Today I was asked – ” How would I be able to wear this now? ” A lady liked it, but she wasn’t sure how she might wear it today since she had not seen anything like it in new stores and she was new to considering wearing vintage as part of her regular wardrobe.
It is a well made good looking little jacket. The look is charming & feminine & that is why the style became a timeless classic! I love wearing these little lamb jackets!
I like it styled as it was originally in the ad picture & updated for a modern take with a pair of slim black pants and a close fitting black cashmere sweater. It is also pretty over a little black dress with a pair of heels or ballet flats or paired with a pencil skirt or a pair of black pants to create a chic 2 piece skirt suit or pantsuit.
As you can see this is a very useful and versatile piece! Here is my suggested list of ideas on how you could style it:
1) Recreate original vintage 50s look similar to that shown in the above Schiaparelli Ad Photo.
2) For a modern take wear it with black pencil pants, a close fitting black fine knit sweater of cashmere or merino wool, & ballet flats, ankle booties, or chic heels,
3) Wear over a little black dress with chic heels as an evening wrap,
4) Pair with a pencil skirt a black cami and heels for a chic 2 piece skirt suit,
5) Pair with a well fitting pair of black pants & a black cami and heels for a 2 piece pantsuit
6) For a dress up event wear it with a black ankle length skirt of any style and fabric you like, such as velvet, organza, wool, or lace, a suitable black top & your preferred dressy shoes for an evening event.
Other items that would be fun to ad: a fascinator, a pretty black clutch or top handle bag, some classic jewelry, white gloves for a vintage effect, black ones for a more modern effect, and a Persian Lamb vintage muff with a built in purse compartment for a fun vintage accessory. Possibly add a vintage fur hat that matches the fur collar if you can find one. Experiment and have fun!
It is such a pretty and useful little jacket!
The Schiaparelli add even says, “Play up the years liveliest fashion points in two striking go-everywhere go-with-everything Jackets in lustrous, modern, black-dyed Southwest African Persian Lamb.”
There seem to be endless ways to wear it once you start thinking about it!
Remember “The joy of dressing is an art.” —John Galliano Enjoy it! Wear whatever you like!
Rare and beautiful historic clothing and accessories and vintage fragrances are for sale in my online shops. If you see something on this blog that you are interested in buying, but do not find it for sale in my shops message me on Etsy or Ebay and I will get back to you about availability. I check messages daily and can always prepare a special listing for you if you do not find it already listed in the shops. Some perfumes and vintage furs and fur trimmed items are currently listed for sale in my shops and others will be listed as they are ready to sell. Items are always in process of being readied for listing so all inventory is not already listed and photographed. Feel free to message me on Ebay or Etsy if you are seeking something in particular as I may have it or be able to find it for you. There are contact seller buttons on all listings in the stores which allow you to write me messages.
Let us say you desire a real vintage Persian Lamb Fur MCM evening jacket to wear for the upcoming fall and winter holiday season and beyond. You begin to look online and there are a lot of jackets listed and you are not very experienced buying fur. It can be quite overwhelming. You come across an ad such as this one in my shop on Etsy and read the description. It looks like it would fit you. Here is what the listing says:
Vintage 1960s Dayton’s Black Persian Lamb Short Fur Evening Coat w/ Brown Mink Collar. Size Medium. Measures: 22″ Pit to Pit. 25.5″ Length, 17″ Across shoulders. Sleeves can be worn 2 ways: with cuffs rolled up as shown in photos for bracelet length or cuffs down for wrist length. Has pockets which are beautifully made, w/ felt on inside & black velvet edging. Side seams have 5″ slits for styling. Closures: 2 silk covered fur hooks w/ rings, Wide beautifully shaped light brown mink collar in Autumn Haze color mink (light brown) which was very popular in the early 60s. Lined in heavy satin embossed with black on black maple leaves and printed with smaller maple leaves in white on diagonal lines. The lining is very pretty. It is monogrammed w/ original owners initials of HMK & has original Silk Dayton’s Store Label in the neckline. These initials can be covered by a tailor if you prefer. They sew a piece of black silk over former owners initials and replace them with your own. This lovely coat is in excellent like new condition and very clean. No flaws. It may never have been worn. It was kept in cold storage. The style is a classic short boxy jacket. It has a charming & feminine vintage look but is also contemporary. It looks good over skirts, pants & dresses and can be styled in both casual and dressy looks making it very practical and versatile.
Dayton’s was an elegant Minneapolis Department Store founded in 1902 – it was in its fashion heyday when this coat came out! Daytons enjoyed over 100 yrs as the Midwest’s Premier Department Store and eventually morphed into what is now the Target Corporation.
This is an example of an elegant label from an upscale furrier or department store with a fur salon which is usually found in real Persian Lamb vintage fur coats and jackets. Fine department stores usually had a professional furrier running their Fur Salon. This is the label in the jacket I use as my example. Real fur coats also usually have elegant silk or satin linings as well as beautiful labels as key aspects of their identity.
This darling jacket is in exceptionally good NOS condition – it looks brand new! NOS means New Old Stock which means not previously worn. Sometimes NOS has age related issues just because of how old it is, but most of the time is means the item is in brand new condition just from a vintage time period. This coat has no flaws that I could find.
Note: These jackets came out at the same time as Elsa Schiaparelli’s real Persian Lamb Fur Jackets of very similar design. See ad photo which I have have included for styling inspiration and historical reference. They were a variation on a theme and were extremely popular in Europe during the 1950s and 60s. Personally I love the styling of the jackets during that period. Both the fur and the similarly styled handmade soutache ribbon jackets were high end fashion of this time period in cities like Paris, London, Milan, and New York City. It is easy to see why looking at the ensembles on the two models in the photograph! I’d like to see this look come back. I think it is timelessly attractive.
