Dog Fur Coats
During our exploration and reorganization of the textiles in our collection we came across several dog fur coats. During the early 20th century it was not uncommon for the less wealthy who desired a fur coat to wear coats made of dog fur. We have several in our collection in various sizes from child to man. Pictured below are two ladies coats.
Although fur was worn as clothing in early history, as early as the 11th century, fur was worn as a symbol of wealth and social status rather than just out of the need for warmth. European royalty regularly wore fur coats, fur capes, and fur accessories made from mink, sable, and chinchilla fur. By the 1300s, laws were introduced that regulated which social classes were allowed to wear which types of furs.
The wearing of fur became more widespread during the Victorian era. The fur coats that were worn by Victorian men typically were lined with fur on the inside and crafted of other materials on the outside. Women’s fur coats were generally lined with fur at the collar, wrists, and hem.
That's the first I've ever heard of people wearing dog fur. From the picture it almost looks like lamb. Really interesting article!
ReplyDeleteI am going to have to reinvestigate the fur coats in our collection!
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