Friday, August 26, 2011

Vintage Bergdorf Goodman Mink Coat - 1954


I am a firm believer that if you chose to wear fur, you should always chose vintage. That keeps coats and stoles already in existence out of our landfills and at the same time doesn't support the unneeded slaughter of today's animals for fashion. Since fall and winter are approaching and since fur coats were an accepted part of fashion in the past, I will be showing images of furs over the next few months. In showing images of vintage furs on this blog, I hope to inspire you and show you how beautiful they can be for the modern woman.  If you choose not to wear real fur, let these images inspire you to make your own with today's high quality faux furs.  

The year is 1954 and Leslie Morris is the head designer in Bergdorf Goodman's custom design department, a post she had held starting in 1931.  Morris was considered one of the top designers in the U.S. during the 30s, 40s, and 50s.  In the following year, Bergdorf's would lure fur designer Emeric Partos away from Maximillian Furs by giving him free reign as their custom furrier.  But the coat shown above was designed by Leslie Morris in Eastern Canadian Wild Mink.  It is a clutch style coat with a big collar and pear-shaped sleeves.  Bergdorf's would make it to order for you in their Fur Salon.  If you had to ask the price, you couldn't afford it!