You could easily recreate their outfits as shown or wear the jacket with slim black pants or a pencil skirt and black heels today. Either way the look would be charming. I do have a Black Soutache Ribbon Embroidered Jacket with a Beautiful Black Mink Collar in this type of style in the shop today as well if you are interested in looking at it too. ”
The listing you found looks like what you want, the seller sounds knowledgeable but you want to be sure the jacket is real fur not faux fur. You want to be sure you are looking at the real thing so I have written a guideline below to help you learn more about identifying true Persian Lamb Fur.
You might be interested in knowing that there was a lot of faux Persian Lamb Fur manufactured during this mid century period and made into copies of these jackets. At first glance, without experience, it is hard to tell the difference between the real and the imitation Persian Lamb Fur if you are not experienced looking at it. There are several things to look for:
1) The real fur is leather hide on the back side. If you can lift up the lining and look at the wrong side of the fur itself you can check to find out if the back of the fur is a real leather hide. The Faux Persian Lamb has a black woven cloth backing. You can also look at the fur under a strong light and part the curls with your fingers, If you see a black woven fabric between the curls it is definitely faux fur.
Lifting up the lining to examine the back side does not always work because most of these coats have the lining sewn down over the edge of the fur making it difficult to get inside and under the fur to look at the backing. There are other tell tale signs. For example, the curl pattern on a faux fur will appear to be too uniform, indicating it to be machine-made, while real fur has a much more random pattern of curls.
2) Sometimes the faux fur is labeled as such which is a good thing, but many times it is not because it was advantageous not to label the fur as imitation so that consumers would think it was the real thing.
Incidentally vintage Faux Persian Lamb fur has to be cleaned via the furrier method in the same way as real fur! So maintenance is equally costly for both types – real and faux. So you don’t save any money there!
3) Faux Persian Lamb Fur is considerably lighter in weight than real Persian Lamb Fur – thus, if you had two coats of the same or similar style and size the faux coat would weigh considerably less than the real one. Real Persian Lamb Fur coats weigh more because they are leather hides underneath the soft fur that you see and feel. That, of course, is the animal’s skin. The faux coats are synthetic fabric through and through therefore weigh a lot less!
4) Real Persian Lamb Fur Coats were initially costlier and should still be much more expensive than the faux version. This is as it should be because there is a huge difference in the character, composition and quality of the two items and they are completely different products. There is a lot of misconception out there so you should educate yourself or find a trustworthy knowledgeable person to help you shop so you find the real thing. A knowledgable and responsible seller will know the difference and guide you correctly as well.
Unfortunately there are a lot of vintage sellers out in the world selling fur who do not know enough about fur and either knowingly or unwittingly misidentify it. Faux Persian Lamb is notorious for being passed off as real. So you have to be very careful to be sure you are getting the real thing. The curl pattern on a faux fur will appear to be too regular and uniform, indicating it to be machine-made, while real fur has a more random curl pattern . It sometimes has patterns in the fur that look like cowlicks in human hair. These are characteristics of the real fur that help identify it, like slubs in raw silk. They are not considered flaws – they add to the beauty of the real thing.
Beware if a seller claims a used Persian Lamb garment has no flaws at all. This is unlikely if a vintage coat has been worn. Only if it is new old stock is it likely to be perfect. If it has been used it will usually show a bit of edge wear at the back of the neck, the cuffs, the pocket edges, the front edges and around fasteners. The wear will appear to be ivory or grayish hide showing where the fur hairs have worn off. There will usually be small areas where curls have split from the hide, showing light colored skin in little spots. You can repair these by dabbing the hide with black leather dye.
5) Be Warned when shopping for a vintage Persian Lamb Coat or Jacket. Many vintage sellers actually do not know the difference between the real and the faux version of Persian Lamb fur. I have seen many of these coats incorrectly identified in vintage stores and online shops by sellers who truly did not know the difference and did not know what they really had. Sometimes real Persian Lamb jackets and coats are underpriced as a result of this and vice versa, sometimes faux Persian Lamb coats are over priced, as a result. Often the sellers do not realize they are misidentifying the real and faux furs, they are just naive as to the differences and have not taken the time to learn enough about the products they are selling to identify them correctly. This is a particularly prevalent problem in the world of marketing pre-owned fur garments. The best way to avoid such an experience is to buy from a reputable seller who knows his or her fur products and stands behind their accurate identification of them. And, of course, to learn enough about fur yourself so you can accurately identify it.
Personally, I have invested years into learning about fur and I also work with a professional 3rd generation Swiss furrier who formerly owned the fur salons in both the Nordstroms Flagship Store and I. Magnin & Co. Store in Seattle, WA.
I also know other online sellers who are highly reputable and responsible and identify their fur products correctly. If I do not carry something you are looking for I will be happy to refer you to another reliable seller I know who may have it.
You should also understand that sellers are constantly moving merchandise in and out and creating new listings to post online is a lot of work, therefore, if you are shopping online, they are likely to have several vintage furs in stock that have not yet been photographed and listed. So please ask! If you don’t see what you want in an online shop but wonder if I or another seller have a particular fur item you are looking for. We just might have that rare and unusual special item safely tucked away in cold fur storage.
Sometimes you will see a coat with tiny nubby loops or curls and the seller has labeled it and priced it as “Persian Lamb.” It is not fur, not even faux fur. It is a wool fabric called “boucle ” and often called ” Poodle Cloth” that was very popular in the 1950s. It is often confused with Persian Lamb.
Faux Persian Lamb coats are sometimes accented with rabbit fur collars, while the real one are usually made with mink collars, but this is not always the case. Some upper level department stores used actual real mink collars on faux Persian Lamb Coats. This can further confuse inexperienced buyers.
