By the late 1940s and early ’50s, Hollywood stars were wrapping themselves in fur items like chinchilla hats, ermine gloves, lynx scarves, sable stoles, fox boots and, of course, mink coats.
The ensuing aspirational demand for luxury furs ushered in look-alike furs that came with names like “coney” (rabbit), “lapin” (rabbit), “mountain sable” (dyed bassarisk) and “Hudson seal” (black-dyed muskrat).
A 1952 act of Congress required makers of fur clothing to start using the real names of the animal skins being sold, but the public penchant for penny-pinching pelts would persist until the popularity of mink peaked in the ’80s. That’s when full-length minks sold for $5,000 to $50,000 and would occasionally make fashion magazine news when sold for $300,000 to $400,000.
Here below is a set of vintage photos that shows ladies wearing fur coats in the 1940s.
