Hello! I recently acquired this pretty vintage coat, but now I'm at a loss what it is or what to do with it. I don't know anything about fur products, so I don't really know where this dates from or what the condition could be. It seems in good shape to me, there's no blemishes on the outside anywhere but a couple inches of liner on the inside have been torn. I tried calling the fur shop on the tag but they didn't have any information for me. I'd like to keep this piece (is selling it even legal..?), but I'd like to maybe get it somehow tailored or fit to me so that I can wear it? It's just a bit too big for me. I'd also just like to have someone professional look at it to tell me condition and what I should do to take care of it, since I have no idea. Are furriers even willing to look at this stuff, perhaps repair some of the liner? There's nothing I've seen to doubt it's authenticity - the color goes all the way through, though this fur is pretty short. You can see the leather under the torn spots inside, and can see the stitching on the outside although it seems most of it was pretty well done. The inside is embroidered with somebody's name from an era past. What does one normally do with a coat like this? Do ya'll have any information on it? Any help is really appreciated.
That's a lovely coat! As far as I know, many cat species are endangered and the sale of their fur is illegal. The details of that depend on what fur it is, and also on the rules of the country where you are. You might have a look at our fur resource for some more information. As for having it altered and looking at it's condition, I would definitely take it to a furrier.
It does seem to look a lot like Ocelot! I'm a 5+ hour drive from the nearest furrier which is why I was trying to learn some before I eventually make the trip. I emailed a couple furriers asking about repairs/etc. (with pictures) but I think there must be a stigma around endangered furs, I didn't get any good replies so far. I'd like to properly take care of it as I think it's a really neat piece of history, get it repaired, learn some do's and don'ts of fur maintenance.
Possibly stigma but definitely legalities. In most cases ocelot is illegal to buy or sell, or make money from in any way. There can even be restrictions on moving it across borders. I can imagine furriers would be wary of getting involved. Given that money would have to change hands for a furrier to do alterations, it's quite possible that would not be allowed under the endangered species regulations.
Alan Furs is still in business. You could reach out to them and they do provide a whole bunch of services including repair, restoration and consignment. I bet they would know. https://alanfurs.com/about-us/
I didn't realize it could be illegal to even hire someone to work on the coat, but that makes sense now. I'll try a couple places in-person once I get down there later on this month, but looks like I just have to make the repairs myself. I did call Alan Furs but they said they can't tell me anything until they see it in person, and I'm all the way across the country atm. Although if I don't find any help around here I might take the coat with me when I go back there.
I thought I might update here - I took the coat into a reputable furrier who instantly confirmed that it is indeed Ocelot! I got it cleaned and all the torn liner repaired, which really brought a lot of color out that I didn't know it had. The furrier said it is a bit dry and I might expect it to not last longer than another decade as a usable garment, but we will see. I tried asking the furrier more questions but they didn't seem entirely interested in that, I'm probably pretty small fry compared to their usual clientele. So I'll ask here - Does anyone know what the date of this piece might be? It seems weird spending money to restore such an old and taboo piece, considering that the fur simply won't last forever. But is it reasonable to keep upkeep on this piece, as a piece of history and being so rare? Here's an updated picture too -