The names “Safari,” “Sportowne,” “Brogana” and “Miracurl” are a few of the widely-known names of manufacturers and designers of faux fur garments. There were many Faux Persian Lamb jackets produced with the label, “A Winter Product.” These products often have labels that state, “Clean by Furrier Method Only, no Steam,” which is true; this is how to treat a faux Persian Lamb product. But it does not make it a genuine Persian Lamb. You will never find the label “Clean by furrier Method Only, no Steam,” in a real fur ! Yet, many people misunderstand this label and think the words “Furrier Method” means it’s real, while it actually means that the faux fur should be treated as if it were real.
Following are some of the more common labels of faux Persian Lamb manufacturers.
The black fur cape below and its label A Winter Product above is a notorious Faux Persian Lamb example from the 1950s.
There were some well known designers of Faux Persian Lamb Coats and Jackets. Some of then were Susan Lynn, Russel Taylor and Ed Millstein. They only designed faux fur coats, but some of them at first glance look very real. If you can familiarize yourself with their names you will know if coats and jackets designed by them are faux or real Persian Lamb fur. They are always faux. Sportowne exclusively manufactured faux fur coats of many types. They made one of a type of velvet that mimicked Persian Lamb called Borella.
Another clue is buttons and buttonholes versus fur hooks and rings. Real furs usually have furrier hooks and rings to fasten the coats closed. If you see a Persian Lamb coat with buttons and functioning buttonholes look carefully. Are the buttonholes made via a sewing machine with 2 lines of stitching side by side and tacking at each end, then sliced open with a special knife or buttonhole scissors? ( This is the way machine made buttonholes are made in fabric.) If so, these buttonholes are made in woven cloth! You cannot make a buttonhole this way in thick leather hide covered with fur! I have been able to identify many faux Persian Lamb coats on line by noting how the buttonholes were made. Upon closer examination, that is inspection, of the fur backing to determine if it was cloth or leather hide, it turned out to be faux Persian Lamb fabric every time!
Now about owning Faux Fur – there is nothing wrong with faux fur or owning a faux fur coat. It is just a different kind of coat and the products you are considering buying should be correctly identified so that you can make an informed choice whether to buy and own them or not. Sometimes faux fur is the correct choice for various reasons: It is lighter weight, it is cozy but not as warm, you do not have to put it in cold storage during hot weather, you can get it wet in the rain, or you might have ethical reasons not to want to wear real fur. All these are legitimate reasons why faux fur is sometimes a preferred choice.
A buyer should be equally unhappy if either real fur or faux fur is incorrectly identified
If a seller gets defensive or angry with you for asking too many questions about an item before buying it that is a really bad sign. Do not buy anything from someone like that! Run the other way and find the item you want from a seller who wants to help you. Good sellers welcome questions and are always happy to interact with customers who want to learn about what they are selling. They will welcome the opportunity to teach you the difference between real and faux Persian Lamb fur and any other kind of real fur you want to know about. So feel free to ask away and do not feel embarrassed to be asking too many questions! Inquiring about things is a great way to learn about them.
I hope I have answered your questions about Persian Lamb fur. If you have more questions do not hesitate to ask me. I will be happy to respond! I too am learning more and more all the time and I am grateful to the sellers who have had the patience to answer my questions in the past. I have learned a lot about many things from these people and I am happy to reciprocate by passing on what I know.
The Real Daytons Persian Lamb Fur Evening Jacket Shown Above is Available in my Online Etsy shop.
I also have a cute faux Persian Lamb jacket from the 1950s or 60s in my shop. This one came without a label. It is however, a very nice example of a faux Persian Lamb garment. Here are some pictures of it . It is described in complete detail in the shop listing but for purposes of this blog post I will point out a few key items: This little jacket is made of faux Persian Lamb fabric. It has a real rabbit fur collar dyed a shade of dark brown to emulate mink. It has a quilted backing under the collar, velvet buttons and interfacing inside the coat and is lined in black shiny satin fabric probably acetate. It has machine made buttonholes as I describe above. It is fairly lightweight. If you look at the closeup picture of the faux fur fabric under the collar below you can clearly see the regularity of the curls that I also describe above.
This coat is missing labels of any kind. It belonged to my mother and she sometimes removed labels in her clothing if they irritated her skin. It is a very nice example of a faux Persian Lamb MCM jacket and it looks very nice for a faux Persian Lamb. The lining on this coat is sewn down really well so it cannot be lifted up to see the underside of the faux fur – however you can separate the curls with your fingers to look at the black woven cloth backing. It is definitely a faux fur albeit a very good one that will fool the majority of people looking at it. People will absolutely assume it is real when they see it worn only a furrier of a fur expert will be able to tell you are wearing a faux fur jacket.
It might interest people to how that this type of faux fur is actually quite expensive! It now costs $56 per yard and is 56″ wide. It has nap so you have to lay pattern pieces out facing the same direction in order to cut them if you are going to sew with it. The composition of the fabric is 74% acetate, 14″ polyester, and 12% nylon. I sometimes see faux Persian Lamb coats advertised as lambs wool – this is deceptive marketing and the fabric is in no way wool or any other part of a real sheep. Synthetic fabrics really came into their own after WWII and synthetic fur had been around long before that.
