Vintage fox fur coats and jackets are by far the most commonly sought after garments at the moment on the vintage fur market.  Fox fur is soft, fluffy, warm, luxurious and comes in many natural or dyed colours.  Fox fur coats bring back images of the 1980s with big hair, big shoulder pads, and slinky evening gowns.  Most social media posts involving fur today by the new generation of fur wearers are showing fox fur coats, mostly vintage.

The most in demand colour of fox fur is blue fox, which is more correctly named Norwegian blue fox.  This is a ranch-raised fox, mainly in Scandinavian countries.  The fur has a deep uniform fur length, dense underfur, and soft, silky guard hairs.  It looks to be a very pale grey, with black fur tips, but has almost a blue shaded underfur, giving it a beautiful grey/blue hue. 

 

 

Shadow fox, indigo fox, and crystal fox have similar fur/hair structure to the blue fox. Indigo fox is a dark grey colour with light and dark coloured furs. Crystal fox is reddish colour. Shadow fox is clear white. These colours were very commonly made into coats and jackets on their own, or combined to form sleeves, collars or fronts on mink or raccoon coats.

 

 

Our next most requested fox fur is silver fox.  Silver fox is mostly from ranched types in Canada or Scandinavia, and has a stunningly beautiful dark grey fur with salt and pepper colouring on a longer hair, with a dense underfur.  The longer guard hairs give it a very wispy look that almost bounces when you move.  Silver fox were first ranch-raised in Prince Edward Island in the 1890’s and were a booming industry in that province until the 1930’s.  It then moved across the country and into Europe, making it a globally recognized fur type. Its hair structure is more like the wild silver fox or wild red fox. 

 

 

The wild red is one of the most stunning colours of fur, and they rarely stay in stock. They range from cherry red colour in Ontario, Quebec and Eastern Canada to pale shades in Western North America.  Red fox comes from across North America, Great Britain, Ireland, and throughout Europe and Australia.  Similar to the wild red fox in colour and texture is Golden Island fox, which is a paler shade of red in a ranched variety.

 

 

Other wild types include the grey fox, which has short grey fur with rust coloured flanks (belly fur).  Grey fox is a slightly coarser fur texture, but with very nice colour characteristics.

 

 

The last and perhaps the most unique of all is the natural pure white Arctic fox, taken only by Inuit hunters in the Arctic.  They are quite small with a very dense fur, most suited to trim on parka’s mitts or for making hats.

 

 

Other than the fox fur type, the look and value of a fox garment is dependent on the way it was designed and crafted.  Full fox skin technique has a powerful voluminous effect, and is the most valuable. It’s constructed in very wide strips from the top to bottom with only a small strip of leather between each pelt.

 

 

Fox can also be used in a wide corduroy style with leather strips inserted every ¼ or ⅙ of a pelt.  The narrow corduroy method has 1 ½” leather strips inserted every ¾ “ of fur, making it mostly leather.  They are very lightweight and have a slimming effect, but the fur tends to wear quickly since it is spread with the leather. 

 

 

Fox, along with coyote, is the most popular fur for trim on parka hoods or coat collars.  It’s very plush, and blocks wind, offering a naturally warm and soft collar around your neck.

 

 

If you are thrifting a fox coat, like every vintage fur or clothing piece you buy, be sure to inspect the coat fully, checking for tears under the arms, at the pockets, or along the seat at the back.  Fox fur can also wear at the cuffs, elbows and down the fronts, as the soft guard hairs break with wear or become matted. 

 

 

If you have any questions about your furs, don’t hesitate to give us a call to help you identify it, make minor repairs, give it a cleaning, or upcycle it to something completely new. 

Or if you are looking for a vintage fur piece, peruse through our Online Vintage Fur Collection, or call the store to shop the vault containing probably Canada’s largest vintage fur collection.

Sustainability is all about using what we have, repurposing what we have, and going natural.  Enjoy your furs!