Vintage Wool/Mink Coat from Garfinckel's...a lot of questions on this one.

[Kriva44]

I acquired this vintage coat from Garfinckel's Washington at a thrift in Texas. I have quite a few questions about it. Based on the store and union tags I'm thinking this is probably mid-70's. I cannot find a material label but it feels like wool and the collar is mink. The collar is where most of my questions are centered...

• It's sewn on the coat oddly. Like it was a detachable collar but got sewn on. It matches the coat though so I believe it went with the coat but has no buttons or button holes for it to be originally detachable. Was there possibly "after market options" for such a thing? Like a custom coat where there is a basic style and you add items onto it from a list of items?
• The collar has "cut outs" on both sides. They are intentional, not tears. They open and then are sewn closed again at the front of the collar. Each opening is finished properly so this is intentional, I just don't know what the purpose would be? For a scarf or other accessory to thread through? That's all I can imagine, but I have no idea.
• There is the Fur Label Authority hang tag attached stating it is Mink with some other numbers written on it. This is a paper tag on a string but somehow the string comes out of the collar where the fur is sewn onto the material on the back of the collar. Another reason I think the collar was an add-on at some point. I can't find a sewn-in Fur Label Authority tag.

There are two small square paper tags stapled to the inner wool of the coat close to the bottom. I have no idea what these are? They state "48" at the top of each. Since there isn't a size tag inside the coat maybe the 48 is the size and it's on a paper tag stapled to the coat? This also does not make sense to me. Since there is one on each side, and other factors, I thought maybe the coat was altered and this was the mark/info for alterations. But it's 43" long from shoulder to hem so I don't think that's what the "48" tag is for. Thoughts?
Then there is the small Garfinckel's paper tag hanging from the sleeve. I can't tell if this is a portion of a tag and some part was torn off at a perforation or if this was the whole thing.
So all of these additional added tags confuse me. Was this custom made and never worn afterwards (or maybe never picked up from the store). Or was it taken back to the store and altered in some ways and never worn afterwards?
So many questions! If anyone can answer any of those I would greatly appreciate it. Even your best guess is fine with me!
Thank you.

 

[furwise]

Hi there and welcome.

Lovely coat. I would date it to the 70s. The union label inside was used between 1974-1995. There were coats that had detachable collars, but they usually connected with hooks and eyes underneath where the fur is sewn to the coat.
I am uncertain about the collar. The style is common for the time period. If a scarf does slide through with ease it could help keep the body warm by preventing cold air from getting inside at the neckline. Not sure if the collar is original though.
The Fur Label Authority hang tag with the serial number on it assured consumers the fur being offered was the fur type stated, and that it was made under fair labor standards.
I would have expected the collar of this coat to be faux fur because of the use fur clean method only labeling which has commonly been used in faux furs to make consumers think furs were real, as well as the synthetic lining which was very common in faux furs at the time.
The fur collar shown is genuine mink, and the fur label authority hang tag is only indicative of the collar.
The paper tag may or may not be a size indicator, however, it's insignificant, and thoughts on size vary from one to another so it's important to determine fit based on measurements.
The price was on the bottom of the perforated tag and was separated at the time of purchase.
I think it's possible the coat once had a faux fur collar, but, at some point a genuine mink fur collar was added.

Please let us know if we can assist further.