the end of this article. Feel the coat to discover if the pelts appear to be of equal thickness and nap, and be especially sure to see that the fur on edges of cuffs, fronts, elbows, at collar next to neck, and on pockets is heavy and close. Find out whether the facings of fronts are skins folded over — as they should be for long wear — or extra pieces seamed at the turn.

When buying silver fox, ask if it has been pointed. If pointed, it means that extra guard hairs, usually badger, have been glued to the skins to imitate more expensive furs. On a silver-fox collar, for instance, it is sometimes done to increase the ‘silver,’ but you can tell this for yourself, because badger hairs are silver-gray all the way from root to tip, while true silver fox is black at the root, then silver, and finally black again at the tip.

Last of all, in buying a fur coat make sure the fit is loose and roomy enough at shoulders and arms. Tender skins, defects, or poor workmanship will show there first under undue stress.

Appended is a list of the more familiar furs, with their cost ranges and approximate durability as determined by several fur experts. The length of life indicated is merely probable, and in no sense to be understood as definite.

APPROXIMATE FUR DURABILITY

5-10 Years

LOW-COST FURS

Muskrat

MEDIUM-COST FURS

Alaska sealskin

Beaver

Seal-dyed muskrat (Hudson seal)

Persian lamb

HIGH-COST FURS

Fisher

Mink

3-5 Years

Australian opossum

Civet cat

Wombat

Persian-type lamb

Baum marten

Japanese mink

Kolinsky (China mink)

Skunk

Nutria

Raccoon

Sable

1-3 Years

Galyak

American opossum

Barunduki (chipmunk)

Coney or rabbit

Kidskin

Marmot

Pony

Gray fox

Sheared and dyed Lincoln lamb (American broadtail)

Caracul

Leopard

Mole

Squirrel

Badger

Red fox

Wolf

Krimmer

Chinchilla

Ermine

Russian broadtail

Lynx

White fox

Silver fox

Blue fox

Cross fox