by Rosanna Carlucci
As she slams the office door behind her the glass on the door vibrates like the tail on a rattlesnake. She saunters towards her tall, dark and handsome and sits in the chair in front of him, legs crossed and brow furrowed. Her lips part and she purrs, “ Detective, I need your help. My old man suspects me of cheating and he said he is going to kill me!” The detective tries to focus on the urgency of her complaint but finds himself distracted by her red lips and the waves of dark hair that frame her face like the work of art that it is. His eyes examine every inch of her body like a crime scene. Her fur trim cardigan frames her porcelain neck and chest and cause him to lose his own breath. He shakes it off and finally speaks, “Well, what are the facts, what can I do for you?” She rises from her chair and sidles up next him, “Well, I need you to protect me, to watch over me all the time. My husband’s crazy detective and he will stop at nothing.” The detective tries to catch his own breath and firmly replies, “I will do everything that I can to protect you and your safety is my number one concern. You might have to stay with me for the time being.” She comes in closer, “Thank you detective, I promise I won’t be any trouble”. He pulls her in and they kiss, “Well I am afraid it is too late for that…”

The relationship between fashion and fur is unfortunately love-hate. The look of fur is undeniably sexy and oozes vintage glamour, however subjecting poor animals to the cruelty of fur traps and fur hunting is totally unacceptable. But fear not, today there are many beautiful and far more affordable faux fur options available to the animal friendly vintage vixen.

During the 1950’s fur coats, jackets and fur-trimmed cardigans were greatly popular in a ladies wardrobe. Back then; fur was considered a status symbol and going out on the town in a full-length fur coat was a luxury that not many could afford. As a result imitation or faux fur also became very popular due to its affordable nature. More specifically, sweaters and cardigans trimmed in mink or fox were very popular among movie stars and those looking to add the glamour of fur during the day.

Today, many designers continue to incorporate fur, both real and fake, into their collections. For fall 2008 Canadian luxury retailer Holt Renfrew has added many faux fur scarves to its variety of winter accessories. Most scarves can easily be pinned onto your favourite cardigan for all the glamour and half the price.