Fur clothing

"Fur coat" redirects here. For an animal's natural fur, see Animal coat.
See also: List of types of fur

Hood with Asiatic raccoon trimming
Coypu jacket, reversible
A French-Canadian man, wearing a fur coat and hat, around 1910

Fur clothing is clothing made from the preserved skins of mammals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing and is thought to have been widely used by people for at least 120,000 years.[1] The term 'fur' is often used to refer to a specific item of clothing such as a coat, wrap, or shawl made from the fur of animals.

Humans wear fur garments to protect them from cold climates and wind chill, but documented evidence of fur as a marker of social status exists as far back as 2,000 years ago with ancient Egyptian royalty and high priests wearing the skins of leopards.[2]

Historically in European and Middle Eastern cultures fur garments often had the fur facing inwards with cloth on the exterior of the jacket, but in the 19th century a trend for wearing seal fur coats with the fur facing outwards became the trend.[3] Worldwide, both styles are popular, with fur linings offering more thermal benefits and exterior furs serving more of a fashionable purpose.

  1. ^ Handwerk, Brian (September 16, 2021). "Evidence of Fur and Leather Clothing, Among World's Oldest, Found in Moroccan Cave". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  2. ^ Bishara, Hakim (March 9, 2020). "Unique Painted Leopard Sarcophagus Unearthed in Egypt". Hyperallergic. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  3. ^ Wilcox, R. Turner (January 1, 2010). The Mode in Furs: A Historical Survey with 680 Illustrations (in Japanese). Courier Corporation. ISBN 978-0-486-47872-2.