· Friends and Relations ·

One thing that has (shamefully!) yet to make an appearance on my blog is one of my other collections- vintage fur. :-)

About a year and a half ago, I realized that my wardrobe was sadly lacking in the soft, fluffy, and oh-so-quintessentially-vintage department and determined to keep my eyes open while antiquing.  I must have chosen a good time to start, because my first day shopping resulted in this stole and collar, as well as one more collar!

While our area is too rural for frequent vintage clothing finds, it does boast frequent opportunities for very affordable furs! :-) (One of the reasons I love those old stores- when you do come across something amazing, it's usually very cheap!) Consequently, I have quite the collection going...  But really - fur collars add so much to an outfit, and they're so very versatile!  What started out as a simple idea of owning 1 or 2 pieces of fur has now become an obsession of giving every piece of fur I find a loving home. :-)  Over the past few months, I've had to reign myself in a bit.  So now only the very lowest of prices are an inducement for purchasing.  A sad day.

This stole is made from 4 pelts, and one of the "mouths" has a clip to attach it to any other part of the stole.

Just two of the many different ways this stole can be worn!  The version on the right was my "style of choice" for the '13-'14 year. ;-)

The cord-covered snaps attach to the stole with a plastic (bakelite?) chain.

This quirky fur hat seemed just the right touch for the ensemble. ;-)

Oh, and the title of this post comes from my name for this stole.  Shortly before I purchased this, one of my friends was gifted a single mink pelt.  She didn't know much what to do with it other than give it a name- so it was christened "Twinky".  Once I purchased my stole, it seemed only natural to refer to it jokingly as "Twinky's friends and relations".  The name stuck, however, and it is now commonly known by the title "Friends and Relations". :-)  My other furs are currently unnamed, and I intend on keeping it that way. ;-)

This is a super fun fur collar that I also got the first day!  I was intrigued by the unique shape and the potential for versatility! :-)  Each of the ends of the collar has either a hook or a loop, so you can mix and match which ones you want to fasten (or all 4 at once!).  On the left, I have it asymmetrically fastened, on the right, the lower two are fastened.

Asymmetrically was my favorite way to wear this collar in the '12-'13 year. ;-)

I've become quite sold on wearing fur!  It is sooo warm- these 3/4 length sleeved dresses are now officially warm enough to be "winter approved" with the addition of a fur stole or collar!  And it's sooo soft.....  I'll be sad to see April come, which is my self-imposed curfew on fur-wearing.  Come October, I'll be more than ready to get them all back out again!!

· Photography by Kathryn ·