Hi, I recently posted a question about a 60s style fur coat I had purchased and I found a furrier in my area that I took it to to get it cleaned and glazed and upon receiving it back, I found that they had ripped my lining and ripped one of the pelts on the shoulder. My question is: is it worth getting this repaired and re-lined completely or should I just cut my losses and not pay for the repairs? I have no idea what to do in this case... Photos included. The rip in the pelt is on the left shoulder seeming to be in the middle of the skin, not on a seam connecting two pelts. The lining is ripped along the back of the collar where the back of the coat meets the lining under the collar.
Thank you very much for your advice. Would something like this happen to a new fur coat too? I just don't want to invest in a new fur if it will be likely to rip too. I do understand that this particular coat is very old, and this was a possibility before I bought it.
If the furrier knew your jacket was vintage he/she should have told you the risk prior to cleaning. Most of the time furriers clean furs in a tumbler which spins them around vigorously. Some vintage furs can withstand this and some cannot. It really depends on how the fur has been cared for over time. For this reason I clean my furs with the same agents as furriers but I do so by hand. It's more time consuming but it helps to preserve the condition. Is the lining tear along an edge of the jacket and did you notice the damage when you were at the furrier or after?
I did tell them that it was vintage and that I bought it at an antique mall but they did not disclose to me how they clean the furs nor did they tell me that it may become damaged due to the cleaning. I had inspected the coat prior to giving it to them for cleaning and there were no tears in the pelts, and the linings all around the coat were in great shape and not coming apart at all. I would not have purchased the coat had there been any damage whatsoever to it. I noticed these issues after I got it home. They had it hanging and put a bag over it as we paid and took it from the furrier. The lining tear is on the edge where the back of the coat meets the fold of the collar. The other year seems to be in the middle of a pelt on the shoulder.
In that case I think you should go back there, let them know of your findings, and ask them to repair that separation and resew the lining. They would need to remove the lining at least in part to get to that separation so they would be sewing it back after anyway. From what I see the lining doesn't look torn. It just looks like it pulled away from the seam. They should have made you aware that there was a risk to cleaning vintage fur garments. If that's the only separation then that would be an easy fix. The hardest part which is not hard but the time consuming, would be removing the lining and sewing it back because that's done by hand.
Ok, I will do that, then. I will take it back to them and see what they say and if they will fix what was damaged. If they don't, I will let you know the name of the business for your own reference in case you or anyone else is in the area. Thank you for your suggestions! I really appreciate it.
