Well, let me tell ya somethin’ about this here “when fur first came into fashion” thing. Folks been wearin’ fur for ages, I tell ya, way back when. It weren’t no fancy “fashion” like them city folks talk about now, no sir.
Back in the old days, it was all about keepin’ warm. Winters were harsh, snow up to your eyeballs, and the wind bitin’ at your nose. We didn’t have no fancy heaters or nothin’, just a fire in the hearth and whatever clothes we could get our hands on. And fur? Well, fur was warm. It kept you from freezin’ to death, simple as that.
- Animals, we used ’em for everything.
- Ate the meat, used the hides for clothes and blankets.
- Nothin’ went to waste, I tell ya.
Now, I ain’t no fancy historian or nothin’, but I reckon fur first became “fashionable” when some rich folks decided they wanted to look important. Probably saw some trapper wearin’ a nice beaver pelt and thought, “Hey, that looks fancy! I want one!” That’s how it always goes, ain’t it? Poor folks wear somethin’ outta need, rich folks wear it to show off.
So, when did fur first come into fashion? That’s a hard one to pin down, like tryin’ to catch a greased pig. It weren’t like one day nobody was wearin’ fur and the next day everybody was. It happened slow, over time. First, it was kings and queens and them high-falutin’ nobles. Then, the rich merchants and landowners started wearin’ it too. And finally, it trickled down to the regular folks, though most of us still wore it ’cause we needed it, not ’cause it was fancy.
I remember my grandma talkin’ about her grandma wearin’ rabbit fur in the winter. Said it was soft and warm, kept her cozy even when the wind howled like a banshee. They didn’t have no fancy stores back then, mind you. They made their own clothes, trapped their own animals, tanned their own hides. It was hard work, but it kept you alive.
Then, things started changin’. Machines came along, factories popped up, and clothes got cheaper. Folks started movin’ to the cities, workin’ in them factories, and buyin’ their clothes instead of makin’ ’em. And fur? Well, it became even more of a status symbol. The rich folks wore the fancy furs, the minks and the sables, while the rest of us made do with whatever we could afford. Sometimes, it was just scraps of fur sewn onto a coat collar or cuffs, just enough to keep the chill off.
Now, you got all these animal rights folks complainin’ about wearin’ fur. Say it’s cruel, say we shouldn’t kill animals just for their fur. And maybe they got a point, I don’t know. Things are different now than they used to be. We got warm houses, warm clothes, we don’t need fur to survive like we used to. But back then, it was a different story. It was about survival.
So, if you’re lookin’ for a crossword clue answer, I can’t rightly tell ya the exact date or year when fur first became “fashion.” It’s been around for centuries, that’s all I know. And it meant different things to different folks at different times. For some, it was about stayin’ alive. For others, it was about showin’ off. And for some, it was just somethin’ warm to wear on a cold winter’s day.
Thinkin’ back, I remember a story my pa used to tell. A story ’bout trappers and traders, way before my time. They’d bring furs down from the mountains, beaver and fox and bear, all sorts. City folk would go crazy for it. That’s probably when it really took off, you know, when folks started seein’ fur as somethin’ more than just keepin’ warm. They saw it as pretty, as fancy. Somethin’ to set them apart from the rest.
Nowadays, you see pictures in them magazines, models wearin’ fur coats and lookin’ all glamorous. But I tell ya, it ain’t the same as wearin’ a fur you trapped and tanned yourself. There’s somethin’ about that, somethin’ real. It ain’t just fashion, it’s a connection to the land, to the animals, to a way of life that’s mostly gone now.
So, there you have it. My two cents on when fur first came into fashion. It weren’t no one moment, it was a whole bunch of moments strung together over time. And it ain’t just about lookin’ fancy, it’s about stayin’ warm, about survival, about history, and about the way things used to be.