Here is a wonderful article about The History of Fake Fur and its development from Smithsonian magazine written by journalist Alice Hines and initially published January 22, 2015. She does a great job explaining the development of faux fur:
Something else important came to my attention today. I read a post from another vintage seller today – a reputable one who knows her furs – who sold a customer a lovely Russian Princess coat clearly listed as Velvet and Faux Persian Lamb Fur from the 1970s. The coat was really pretty, but the buyer was absolutely furious because she felt she had been scammed, taken advantage of and bamboozled – she used all those words – and sold a fake fur coat when she thought she was buying a real Persian Lamb fur coat. This problem came about because the buyer did not know that the term faux meant fake! Faux fur is a commonly understood accurate term for fake fur. Faux is the French word for Fake. The seller in this instance was completely accurate in describing what she was selling. The buyer just did not understand the term. Therefore this vintage seller was letting the rest of us know what happened to her and suggesting we explain that faux means fake in our listings! Incidentally the buyer of the Russian Princess coat under discussion is from the US and is a native English speaker. Just because we know a term in a foreign language and it is commonly used in our industry we cannot assume all other people are familiar with its meaning. I speak French and have worked in fashion and the professional Ballet worlds all my life – both of which use a lot of French terms on a regular basis. I actually have to explain and carefully spell out the meaning of French words I use fairly often and when I write them they pop up on spellcheck as misspellings. So, as odd as it sounds, I can picture an unfortunate incident like this one happening.
WARMTH: Another important thing I need to mention is that real fur is warm. It will keep you warm like it keeps an animal warm in cold weather. That is initially why human beings started to wear fur. Faux fur can be cozy and soft but it is not as warm as the real thing. In the case of faux Persian Lamb that is a blend of acetate, polyester and nylon – a coat or jacket made of this material is not ever going to be as warm or luxurious as the real fur. It is unrealistic to expect such a fabric to keep you as warm asa real Persian Lamb fur jacket or coat will.
If I think of more important points to add about the differences between Real and Faux Persian Lamb Fur I will add them to this post. I hope you enjoyed reading it and learned some interesting things.
Fin for now! Fin means finished in French, by the way, and is always used at the end of a French Folm or novel to indicate that the writer has finished telling the story.
Rare and beautiful historic clothing and accessories and vintage fragrances are for sale in my online shops. If you see something on this blog that you are interested in buying, but do not find it for sale in my shops message me on Etsy or Ebay and I will get back to you about availability. I check messages daily and can always prepare a special listing for you if you do not find it already listed in the shops. Some perfumes and vintage furs and fur trimmed items are currently listed for sale in my shops and others will be listed as they are ready to sell. Items are always in process of being readied for listing so all inventory is not already listed and photographed. Feel free to message me on Ebay or Etsy if you are seeking something in particular as I may have it or be able to find it for you. There are contact seller buttons on all listings in the stores which allow you to write me messages.
The real and faux Persian Lamb jackets used in this post have been identified and confirmed as real and faux by the professional furrier Rene’ Vogel.
I use Swiss furrier Rene’ Vogel for all my fur related needs. He does identification of furs and mystery furs, alterations, cleaning, remodeling and appraisals. I highly recommend his work.
You can reach professional Swiss Furrier Rene Vogel via email Rene’ Vogel <rdcvogel@msn.com> or by phone at (425)322-9638 to schedule appointments for all your fur related needs.
I want to make it clear to my readers that I chose to write about Rene’ Vogel to share information I have learned from him about furs and to provide them access to him as a reliable professional furrier should they wish to find one. Rene’ is not paying me to write about him.
I showed some Persian Lamb items in my previous post on Persian Lamb ( right before this one) from “Barb the Fur Lady ” . Therefore, I also want to thank Barbara Koich AKA, Barb ” The Fur Lady” on Etsy, for letting me write about her furs and sharing her photos and information on the beautiful fur items listed in her Etsy Shop. She carries high quality hand picked vintage real and faux furs of all kinds and can be trusted for the exceptional quality of her pieces and her excellent customer service. I regularly shop there for furs myself because I know they will be high quality. Check out her shop!
I have heard a lot of people say these little Persian Lamb Fur jackets with mink Collars are horrible and frumpy looking. I beg to disagree! I think they are adorable when properly styled. Look at these two girls! They looked fantastic in the 1960s and would look equally so today. It is simply a question of properly styling the jackets. Going back to the original advertisements like this one will give you ideas for styling. Note that the jackets have mink collars to frame the face and bracelet sleeves to allow you to show off a pair of beautiful vintage gloves. White gloves are shown here but black ones in cloth or leather look good too. I think these two women would turn heads anywhere they went today.
Below I show images of Persian Lamb Jackets and Coats from my stores that were made in the 1960s during the heyday popularity of this fur. The coats are truly beautiful in person. They were very popular in Europe in the 1960s and 1970s. They were also popular with Russians. Two Russian Ballet people that I knew wore Persian lamb coats – they both happened to be men: none other than Rudolf Nureyev and Igor Schwezoff both of whom cut dashing figures in their Persian Lamb hats and coats on the winter streets of NYC and London. Nureyev was well known for his penchant for fur coats.
The jacket above is not Persian Lamb. It is a Soutache Ribbon Hand embroidered Jacket made in a similar style to the Persian Lamb Jackets and popular during the same MCM fashion era. These two types of jackets were often displayed together in Department stores as the Latest Fashions From Paris.
All the Persian Lamb Jackets and Coats shown above are available in my Poshmark and Etsy shops and I am regularly adding more since it is one of my personal favorite types of fur. The sizes and other information on these coats are described in detail in the individual listings in my online shops. Please visit to take a look.
Rare and beautiful historic clothing and accessories and vintage fragrances are for sale in my online shops. If you see something on this blog that you are interested in buying, but do not find it for sale in my shops message me on Etsy or Ebay and I will get back to you about availability. I check messages daily and can always prepare a special listing for you if you do not find it already listed in the shops. Search for them under, jackets and coats or furs and leather. Some perfumes and vintage furs and fur trimmed items are currently listed for sale in my shops and others will be listed as they are ready to sell. Items are always in process of being readied for listing so all inventory is not already listed and photographed. Feel free to message me on Ebay or Etsy if you are seeking something in particular as I may have it or be able to find it for you. There are contact seller buttons on all listings in the stores which allow you to write me messages. I check them every day and respond within 24 hours.
