All the anti-fur activists, please ignore this post. For everyone else, how common is it to see women wearing fur coats on the streets of New York in the winter? Is is a night-time only thing or is it also done during the day?

Jackie, I just spent two days in New York and was struck by the number of women wearing furs. The temperatures were down in the twenties (with zero degree wind chills at night), and the furs came out, both days and night.

Over Christmas, I noticed a lot of faux furs, but no real ones. But then, we didn't go to the sort of places where one would wear their mink. I would think a real fur would be rather impractical during the day. Everything indoors is WAY overheated, so you'd want to check it if you dare (or you'd have to drag it along with you).

During the chilly week we spent there in December I was suddenly aware of how many women were wearing fur. I'm not sure what made me think about it except for the fact that there was so much of it. Guess I was surprised, because I didn't think fur was so popular any more, but it sure seems to be in NYC!

Jackie,
It is very, very common to see women wearing fur on the streets of NY, both day and night. I too have noticed many more people wearing fur. This past December was the coldest we've had in several years. Perhaps that explains the abundance of fur wearers.

It's true, you see a lot of fur in NYC one it gets cold, day and night. I regulaly see women in the supermarket with long fur coats over their run-to-the-store sweats, etc., and on the street over jeans during the day. It struck me, too, when I first moved here, but then, I moved from a warmer climate.

One additional point: The women wearing the furs are both tourists and locals.

Like them or not, there is nothing warmer in Boston or New York in the dead of winter than a fur coat...

We'd heard the stories about activists in NY throwing blood on fur-wearing women. But let me tell you, from what I saw, there isn't enough blood in the world to cover all the fur-wearers in NY. Every other woman was wearing one. (Were there "faux" furs? Beats the hell out of me. I wouldn't know a faux fur from a Ford Taurus.)

Yes, fur is worn in NYC, day & night. We do a lot of walking in the city, and spend plenty of time outside waiting for buses, cabs etc. In the burbs when I used to go from garage, to heated car, to underground parking, I wouldn't have ever needed one. Battling the elements of the city is yet another thing, especially when you are closer to the rivers (East End Avenue, West Side Highway, etc.) FREEZING!!! However, as a tourist, I would not want to schlepp a heavy fur all over town. Be forewarned that a lot of coat checks simply will not accept a fur coat due to the liability. I have had this happen more than once. You also don't want to stuff it under your tiny chair at the theater. Perhaps layers & a trendy down jacket? They are making nicer down jackets these days.

Thanks for the replies. I feel a lot more comfortable now.

They're not just in NYC. Haven't seen fur so frequently in years. During our last bout of blizzards- downtown was loaded with them. Hats to match included. Didn't look like faux to me.

Oops, sorry. That was in the downtown area in Chicago. Not Michigan Ave. either, but in the Loop/ Business Area.

Have to admit I wear my furs all the time when it gets cold here, but I haven't bought one in a long time, not since the "fur" hubbub.

You will see fur everywhere, day and night, since we are having a cold winter, fur seems to be everywhere.

You won't feel out of place at all, but you will be warm.

Enjoy your trip

Jackie,
I was in NYC for X-mas and New Year's holidays and was also struck by how many women wore fur coats, and not just the faux ones! It is so common, I was a minority in my leather coat, and my London Fog Trench coat. It was also 20 degrees the entire time I was there and I rather envied the women that seemed a whole lot warmer then I did. As far as fur activist, I think they all gravitated to the West Coast for the winter because they definitely love their fur in NYC.

I live on the Upper West Side and was struck by this scene coming out of my coffee shop the other morning: woman in a full length fur (real), bending down to give her fur friend (dog) a piece of her bagel. Somehow, a picture of Cruella de Ville popped in my head!

This post reminds me of a story. About 5 years ago we were in Steamboat skiing. I brought my black mink coat to wear at night walking in minus 15 degree weather to dinner. A woman came up to me a screamed "do you know how many minks had to die to make that coat." I replied "do you know how many men I had to sleep with get this coat?" lol for the day.

I don't live in NY but I do live where it is COLD in the winter. I where a fur coat without worrying about the animals that went into it. I kind of feel it all goes to the grand scheme of things - survival of the fittest and whatever. There is nothing warmer than a fur. Don't worry.

Better Not,
I really do not like fur coats, (although as a child 40 yrs ago, I loved rubbing my hands over my grandma's sable!)
But, politics aside, I *loved* your comment to that woman who confronted you!!

This isn't really ment for the first poster. Oh, and I really don't mean it as in any way of saying eating meat is completely bad (we are omnivores), just more of think maybe the next time you're wearing your fur coat. And no matter how many men you had to sleep to get it, there were a hell of a lot of animals who lost their lives...

Some excerpts from "When Elephants Weep"

"No one assumes the pig wants to die. It would avoid slaughter if it could. It feels the desire to live and the pain of its sorrow in being killed just as humans do; the only difference is that it cannot say so in words. The crying of pigs being slaughtered is horrible. People report that they sound like human screams. The pigs are communicating their terrible fear. Recently a steer on the way to the slaughterhouse was reported to have bolted when it was close enough to hear the anguished cries of the animals. It fled through the town like a prisoner condemned to death. Its sudden lunge for freedom gave everyone pause, even the driver of the death caravan. Was it right to send an animal to slaugter who so desperately wished to live? Perhaps just this one could be saved. Then what about the others? Do they feel the same way? If resistance is to be respected, does lack of resistance confer a right to kill? We do know what the cow wants: the cow wants to live. The cow does not wish to sacrifice itself for any reason. That a cow will willingly offer itself as food is a fable"

"If, as I believe, animals feel pain and sorrow and all the other emothions, these feelings cannot be ignored in out behavior towards them. A bear is not going to compose Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, but then neither is out next door neighbor. We do not for this reason conclude that we have the freedome to experiment upon him, hunt him for sport, or eat him for food."