From time immemorial, garments have been made from animal skins. They helped keep me warm. Shepherds in the mountains to this day use sheepskin coats to protect themselves from both cold and unbearable heat. Clothing made of natural fur does not get wet and dries quickly. Therefore, it is able to protect not only from temperature changes, but also from moisture.
What is fur?
If earlier any skin of an animal, removed together with wool and dressed in a special way, was called fur, now only the skins of hares, martens, cats, foxes, beavers, deer, servals and astrakhan sheep are called fur.
Types of natural fur
All natural fur can be divided into four types.
The first type of fur is long-haired animals. The fur is luxurious, perfectly retains heat, very beautiful. This is:
- Arctic fox (blue and white);
- fox (warm, fiery red);
- wolf (not very beautiful, looks like a dog, but one of the most wearable and warm; its thermal protection is twice as high as all furs of this type; suitable for wearing in the Far North);
- lynx (rare, expensive);
- badger (not very valuable,rough, but durable and warm);
- raccoon fur (often tinted, valuable, wear-resistant, lightweight, never goes out of style).
The second type is the fur of short-haired animals. Not the most practical and wearable, but quite expensive and elegant. Here you can distinguish such varieties of natural fur as:
- ermine (suitable for making royal robes; not suitable for everyday wear, fragile and impractical);
- mink (the most common fur, as it is comfortable, durable);
- chinchilla (very expensive, thick, light, but fragile);
- squirrel (soft but not socky);
- sable (expensive, warm, practical,);
- ferret (lightweight, resistant to damage, but the sharp unpleasant smell does not disappear even after careful dressing).
The third kind is pet fur. Their skins are not particularly valuable. To give them the necessary useful qualities, such as wear resistance, practicality and aesthetics, special dressing is required. Although, for example, it does not help rabbit fur either. Karakul and muton are more valuable because they are resistant to wiping, comfortable, and with special processing and moisture resistance.
The fourth type is the fur of aquatic animals. It is wearable, has excellent water-repellent properties, and protects against moisture.
- seal fur - smooth, silky, does not get wet, perfectly cleaned;
- Desman products are hats, short coats, things for children; aesthetic wearable fur that perfectly retains heat;
- at leastbeaver, muskrat and nutria fur are considered valuable and durable.
Fox fur varieties
Not so long ago, the fox was bred in captivity. This helped to preserve the population of wild species of these animals and fill the market with the necessary amount of raw materials for making clothes. Fox fur is very popular because of its valuable qualities. It is beautiful, warm and practical. And the skins of foxes grown in nurseries compare favorably with wild ones. They are more fluffy, well-groomed.
The following varieties of foxes are found in the wild:
- Red common. She has a red color, white or black belly.
- Black-brown fox (silver-black).
- Firefire. Bright orange-red fur with iridescence.
Miracles of selection
During the selection process, many shades of fox fur have appeared. The tan color of the skin now has all shades, from yellow to juicy auburn. The silver fox has an ebb from barely noticeable to real gray hair.
In this regard, today there are such types of fox fur:
- Russian - characterized by not very long soft hair, medium skin size. It bears a strong resemblance to the wild fox.
- American - characterized by a longer and stiffer awn, large skin size.
- Norwegian - favorably with long pile, thick undercoat, large skin.
- Finnish - the appearance resembles exotic feathers - the outer hair is so long. Thick pile, large skin.
If we talk about shades of fox fur, then here you can achieve a real exclusivity by changing the color. Perfectly surviving dyeing fur has become a real find for couturiers around the world.
Mink Fur
This is the most popular and expensive type of fur. It has long become everyday, thanks to its versatility, strength and beauty. In the world in the production of mink skins, the leading positions are occupied by North American and Scandinavian countries. This animal was brought to Russia in the nineteenth century from North America.
Mink is bred in many countries of the world, but the selection work is based on one North American breed. Depending on the climate, the diet of the animal and the place of breeding, the type of fur (any) changes significantly, acquiring new properties. Mink fur also becomes different. Species:
- Russian type of mink. This animal was bred in Russia, with high outer hair and thick undercoat. The most shaggy of all minks, not afraid of damp, well protected in the cold.
- Scandinavian - occupies the lion's share of the world market. The fur of these animals has a medium even awn and thick underfur.
- Finnish. Mink with this type of fur was bred in Northern Europe, is a kind of Scandinavian.
- North American. The animals are raised on American and Canadian farms. Their fur is called "velvet", as the hair and undercoat of this species are the same length.
The result of careful selection work was the breeding of more than a hundred colors of the natural color of the mink, whichcan be divided into several groups: beige, white, blue, gold, glow (luminous), darkening and brightening the main color, standard dark brown, standard black, scanble, black, marble, jaguar.
If you want to imitate expensive dark fur, get a golden hue, leopard pattern or highlight the ridges, the skins are dyed. Such mink loses some of its wear-resistant qualities due to chemicals in the paints.