I use Swiss furrier Rene’ Vogel for all my fur related needs. He does identification of mystery furs, alterations, cleaning, remodeling and appraisals. I highly recommend his work.
You can reach professional Swiss Furrier Rene Vogel via email Rene’ Vogel <rdcvogel@msn.com> or by phone at (425)322-9638 to schedule appointments for all your fur related needs.
I want to make it clear to my readers that I chose to write about Rene’ Vogel to share information I have learned from him about furs and to provide them access to him as a reliable professional furrier should they wish to find one. Rene’ is not paying me to write about him.
All the fur coats I sell have been professionally checked by professional furrier Rene Vogel so you can be sure they are in good repair, clean and ready to wear. I price myself on selling items in extraordinarily good condition.
I want to thank Barbara Koich AKA, Barb ” The Fur Lady” on Etsy, for letting me write about her furs and sharing her photos and information on the beautiful fur items listed in her Etsy Shop. She carries high quality hand picked vintage furs of all kinds and can be trusted for the exceptional quality of her pieces and her excellent customer service. I regularly shop there for furs myself because I know they will be high quality. Check out her shop! She also carries vintage Persian lamb Items. Here are several Persian Lamb fur Items currently available in her shop:
Here is an attractive MCM era Persian Lamb Evening Jacket with Cross Mink Collar currently available from Barb the Fur Lady on Etsy.
And here is a darling small adult sized Persian Lamb fur muff from Barb the fur Lady on Etsy.
I my next Blog Post I will explain how to tell the difference between real and faux Persian Lamb fur.
Posted in Manton de Manila | Comments Off on Persian Lamb Jackets and Coats by Schiaparelli from the 1960s: Frumpy or Fabulous? You Decide!
I came across this interesting press release about a sable cape worn by Queen Elizabeth on her visit to the US and Canada in 1939. It was valued at $15,000 in 1939. That would be $339,431.65 today!
I also find it interesting that fashion designer Norman Hartnell went along on this tour to take care of the queen’s dresses!
Royalty travel with an entire entourage of fashion designers, stylists, hair dressers, makeup artists, dressers and personal maids as well as professionals who care for their wardrobes.
Norman Hartnell became Queen Elizabeths personal designer and she eventually knighted him for his services – he called this event The Norman Conquest!
ROYAL BARGUZIN RUSSIAN SABLE FUR EXTRA LONG COAT WITH FLARED TRUMPET BOTTOM by David Appel Furs
Sequel #2: Sable/ Zibeline
Zibeline Parfum de Weil was one of the three original perfumes created in 1928 by Fourrures Weil in Paris to enhance the experience of wearing luxury furs. Zibeline is French for sable. Furs tended to develop a musky/ musty scent over time and a wealthy client had asked the furriers if there was a perfume one could use to mask this tendency without causing damage to the fur itself. This seemed like a great idea to Claude Weil and it just so happened his daughter, Jacqueline Fraysse, was a perfumer! So, together, combining their expertise, they set out to develop just such perfumes and this led to the formation of a new company Parums Weil. Their creations for scenting furs safely were an imediate success with the European luxury clientele of the period. There were three perfumes – each simply named after the fur you were intended to wear it with: Ermine/ Hermine, Sable/ Zibeline and Chinchilla/ Chinchilla Royale. The concept and the product was an immediate success.
What did this trio of fur perfumes smell like? An advertisement of the time described them thus: Hermine- a sweet tropical floral scent, Chinchilla Royal- a jasmine/rose blend and Zibeline- a grand floral chypre with deep vetiver/oak notes. In this sequel I will I will mainly be discussing Zibeline/ Sable.
In addition to my interest in vintage fashion and perfumes I am a history buff. I am very interested in how history influenced the fashions of its time. The tight knit Weil family were furriers by trade for several generations. They became perfumers by destiny. Since 1920 the furrier brothers, Alfred, Jacques and Marcel Weil experienced great success as fur designers in Paris at Les Fourrures Weil. This was during the electrifying emancipating atmosphere of the Jazz Age in 1920s Paris! In 1927 when a client requested a perfume to sweeten fur without damaging it Parfums Weil was born. The Weil family was Jewish and in 1940 fled the war, closing up their Paris shop. They moved to Bordeaux for a short time. Marcel Weil died of pneumonia in 1933. The father, the surviving brothers and Jacqueline came to the US where they bought out their US distributors in New York and used the space to open their first perfumery/ shop. It was located on Fifth Avenue in the heart of Manhattan. They could not have had a better location. They actually manufactured two of their most successful scents, Cassandra and Zibeline right there on sight. Cassandre was a solo creation of Jacqueline – an anise like fragrance with a hint of fruit and florals released in 1936. Jacqueline had a knack for creating new and unusual perfumes that appealed to women and kept creating one successful scent after another.
An ad from 1936
Jacqueline Fraysse was one of the rare early 20th century female perfumers of note. She must have been an interesting person. She worked in a male dominated field at a time when most women stayed home, or if they were adventurous, needy or otherwise inclined, they became “entertainers” of one kind or another – actresses, dancers, nightclub performers, etc. They might, in many circumstances have worked in shops or worked in other people’s homes. She was, it seems, lucky to have a family who recognized and encouraged her creative talents and provided an atmosphere and conditions in which she could pursue them. She came of age in 1920s Paris in the Jazz Age and then moved to New York. Yet all the while she lived and worked under the protection and watchful eyes of her furrier/ perfumer father and brothers. Based upon the quality of the perfumes she created and judging from their success in the marketplace she flourished even throughout the difficult years of the depression and war that followed. Her father and brothers were good businessmen and successful at marketing the family enterprise. I admire the fact that they included her contribution giving her credit for her talents and participation. In so many families the women do not get recognition for their contribution to the family business and are relegated to the invisible background so this is admirable and worthy of mention.
