WHAT WOMEN FUR BUYERS SHOULD KNOW 35 



Ermine 25 Mink — Japan 20 



Fox — Dyed Black 25 Squirrel — Black — Blended . . 20 



Kolinsky 25 Opossum — Dyed 20 



Lynx 25 Chinchilla 15 



Squirrel — Black 25 Goat 15 



Nutria — Plucked 25 Astrachan — Moire 10 



Coney 20 Mole 7 



Fox — Blue 20 Hare 5 



Marmot — Dyed 20 Rabbit 5 



This does not mean that if you take as good care of chinchilla as 

 of diamonds, it won't last you a lifetime. It will ; but you will have 

 to give it care. Seal is placed high ; but seal fades. Beaver is 

 placed high ; but beaver mats. Mink and marten and sable are 

 placed high ; but the long hairs will scuff. A good wolf is better 

 than a poor fox, though it is dyed to imitate fox ; for its hide is tough 

 and its pelage thick. A distinction is made between natural mink 

 and dyed mink, natural marten and dyed marten. That does not 

 mean that the dyed mink and marten are false. It simply means 

 that to make a wrap or coat, you have to match colors ; and to make 

 the stripes run into each other, you often have to feather in by hand 

 dye to make the stripes blend ; and whenever dye is feathered in, 

 sooner or later, it may be ten years, it will eat down to the skin and 

 weaken it. If it were not for this, kolinsky would move right up to 

 the natural mink class ; for kolinsky is a relative of the mink ; but 

 unfortunately kolinsky is a bright orange yellow color and has to be 

 dyed dark and that reduces its durability 75%. 



Another point about kolinsky is that the dye takes away the 

 metallic lustre and gives in its place an almost catty silkiness, 

 not the velvet of chinchilla and squirrel and mole. Nevertheless 

 for general utility, if I took good care of it, I would choose a kolinsky 

 up next to otter, or beaver ; and I was brought up in a fur country 

 that abhors dyed furs. 



Speaking of cats, which are sold to the trade as genet — and are 

 being sold so plentifully by the trade just now that stray cats no 