Plucked mink is very soft to the touch. Pinching - removal of guard hairs. Only soft undercoat remains, which gives softness to the pile of the skin.
Sheared mink - fur with a shortened outer hair. Often, a haircut is combined with other types of processing, for example, pinching. Using a laser, a textured pattern is applied to the fur.
What fur are fur coats made of?
Designers in their collections demonstrate a huge variety of skins from which fur coats are sewn. Each type of fur has its own distinctive features. But more attention is paid to its dressing, which affects wear resistance. Dyed fur wears out faster than real fur.
If we talk about heat-insulating properties, then plucked and sheared, as well as summer fur, warm worse. The coldest unprocessed fur is considered to be marmot and ermine fur, which retain heat well - sable, fox, arctic fox, seal, chinchilla, nutria, mink.
The most common types of fur for fur coats:
- mink;
- mouton;
- fox;
- Arctic fox;
- bunny;
- nutria;
- sable;
- chinchilla.
The beauty, weight, practicality and warmth of a fur coat directly depends on what animal the clothes are made of and how the raw materials were processed.
What types of fur coats are there?
The design of outerwear is full of variety. Various types of fur coats made of natural fur can be found in any specialized store. Owners of a graceful figure and high growth are lucky. Such beauties can afford any style. But curvy ladies of short stature are not recommended to choose long and voluminous models.
Butterfly coat. This is a flared mid-length piece with wide sleeves. May have a hood or collar. Well hides figure flaws, but impractical in extreme cold and windy days.
Fur coat-year. Fitted, widens downwards. Equipped with a hood that can be worn instead of a hat. The most feminine version of a timeless classic.
Autolady. A shortened version, having a length to the waist or hips. Deserved popularity among motorists because of its practicality.
Classic model. Usually the length of such a fur coat is up to the knee or slightly lower. The silhouette is straight, flared or trapezoidal. A hood or collar is available in any shape.
Manto. The length of the fur coat does not exceed one hundred and ten centimeters. Trapezoidal or flared silhouette. Sleeves and collars can be of any shape.
Cleopatra. Loose cut in the form of a trapezoid. A distinctive feature of the model is the original inserts on the sleeves and hem.
The right type of coat will help emphasizedignity and hide figure flaws.
What fur are sheepskin coats made of?
The ancestor of the sheepskin coat was a Russian sheepskin coat, which warmed in severe frosts and protected from blizzards. The current sheepskin coats have a more aesthetic appearance, but are not inferior in practicality.
Sheepskin coats are made from merino, enterfino and toscano sheepskin.
Merino is made from fine wool sheep. These sheep have thick wool. When the skins are properly processed, the warmest but not wearable items are obtained.
Enterfino's pile is not so thick, so sheepskin coats are not so warm, but more wearable.
Toscano is the best material. Light, wearable, beautiful sheepskin coats are obtained from it. In such clothes it is impossible to freeze even in a thirty-degree frost.
For the manufacture of sheepskin coats, not only sheep, but also goat fur is used. This is a whole skin removed, which is dressed according to the appropriate technology. Goat clothing is less popular as it doesn't offer much protection in extreme cold.
Instead of fur coats, many prefer to buy sheepskin coats, the types of fur of which are more wearable and warm.
Faux Fur
The use of new technologies in the industry has made it possible to create artificial fur that is almost indistinguishable from natural fur. For its production, various methods and different textile raw materials are used.
The following types of artificial fur are distinguished:
- knitted;
- on a woven basis;
- sglued pile (glued);
- tailored fur.
Faux fur imitates natural fur so closely that it is sometimes difficult to understand what material the product is made of when buying a thing.
Faux fur has many benefits. It is durable, lightweight and cheap. Also, its use for tailoring saves the lives of a considerable number of animals.
How to wear natural fur?
In order for fur clothes to emphasize the dignity of its owner, you need to consider a few simple rules when choosing and combining it with the rest of the outfit.
Depending on what kind of fur is presented to your attention, you should think about how long it will last. It should be remembered that the most wearable are the otter, the beaver and the cat.
The style is selected depending on the features of the figure and physique. It must be remembered that any fur, even with the shortest pile, is full.
Fur products are appropriate everywhere: in the theater, at a party, in a restaurant. Feel free to wear a fur coat when it gets cold. At more gentle temperatures, you can wear a fur vest, and in cold weather, choose more serious clothes.
What to wear real fur with?
There is an opinion that a hat with a fur coat is not worn. A scarf that can also be worn as a scarf is better. Thin knitted hats and berets look good.
Another important wardrobe detail is shoes. Boots should match the style of outerwear. Must be strictly observedthe uniformity of the style of fur coats and shoes. It should be comfortable and practical.
The main rule is that only expensive jewelry made of gold, pearls and diamonds can be worn with natural fur. Cheap jewelry would look out of place here.