Perfumes Weil had grown successful in Paris to the point of opening a sizable factory and export business as well as their fashionable and financially successful fur and perfume salons. When the Nazi’s occupied France they took over Perfumes Weil and gave it to a wealthy Nazi Baron and his Nazi socialite girlfriend to operate. The evil Nazis went so far as to take out enormous vicious ads saying that the perfumes they were making were the originals and buyers should beware of cheap imitations being produced by imposters in other non-official locations notably New York where the real Weils were now residing and making the real thing. It was messy to say the least. Needless to say the Baron and his mistress were not well suited to running a perfume making operation and it was not successful in their hands. Luckily, when the war was over the Weils were able to return to France and regain control of their original company. They had an amazing knack for survival.
Through all of this turmoil of this historical period – from the Jazz age through the depression and the events of WWII – the appeal of the Zibeline/ Sable fragrance also survived and continued to expand. Of the three original Weil fur perfumes released in 1928 Zibeline/ Sable was ultimately the most popular. Women were wearing it for all occasions not only when wearing their furs.
Let’s take a look at the animal and his luxurious fur that inspired it – The Russian Sable.
This lush beautiful coat is made of Barguzin Sable from Russia the most sought after and valuable sable in the world. In the photo above it is modeled by the original owner in his natural snowy habitat.
This little guy is a Golden Sable. Sable comes in a variety of natural colors included dark brown with black tips, greyish brown, gold, and taupe. The different colors come from different areas.
The sable ( Martes zibeline) is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders from eastern Kazakhstan, China, North Korea and Hokkaido, Japan.
The name “sable” originates from Slavic languages and entered Western European languages through the medieval fur trade. Sables are small, omnivorous mammals that inhabit dense forests in regions like Russia, Mongolia, and China. They are known for their luxurious fur, which ranges from light to dark brown and is softer and silkier than that of American Martens. Sables resemble pine martens in size and appearance but have more elongated heads, longer ears, and shorter tails. They are skilled climbers and primarily hunt by sound and scent. Mating occurs between June and August, and litters typically have two or three offspring. Sable fur has been highly valued in the fur trade since the early Middle Ages, and its popularity has driven hunting and conservation efforts. Today, sable fur is often used to decorate clothing items, and the species has no special conservation status according to the IUCN Red List.
The name appears to be of Slavic origin and entered most Western European languages via the early medievil fur trade. Thus the Russian sobol and Polish sobal became the Dutch sable, the French zibeline, Spanish cibelina, cebellina. The Portuguese zibeline and Medieval Latin zibellina derive from the Italian form zibelino.
The term has become a generic description for some black-furred animal breeds, such as sable cats or rabbits, and for the color black in heraldry.
Males measure 38–56 centimetres (15–22 in) in body length, with a tail measuring 9–12 centimetres (3.5–4.7 in), and weigh 880–1,800 grams (1.94–3.97 lb). Females have a body length of 35–51 centimetres (14–20 in), with a tail length of 7.2–11.5 centimetres (2.8–4.5 in). The winter pelage is longer and more luxurious than the summer coat. Different subspecies display geographic variations of fur color , which ranges from light to dark brown, with individual coloring being lighter ventrally and darker on the back and legs. Japanese sables in particular are marked with black on their legs and feet. Individuals also display a light patch of fur on their throat which may be gray, white, or pale yellow.The fur is softer and silkier than that of American martens.
Sables inhabit dense forests dominated by spruce, pine, larch, Siberian cedar, and birch in both lowland and mountainous terrain. They defend home territories that may be anything from 4 to 30 square kilometers (1.5 to 11.6 sq mi) in size, depending on local terrain and food availability. However, when resources are scarce they may move considerable distances in search of food, with travel rates of 6 to 12 kilometers (3.7 to 7.5 mi) per day having been recorded.
Sables live in burrows near riverbanks and in the thickest parts of woods. These burrows are commonly made more secure by being dug among tree roots. They are good climbers of cliffs and trees. They are primarily crepuscular, hunting during the hours of twilight, but become more active in the day during the mating season. Their dens are well hidden, and lined by grass and shed fur, but may be temporary, especially during the winter, when the animal travels more widely in search of prey.
Sables are omnivores and their diet varies seasonally. In the summer, they eat large numbers of mountain hare and other small mammals. In winter, when they are confined to their retreats by frost and snow, they feed on wild berries, rodents, hares, and even small musk deer. They also hunt small weasels, ermine, and birds. Sometimes, sables follow the tracks of wolves and bears and feed on the remains of their kills. They eat gastropods such as slugs, which they rub on the ground in order to remove the mucus. Sables also occasionally eat fish, which they catch with their front paws.
They hunt primarily by sound and scent, and they have an acute sense of hearing. Sables mark their territory with scent produced in glands on the abdomen. Predators of sable include a number of larger carnivores, such as wolves, foxes, wolverines, tigers, lynxes, eagles and large owls.
Mating generally occurs between June and August 15, though the date varies geographically. When courting, sables run, jump and “rumble” similarly to cats. Males dig meter long shallow grooves in the snow, frequently accompanied by urination. Males fight each other violently for females. Females enter estrus in spring. Mating can last as long as eight hours. After insemination the blastocyst does not implant into the uterine wall of the female. Instead, implantation occurs eight months later although gestation lasts 245 to 298 days, embryonic development requires only 25–30 days. Sables birth in tree hollows, where they build nests composed of moss, leaves, and dried grass. Litters number one to seven young, although litters of two or three are most common. Males assist females by defending their territories and providing food.
