WHAT WOMEN FUR BUYERS SHOULD KNOW 29 



the buyer for fine black fox ; but that is the buyer's fault, not the 

 dealer's. 



"There are just certain things that every woman, who buys 

 furs, should know, which the dealer wants her to know ; and when 

 she knows those things she will love furs as much as jewels, and take 

 such care of them she will be as great a conserver of wild life as the 

 most ardent lover of game." 



What, then, are the things, that every woman, who buys furs, 

 should know ? 



First, what does she want them for ? 



To improve her apparel, of course, and set off her natural style 

 or charm ; but is she to wear the fur as a light neck piece with an 

 evening gown, or as a throat protection collar on the street, or as a 

 hard wearing utility garment ? There are furs for every face and 

 furs for every purpose ; but naturally for rough wear motoring, 

 or in wet storms, you would not choose the same fur as for the wrap 

 round bare neck in evening gown going from one heated room to 

 another. You can choose the same color but you would not choose 

 the same pelt. For instance, in soft grays, opossum or gray 

 krimmer give you a rough, durable fur in gray suitable for coarse 

 usage outdoors. Gray squirrel gives you a fragile fur suitable for 

 outdoor or indoor wear, but suitable only for gentle wear and tear. 

 Chinchilla and mole give you a gray fine in sheen as dew in sun- 

 light suitable only for elaborate evening wear with the greatest 

 care and no wear and tear. Opossum and krimmer are cheap. 

 Gray squirrel is dear and fragile and impossible of imitation or dye. 

 Chinchilla and mole may be dyed, that is, tipped by hand where 

 the edged seams meet, but no art of man can imitate or reproduce 

 both the lustre and pansy softness of these almost velvet furs. 



Chinchilla is costly. One can understand why. It has become 

 so scarce three-quarters of South American countries from which 

 it comes have declared a closed season for five or six years ; so that 

 chinchilla has almost disappeared even as edging for hats, or evening 

 gowns ; but why should mole be so dear ? Mole are not scarce and 



