Questions on fur shedding, dyeing, coat weight, "blue frost"

[elbas3175]

Hello,

 

I have a few queries about fox for anyone who can help me.

 

Shedding

I bought a brand new dyed fox jacket a few months ago. It is still shedding hairs even now, every time it is worn. I have tried shaking it, but it just keeps on shedding. I don't think there's much I can do to stop this now, but why might it be occurring? Poor pelt quality? Can the dyeing have had an effect?

 

Coat weight

What makes a coat heavy or light? If you take, say, a blue fox coat, same design - can it be made heavier or lighter, perhaps using longer/shorter pelts? Can dyeing the fur make a difference?

 

Blue frost / Silver blue / Indigo fox

Has anyone come across these variations of fox before? Are they all the same thing, some sort of cross between silver and blue fox?

 

I was briefly shown "silver blue" pelts by a furrier a while back, and they seemed to have the same thick density of blue, similar short length of hair, but were coloured like silver.

 

I have tried on a "blue frost" jacket, and the fur seemed less dense than blue, with hairs longer than blue, but shorter than silver, and coloured similar to silver.

 

And I have an "indigo" coat. This seems similar to the "blue frost" jacket I tried, but the colouration is different.

 

Many thanks!

[AKcoyote]

I am NOT a furrier or an expert, but I will try to answer a couple of the questions.

 

Shedding:

All new fur garments will shed some loose hair from where the pelts were cut and sewn. This should subside after a few wearings. Continued shedding indicates misuse or bad pelts. Friction is a major cause of fur hairs breaking and falling off. Do not sit on any part of a fur garment or otherwise expose the hair to excess friction or crushing. I have seen a full length fur that had a big bald spot where the lady sat on it repeatedly.

Dying can also affect the quality of a pelt and how well it holds on to its hairs.

 

Coat weight:

In my opinion, this relates more to the durability of a fur than anything else. As consumers have demanded furs that did not feel so heavy, the tanning industry has responded by scraping (fleshing) the leather side of pelts much thinner than they used to in order to reduce weight. Because thinner leather on pelts dries out and starts to deteriorate much faster than thick leather, older garments that were made with thicker leather pelts last noticeably longer than newer garments made with thin leather pelts.

 

Fox variations:

Between natural, crosses, and dyed foxes, there are dozens of possibilities or variants. BEWARE of judging a type of fox just by comparison with another type in a fur store. Pelt quality can vary widely even within the same species or type. Pelts are usually priced on the combination of size, quality, and availability. Manufacturing furriers might use a batch of lower quality pelts to make a garment just so they can offer the garment at a lower price than if they used high quality pelts.

[JGalanos]

Shedding

It is still shedding hairs even now, every time it is worn. Why might it be occurring? Poor pelt quality?

 

I think AK covered all the bases. I'm no expert either, but would say that based upon my experience (with two full length foxes several seasons old in storage) minor shedding of fox is natural/unavoidable. I semi-baby my furs (carefully wearing them, cleaning, glazing, and storing them annually, etc.) but when I wear fox over dark clothing it seems I always find a stray hair or two.

 

You weren't specific re: the amount of shedding you've been experiencing. If it's a couple of hairs per wearing, I wouldn't be overly concerned about it. But if it's shedding significantly (say, over a dozen hairs at a time), then, as AK stated below, you could have a problem garment on your hands.

 

Just my two cents ...