Sables are born with eyes closed and skin covered in a very thin layer of hair. Newborn cubs weigh between 25 and 35 grams (0.88 and 1.23 oz) and average 10 to 12 centimeters (3.9 to 4.7 in) in length.[ They open their eyes between 30 and 36 days, and leave the nest shortly afterwards. At seven weeks, the young are weaned and given regurgitated food. They reach sexual maturity at the age of two years. They have been reported to live for up to twenty two years on fur farms, and up to eighteen years in the wild.
Sables can interbreed with pine Martens. This has been observed in the wild, where the two species overlap in the Ural Mountains, and is sometimes deliberately encouraged on fur farms. The resulting hybrid, referred to as a kidus, is slightly smaller than a pure sable, with coarser fur, but otherwise similar markings, and a long bushy tail. Kiduses are typically sterile although there has been one recorded instance of a female kidus successfully breeding with a male pine marten.
The Russian variety yields the most luxurious highest priced fur. Wild sable pelts are superior to those raised on farms.
In Russia, the sable’s distribution is largely the result of mass re-introductions involving 19,000 animals between 1940 and 1965. Their range extends northward to the tree line, and extends south to 55–60° latitude in western Siberia, and 42° in the mountainous areas of eastern Asia. Their western distribution encompasses the Ural Mountains where they are sympatric with the European pine marten They are also found on Sakhalin.
In Mongolia, sables occur in the Altai Mountains and in the surrounding forests of Lake Hovsgol, the latter being contiguous with the Trans-Baikal boreal forest region from which the most valuable sable pelts come. In China, sables occur in a limited area of the Xinjiang Uygar Autonomous Region. In northeastern China, sables are now limited to the Greater Khingan Range. In eastern Heilongjiang, the persistence of sables is suspected in the Lesser Khingan Range. Sables also occur in Hokkaido and on the Korean peninsula.
Larch taiga on the slopes of Lesser Khingan – sable compatable territory.
Because of the variable appearance of the sable in different geographic localities, there has been some debate over the exact number of subspecies that can be clearly identified. Mammal Species of the World recognises seventeen different subspecies, but other recent scholarly sources have identified anything from seven to thirty.
Sable fur has been a highly valued item in the fur trade since the early Middle Ages and is generally considered to have the most beautiful and richly tinted pelt among martens. Sable fur is unique because it retains its smoothness in every direction it is stroked. The fur of other animals feels rough stroked against the grain. A wealthy 17th-century Russian diplomat once described the sable as “A beast that the Ancient Greeks and Romans called the Golden Fleece. Russian sables would typically be skinned over the mouth with no incision being made on the body. The feet would be retained, so as to keep as much fur as possible. Byzantine priests would wear sable for their rituals.
In England sable fur was held in great esteem. Henry I was presented with a wreath of black sable by the Bishop of Lincoln, for no less than £100, a considerable sum at the time. Sable fur was a favourite of Henry VIII, who once received five sets of sable fur worth £400 from Emperor Charles V. Henry later decreed that sable fur was to be worn only by nobles exceeding the rank of viscount. The Russian conquest of Siberia was largely spurred by the availability of sables. Ivan Grozny once demanded an annual tribute of 30,000 sable pelts from the newly conquered Kazan Tatars though they never sent more than a thousand, as Russia at the time was unable to enforce the tribute due to wars with Sweden and Poland. The best skins were obtained in Irkutsk and Kamchatka.
When Genghis Khan married his first wife, Borte Ujin, his mother Hoelun received a coat of sable furs from the girl’s parents. This was reportedly a very noble gift, serving not only an aesthetic need but also a practical one. Shortly after, when the young Shigi Qutuqu was found wandering a destroyed Tatar camp, he was recognised to be of noble descent because of his sable-lined silk jerkin.
According to Atkinson’s Travels in Asiatic Russia, Barguzin on Lake Baikal was famed for its sables. The fur of this population is a deep jet black with white tipped hair. Eighty to ninety dollars were sometimes demanded by hunters for a single skin. In 1916, the first Marie reserve in the Russian Empire was created—known as the Barguzin National Reserve —precisely to preserve and increase the numbers of Barguzin sable. Sable fur would continue to be the most favoured fur in Russia, until the discovery of sea otters in the Kamchatka peninsula, whose fur was considered even more valuable. Sable furs were coveted by the nobility of the Russian Empire with very few skins ever being found outside the country during that period. Some, however, would be privately obtained by Jewish traders and brought annually to the Leipzig fair. Sometimes, sable hunting was a job given to convicts exiled to Siberia.
Imperial Russian fur companies produced 25,000 skins annually, with nearly ninety percent of the produce being exported to France and Germany. The civic robes of the Lord Mayor and Corporation of London, which were worn on State occasions, were trimmed with sable. As with minks and martens, sables were commonly caught in steel traps. Intensified hunting in Russia in the 19th and early 20th century caused a severe-enough decline in numbers that a five-year ban on hunting was instituted in 1935, followed by a winter-limited licensed hunt. These restrictions together with the development of sable farms have allowed the species to recolonize much of its former range and attain healthy numbers.
The Soviet Union allowed Old Believer communities to continue their traditional way of life on the condition that they hand over all sable skins they produced. The dissolution of the Soviet Union led to an increase of hunting and poaching in the 1990s, in part because wild caught Russian furs are considered the most luxurious and demand the highest prices on the international market. Currently, the species has no special conservation status according to the ICUN Red List though the isolated Japanese subspecies M. zibellina brachyurus is listed as “data-deficient”.
Because of its great expense, sable fur is typically integrated into various clothes fashions: to decorate collars, sleeves, hems and hats see, for example, the shtreimel.
