The Skin Trade
I have a friend who’s an animal lover — not quite on the level of a PETA paint-thrower, but enough that I get nervous when I see her in the colder months. I mean, would she really believe that my crocodile shoes are made from roadkill? That the beaver that provided my cuddly sheared stole really was a terrible danger to trees everywhere? That my Astrakhan sweater vest did not come from aborted lamb fetuses? (For my own sake, that had better be true. The first time I heard that rumor I almost lost my lunch all over my baby lamb.)
So it’s going to be a long winter playing hide and seek, because how on earth am I going to explain this item on my wish list?
Nancy Gonzalez mink and crocodile bag
Related Posts:
August 29th, 2005 12:32
You might need new friends….
August 29th, 2005 12:39
Liking fur and reconciling its provenance as an animal lover are diametrically opposed, at least for me. I love how fur feels, though I prefer it on the animal. For this reason, I never wanted fur, though I always wore leather despite the fact that I don’t eat meat (I eat seafood and dairy). It was never really a moral issue for me, but I preferred not to think about the way it was/is procured. Until coyotes got my two cats when they were playing outside. While I understand the natural order of things, I was still heartbroken for my cats and the pain they must have suffered. All of a sudden my attitude changed. While I would never actively shop for fur, I was looking through a magazine one day and spotted a sweater with a coyote collar. I felt a strange and vengeful surge when I saw it. I let a day pass to think about it, then I ordered it. I was put on a waiting list, and while I wait, I’m reserving the right to change my mind. I’ve been conflicted about it, but then I think of my cats. I told my boyfriend about the sweater, and I was certain he’d chastise me, but to my surprise, he understood my feelings immediately, and dubbed my purchase a “revenge sweater.”
August 29th, 2005 13:03
for what it’s worth, I hear mink are very nasty animals.
August 29th, 2005 15:27
Lol! From now on, I will only wear predators and other nasty creatures…
August 29th, 2005 18:30
I just re-read that post I wrote, and I realized I never made it clear that I actually loved the sweater (even sans collar). I don’t wish to make myself seem mercenary in the purchase of the sweater. I guess I have a clever way to rationalize the purchase.
By the way, I really like your blog.
e
August 31st, 2005 11:27
my husband says that before you are allowed to become an activist for any specific animal, you should have to live with 5 of that animal in your house for a year.
September 1st, 2005 13:34
cath, I am peeing my pants! That’s a hilarious observation.
October 6th, 2005 14:42
I eat meat. I wear leather; I wear silk. I buy … second-hand furs. Often old enough to have died of old age, by the time they reach me. I do animal rescue, and I contribute to the Humane Society. Everything that lives, dies. Keeping me warm is a Very Important Thing - at least to me, and the handful of people who care about me. To my mind, it’s a balanced trade-off. We feed cattle; cattle feed us. The truth of the matter, mankind being what it is, if we didn’t utilize domestic animals on a regular basis, they would undoubtedly have been hunted to extinction hundreds of years ago, because there would have been no reason for our ancestors to keep them alive. I would be much, much happier if the animals whose skins we use are treated with respect - humanely, with decent living conditions and a fear- and pain-free death.
July 11th, 2006 00:25
[…] Furry Friends Tuesday: green Prada skimmersSo I have this weird relationship with fur. I have a friend who is big-time anti-fur, so when we sat on the same floor at work, I didn’t dare wear fur to the office (or I’d have to sneak in the long way, and not walk by her door). I can’t help it; I do love the look and feel of fur. But I have to say, I’ve bought a few stoles and I don’t really wear them much. Not even the rabbit ones. (But that’s because I used to have pet rabbits and that just makes me feel bad.) […]