Feeling January-glum after December’s glitzy Christmas feast? Cheer up with some truly extravagant fur accessories we’ve found for you:
Get handcuffed: ‘Baklava’, a sizzling combination of gold brass and fox fur, by New York based designer M. Brûlée.
Cosy: keep your ears warm and toasty with these fox earmuffs, seen at Harrods.
Exotic: glam up your bikini line with this saucy fox fur merkin, available at: ‘Complete Bare Salon’
Ever wondered how earlier generations survived icy conditions in the Arctic?
‘The romance of the Far Fur Country’ is one of the world’s earliest documentaries capturing unique footage of Arctic fur trappers in 1919 and has now been modernized and restored for audiences around the world.
Originally commissioned by the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), a camera team embarked on a frosty 6 month tour across Canada in an attempt to shed light on everyday live of fur trappers in the Arctic Canada.
Confronted with the most inhospitable conditions in the Arctic, the team managed to combat ice and cold and captured extraordinary scenes, ranging from dogsled sleighs jumping across rough frozen rivers over filming out of canoes to an encounter with a native Inuit.
For more background reading: here’s the full BBC article
Today marks the first day of the Chinese lunar calendar and we would like to wish you all a Happy New Year!
According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2012 is the year of the dragon, which is considered a very auspicious and lucky symbol. Dragons are flamboyant creatures and associated with power, leadership and passion. If you are playing with the thought of setting up your own business, the year of the dragon is the time to do so!
As red is considered a particularly lucky colour for New Year, the Chinese recommend red undies for a maximum of luck in 2012 
In preparation of yesterday’s Strictly come Dancing tour opening in Birmingham, Chelsee Healy, 23, and Nancy Dell’Olio were spotted turning heads in their stunning fur outfits teamed with super-tight fitting leggings.
While almost 2 decades apart in age, the two contestants demonstrate vividly how fur fashion grips both a younger and a middle-age generation.
Chelsee brightened up a dark legging-tuxido combination with a purple mink scarf, matching hat and Gucci wellies, leaving Nancy strutting her stuff in snakeskin leggings and a cognac sable wrap.
purple lady: Chelsee in Gucci and mink fur, classy: Nancy in leggins and sable
No doubt, artist and interior designer Christy Oates takes the world of fur to a whole new level with his newest creation: a toilet fully covered in mink fur!
Although it is unclear if the extravagant design is available for purchase, do-it-yourself fans can create their very own fur toilet as Christy provides detailed instructions for re-creational hobby designers 
The Men’s Fashion Week for Autumn / Winter 2012 in Milan, Italy, started last Friday, 13th and will run for 5 days finishing on Wednesday 18th of January.
51 shows are schedules for designers to introduce their collections. Detailed schedules, runway times and participating designers can be found at Fashion Portal WWD.
With designers focusing on exquisite, bespoke materials including velvet and cashmere, fur is seen frequently on the catwalks and is expected to continue to be a dominating trend in menswear fashion.
Our detailed analysis of collections shown and trends spotted will follow.
Burberry Prorsum, fur-trimmed jacked and hat
These gorgeous pink fur jackets and wraps are not just the cutest items on this blog, they also serve to support an important cause.
Korean fur label Singjin recently designed fur garments dedicated to a campaign in support for the worldwide Red Ribbon Movement to raise awareness for breast cancer.
Accompanied by dedicated billboards, self-help brochures and souvenirs, the ‘Sweet Pink Limited Edition’ was at the heart of the campaign: a stunning collection of fur shrugs, vests, jackets and wraps, all coloured in shades of pink ranging from dark candy to bright bubble gum pink.
After wrecking Google Translator for hours to browse my way in and out Korean Fashion Sites I finally managed to find some pictures of the campaign. Here we go:
early US fur trade, pic: examiner.com
A long and vivid heritage of fur is well reported. But did you know that areas of the USA were founded by the fur trade?
Recent research revealed major parts of US state Wisconsin, including Milwaukee, grew out of small fur trading posts established way back in the early days of US colonization in the 17th and 18th centuries.
European colonies were mainly developed around the East Coast, with settlers shying away from exploring the wild and rough areas of Central Mainland America. It took tough fur traders, mostly French, to take the adventure of braving the wilderness to forage for fur pelts, which were high in demand throughout Europe.
As traders moved further inland, trading posts were established along their routes, leading to fur traders being among the first to establish communications with native tribes living Mainland America.
Member of the Bear Trip in Milwaukee, pic: djibnet.com
Even today, centuries later, fur remains a vital part in tribal culture:
The 11 native tribes in and around Milwaukee frequently hold ‘Pow Wows’, gatherings of native groups in which their culture and heritage is celebrated – and fur is on top of their list with beautifully crafted garments available at Pow Wow – marketplaces.
If the story got you interested, here’s the detailed report by Milwaukee history examiner Rebecca Graf.
Last, but not least: if Milwaukee doesn’t ring a bell in terms of geography: Wisconsin is situated in the North of the US, away from the coast towards US mainland. Milwaukee is located next to Lake Michigan, part of the Great Lakes.
A little search on Google Maps gave me this map, just to give you a clue:
The journey from a design inspiration drawn on paper to the finished product is an exciting one – below are some examples of how Japanese designers are approaching the whole process.
Does the finished design match the idea on paper – what do you think?
The sketches above are all entries for the JFA Annual Fur Design Competition – what do your sketches look like? I’d love to see them!
If you want to add fur in your life without breaking the bank, why not think about fur accessories?
Here’s my top-to-toe furry-licious selection:
Fox-fur headphones by Oscar de la Renta.
Beach-flavour: fur-covered parasol.
Poodle-chic: take your feet for walks in these furry statement d’orsay pumps.
In love with your Apple I-Pad? This navy-blue rabbit I-Pad case by Philipp Lim is just iconic as the tablet itself.
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