DIVA OF THE FURS: MINK FURS
Mink furs are one of the most demanded types in the world. Popularity of mink furs has never declined for decades. Fur lovers call it as the ‘diva’ of all the furs as mink has very soft and dense hair. Besides, as mink furs are lightweight, they are used in many ways in fur fashion. Mink fur is an object of luxury and adds beauty to women who wear it. Mink furs are also popular materials for mens coats and hats.
Mink is mostly found in North America. They are also widespread in Europe, especially in Scandinavian countries and Britain’s mainland, although American quality is highly prized. Wild mink fur is not used so much today. Mostly they are raised in the farms but ranch mink has also very good quality due to advanced gene technology. You should pay attention to the quality of the mink furs when you want to buy mink fur coats. Some mink fur coats are made of naturally ranched, some are mutation minks and some of them are pieced and patterned. The natural farm animals may have a higher quality fur than the mutation up to the color rarity and some other factors. The patterned mink fur coats are made of several parts of the pelt such as tail, gills or paws. Female mink furs have also a higher quality as it has softer hair with a silkier touch but a female has a smaller pelt. Male mink furs are heavier due to thick and dense hair. They are used according to the garment type. Male is proper for dying and shearing processes.
Diva of the Furs: Mink
When you buy a whole skin mink fur coat, you should check whether the guard hair length is even or not. Density of hair is also another factor for the quality. And you should touch to feel how silky it is. But you should touch mink furs as if you are touching the hair of the beloved one to see if you fall in love with. When you want to buy a patterned mink fur coat, such as a chevron patterned one, you need to check whether the pieces are even or not. It is not so easy to manufacture patterned fur coats, it needs experience and skill. Also check if the sewing is reinforced, tight and clean underside of the coat. The craftsmanship of the fur coats affects the prices. There is no need to say that if it is a designers mink, then the price will, of course, be much more higher.
Silky Mink Fur
The natural, wild mink furs are in brown color. In the farms, they raise minks with a wide color range. Many colors are available from white to very dark brown, which is called scanblack mink. These black mink furs, which are not found in nature, are very fashionable and one of the most desired types in fur fashion industry. It can also be dyed in black but natural fur is preferred for a better quality. Actually, mink fur coats in several colors such as silver blue, sapphire or pearl are all very fashionable. Mink furs are frequently used for trimming as well as full-length coats. It is even combined with organza and chiffon by designers as well as other fur types and used even in bridal collections. Today, mink fur coats are not same as the traditional coat of our grandmothers. In addition to gene technology that made several mink fur colors available, technological progress in textile industry help designers for using mink furs in many ways other than shearing. It is possible to dye, give the mink a velvety look, make reversible garments or use burn-out patterns. Even they developed knitting techniques with mink furs. So, it has been a popular fashion material. Also mink fur handbags and accessories are very popular nowadays. But we should not disregard the image of the movie stars of the past with those classical and fabulous mink coats while we are attracted by fashionable and colorful ones. The image of Marilyn Monroe with her famous brown mink collar or mid-length mink cocktail coat tell more than the words can.