The so-called kolinsky sable haired brushes used for watercolor or oil painting are not manufactured from sable hair, but from that of the Siberian weasel.
If you want a sable garment today there are several ways to go. You can buy a new fur garment or have one custom made. If it is long and custom designed it will be beautiful and very expensive, possibly costing as much as a house! Here are a few examples. Prices are usually only available via special request because sable is like gold and the prices can fluctuate with the market. If a garment is specially made for a client the price would also be determined by how many pelts are used and what size a garment is made as well as how detailed the design is . Some possibilities to consider would include: A knee length casual but elegant city coat. A luxurious long brocade evening coat trimmed in Russian sable with a large collar that doubles as a hood. A contemporary light brown sable maxi coat that will make a modern woman feel like a queen! A modern but classic black cashmere coat with Golden Sable Collar and Cuffs. If a full coat is too expensive one can still enjoy the luxury of sable with a sable trimmed design. 3/4 length coats and jackets with a casual ambience are also available.
There are, of course, elegant manly sable styles available for modern men as well.
The Soviet Union honored the sable with a postage stamp in 1967!
If you are going to wear sable/ zimbeline fur in current times and you want to wear the special perfume designed to wear with it in 1928 by Weil you can still do so because bottles of vintage Zimbeline perfume are still regularly showing up Ebay and Etsy. Weil kept producing it for decades.
The original bottle at the beginning of this post is the oldest and probably the most expensive, but there were other bottles as well. Here are pictures of some different bottle designs you might find. Zibeline was also released as a bath oil which could be used in the bath or as “part of a lady’s toilette” by dabbing a small amount of the precious oil onto one’s skin at a strategic point such as the wrist or cleavage
I always look at what is available in vintage pre-owned furs as an option when I am considering adding a new fur to my personal collection. You can often find one that you will really like for a fraction of the cost of a new piece. So, let’s take a look at some pre-loved options currently on the market.
Here is a really nice full length Dark Brown Russian Sable, Royal Crown Quality, full length coat priced at $6,500. It is gorgeous! Dark, clean. shiny, lush and in excellent condition! It is being sold by Barb The Fur Lady on Etsy and has been recently appraised for $79,000 which is the retail replacement value the buyer can put on her home owners insurance policy.
The coat is a beauty! And a terrific bargain if it is your size and a style you are looking for. It is listed as a a size M – L (10 – 12) I wish it was my size!
From the same seller I also found a lovely Russian Sable Flat fur stole , priced at $2,500 and appraised for insurance purposes at $19,000. It is in immaculate condition and ready to attend a gala event! One wonderful thing about a stole like this is that it will fit just about anyone so you don’t need to worry about the size being too large or too small. It would make a wonderful gift for a special someone and you would not need to worry about whether it was going to fit them or not!
Barb The Fur Lady on Etsy also has several other sable/ zimbeline stoles available in her shop at this time. I suggest you visit her and search for sable to view them. And while you are there look at her other fur items. If you love furs you will undoubtedly find something stunning.
I have acquired several vintage furs for my own collection from Barb
Buyers should be aware when shopping for a pre-owned or vintage fur that is costs a seller a goodly extra amount to have a fur cleaned and appraised. This is something you might have to pay for yourself after buying a per-loved fur item if a seller has not done it. It should be done by a professional furrier. I will provide the name of the furrier I use at the end of this post should you need such services. Ideally a fur garment will fit you and be ready to wear when you acquire it, but this is not always the case. Sometimes repairs, alterations and cleaning are needed. I have bought several vintage furs myself that needed restoration work and alterations done. They were pretty styles and the fur was basically in good shape when I acquired them, but after my furrier cleaned and glazed them they looked spectacular and fit me like they had been custom made.
I was able to get vintage furs in styles I loved that looked as beautiful as new ones after being reconditioned and they cost me a fraction of the price of a new one! I use Swiss furrier Rene’ Vogel for all my fur related needs. He does identification of mystery furs, alterations, cleaning, remodeling and appraisals. I highly recommend his work.
You can reach professional Swiss Furrier Rene Vogel via email Rene’ Vogel <rdcvogel@msn.com> or by phone at (425)322-9638 to schedule appointments for all your fur related needs.
I want to make it clear to my readers that I chose to write about Rene’ Vogel to share information I have learned from him about furs and to provide them access to him as a reliable professional furrier should they wish to find one. Rene’ is not paying me to write about him.
I want to thank Barbara Koich AKA, Barb ” The Fur Lady” on Etsy, for letting me write about her furs and sharing her photos and information on the beautiful fur items listed in her Etsy Shop. She carries high quality hand picked vintage furs of all kinds and can be trusted for the exceptional quality of her pieces and her excellent customer service. I regularly shop there for furs myself because I know they will be high quality. Check out her shop!
Rare and beautiful historic clothing and accessories, jewelry, vintage furs, leather goods and vintage fragrances are for sale in my online shops. If you see something on this blog that you are interested in buying, but do not find it for sale in my shops message me on Etsy or Ebay and I will get back to you about availability. I check messages daily and can always prepare a special listing for you if you do not find it already listed in the shops. Some perfumes, vintage furs and fur trimmed items are currently listed for sale and others will be listed as they are ready to sell. Items are always in process of being readied for listing so all inventory is not already listed and photographed. Feel free to message me on Ebay or Etsy if you are seeking something in particular as I may have it or be able to find it for you. There are contact seller buttons on all listings in the stores which allow you to write me messages.
Tags: Vintage Fur Posted in Manton de Manila | Comments Off on The First Perfumes Created to Wear with Furs Were Named After Three Furs: Ermine, Sable, and Chinchilla – the Most Luxurious Furs in the World: Sequel #2 Sable
