Where Did You Get Your Fur?

Due to the “mob wife aesthetic” trending on TikTok, fur coats in all their glamour and gaudiness are being worn this winter. Throughout “Fashion Tok,” how-to style fur coat videos frequent my “For You” page and suddenly, I wanted a fur coat too. The “mob wife aesthetic” isn’t the only reason fur is having a comeback. Fall/Winter 2024 runways in Paris, Milan, and London were filled with them. Shows like Gucci, Balenciaga, and Louis Vuitton featured models donning full fur coats, setting the precedent for a trend.

While those presentations have only been from this season, the trend cycle works fast and TikTok works even faster. People have found themselves digging through vintage stores or their parent’s closets to rock one for the last months of winter, myself included. Recently, I went vintage shopping in hopes of finding a fur coat after weeks of scrolling through Depop and The RealReal with no luck. I found one almost immediately at an L Train Vintage in Brooklyn and went home feeling fulfilled. Now, I’ll be wearing my fur coat throughout New York Fashion Week. Other young fashion lovers like myself who haven’t been able to shake the trend from their minds tell ESSENCE.com how they acquired their fur coats over the years.

Yuri Carter, an Atlanta-based vintage luxury store owner, tells ESSENCE.com that her fur coats are meaningful gifts from her mother. When she was younger she’d tag along with her mom on trips to New York and Chicago. Her mother would purchase made-to-buy furs from the fur district. At the fur district, her mother would get her name engraved on the inside of the coats. Now, Carter has a piece of her mom wherever she goes. “As I grew older, she passed them down to me. For Yuri’s Market I source mostly vintage furs from various places like online platforms, estate sales, and vintage shops,” she shares in an email.

Separately, Siva Ambrose, a Brooklyn-based photographer shares that in recent months she wanted an interesting coat for the winter so she looked to pick up a fur outerwear piece. Ambrose details that though the trend has been rising in New York City, her search was more about getting out of her comfort zone. “I was looking for a textured brown or black jacket and saw this fur one and I fell in love with it [and bought] it immediately,” she shares. Ambrose expresses that she purchased it on an online consignment store “I feel like fur coats also just make you look so cool like you’re going somewhere important without even trying,” Ambrose tells ESSENCE.com. 

While some might feel Los Angeles may not call for fur, the chilly evenings there will make you think otherwise. Yetunde Sapp, a Washington, D.C. native who lived in LA for a few years purchased her first fur coat back in 2018. She’s been wearing it recently especially since it’s buzzy. In an email, Sapp recalls a visit to the Fairfax Flea when she spotted a stunning yellow fur coat being sold by a Black woman vendor.

“A super kind Black [woman] vendor was selling it, and I was literally making pennies and could barely buy clothes that whole year, as I was saving up for school, but that coat was too perfect,” Sapp recalls in an email. That was one of the first tables Sapp stopped by when she entered the market. When she asked about the coat the vendor said, “If it’s still here when you leave then it’s meant to be yours.” Luckily for Yetunde, it was still there after a few hours so she treated herself. “That may be the most I spent on anything at the time but, I’ve had it ever since,” Sapp adds.

New York artist and model Gabrielle Richardson recalls the first fur coat she bought for herself at 15 years old. Back then Richardson was working at a vintage store when she decided to take the plunge to purchase a fur. Ever since then, she has never bought fur from other retailers beyond vintage. To Richardson, buying secondhand fur is more ethical for the environment. “[Second-hand fur is] truly better for the environment than fake furs, and [in my opinion] they’re warmer and have more longevity,” Richardson tells ESSENCE.com. She’s the first out of her Caribbean family to buy a fur coat.

Though the “mob wife aesthetic” may die down in the coming months, fur coats are a timeless piece you can turn to for years especially if they’re stored properly. They can also be passed down as heirloom items. These outerwear pieces are an exciting come-up that can come straight from vintage stores too or perhaps online if you know your exact sizing. We feel that fur coats are here to stay. This is largely due to how they add elegance to any outfit. We’re not saying goodbye to this trend any time soon.