Coat by Andrea Diamond. Yellow bodysuit by Fiorucci. Purple leather shoes by Manolo Blahnik.
I’m choosing to ignore the realness of the fur and just see these images as stunning tableaux portraying strong women in dominant poses. I hope you will too…
Photographed by Clive Arrowsmith. Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Harpers and Queen, November 1979
Coat by Frank Cooney. Black long sleeve leotard and black footless tights by Dansez from Topshop. Black leather sandals by Manolo Blahnik
Coat by Zwirn. Gold trousers and bustier by Ritzy. Red and gold leather shoes by Caovilla from Rayne.
Coat from Konrad. Skintight pink trousers and matching top by Betsey Johnson from Howie, 138 Long Acre. Metallic blue sandals by Walter Steiger.
Coat from National Fur Company. Strapless sequined top with skintight trousers from Ace. Black suede belt by Maxfield Parris. Black leather sandals by Manolo Blahnik,
Liz Eggleston 
hi emma I always love ur pages, u have great taste & it always brings back my hayday as a designer……. but this one is too much the glamourising of real furs, I know u have chosen to ignore that fact but why show it at all…….u obviously know the horrific cruelty involved not to mention the extinction of these species of animals so many women will see these stunning pics & lust after REAL fur!!!……… Sheridan barnett
Hello Sheridan, I appreciate your comment and I completely share your views on real fur. I never wear it myself, and I don’t sell it. The only piece I own is a hat by James Wedge, which I have chosen to keep because of its rarity and would happily swap for a non-fur piece if I could find one. I would never, ever promote the wearing of real fur.
However, I do occasionally end up posting images containing [what I know to be, because I have the original attributions] real fur. As my blog is a source of historical reference material, I have decided not to ‘censor’ the past. I choose to look at these images as beautiful tableaux captured by an incredibly talented photographer, with beautiful styling and striking imagery. I can see that people would admire the look, but assume [given how times have changed, and how real fur is still frowned upon in most quarters to my knowledge] that most people would be intelligent enough to replicate it using faux fur. I have a wardrobe filled with faux fur, and faux fur trims. The look is exactly the same, but my conscience is clear. That shoot could just as easily have been done using faux fur (and yes, of course I would rather it had been).
Many of my favourite designers and fashion icons have used and worn real fur, but I see it as different times, different values. It doesn’t stop me being inspired by them, I just replicate those looks with the fake stuff.
Best wishes,
Liz
I am so used to reading and hearing comments about how wearing old furs is okay these days because they’re ‘vintage’ (seeing piles of, less than glamorous, ratty old stoles at fairs actually makes me gag!) that it was quite refreshing to read the two intelligent comments above.
I sell vintage clothing but have always hated the wearing of fur since being a young child – I recall my mother buying a fur coat in the early 80s and I was completely appalled.
I had the same feelings as Sheridan when I saw the images, I think it does promote the glamorous nature of fur BUT I also don’t believe censoring the past is a good thing to do. Would I have distributed the images? No. Does it open up a debate about why some people are anti fur? Yes.
Hello Bev,
Thank you for your intelligent and considered comment. I did think twice about posting them, but eventually decided that they were beautiful images which needed to be shared. I could just as easily have posted images of Hollywood stars of the 30s, 40s, 50s and so on, wearing fur – or a picture of John Lennon wearing one of his many, many fur coats (including monkey, I believe). Images such as that are widely distributed without even the smallest of comment about the content. I prefer to share them with the caveat, and if it leads to civilised discussion about fur then I think that’s a positive thing.
As I said, I have a wardrobe full of the faux stuff, as do many vegetarian friends of mine, so clearly we don’t object to the look of fur, just the realness of it.
Best wishes,
Liz
Yes fur us murder but these pics do look nice! The model looks like Brooke Shields quite a bit.