Can you wear vintage fur and still be anti-fur?

We all find ourselves facing the ultimate moral dilemma … can we wear our great gran Lottie’s mink from 1951 but still be anti-fur?

The fur industry first skyrocketed in the 1920’s and today’s trends seem to be mimicking the same craze. Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren have all been on PETA’s hate list for including fur in their collections. The burning question is ‘does fashion dictate what we wear or do we dictate fashion?’

Being an animal lover, the images of fur factories have broken my heart and even though I refuse to buy into the industry, I still eat meat. Does this make me a hypocrite?

Vegans all over the world fill my timeline with messages of disgust at my love of a good fillet mignon. One rank lower than that, anti-fur activist’s fashion shame ‘vintage-fur’ wearers for wearing their inherited coats, yet these ‘I’d rather go naked activists’ still eat meat or wear leather. Just because its fur, does it make it any more inhumane than the slaughtering of a calf for veal?

I cannot answer that question because even though I know the answer (which is yes, btw) I’m still not prepared to implement it and to pretend I will, only makes me as much of a hypocrite as the ‘social media vegans’ who enjoy chicken behind closed doors. Will I still eat meat? Yes.  But will I wear fur, even if it’s vintage? No.

Chastise me for my inability to give up meat but on the topic of fur (even if it’s vintage) I cannot be a part of the perpetuation of a trend, ultimately leading to the perpetuation of the growth of a cruel and senseless market.

So while I still enjoy my fillet medium rare, my conscience draws the line at the killing of a mink or a fox for a coat I can buy in faux-fur (and have no one be able to tell the difference between the two).