Tag Archives: H&M

Help Ban Angora Rabbit Fur

Before Christmas, when we were all getting ready for the winter weather, you could easily find angora rabbit fur jumpers, coats, gilets and collars in a number of stores. Now, after agony of what the angora rabbit endures in the name of fashion has been publicised, highstreet stores such as New Look, Marks & Spencer, ASOS and H&M have banned these products from their stores. Why? Take a look at these horrifying images-

Rabbits are kept in dirty, cramped cages with little access to clean water.

cages-500x280

The rabbit is stretched as it is cut with an electric shear.

Ban Angora Rabbit Fur PETA

The rabbits are plucked while still alive and scream in agony during the process.

Ban Angora Rabbit Fur PETA

The process is repeated on one rabbit over a few years until it’s throat is slit.

This process in not unique to the angora rabbit. All fur products come from similar manufacturing roots. Wearing fur cannot and should not be likened to wearing leather or eating meat sourced from ethically farmed animals. The real issue here is that the animal is kept alive during the process and that the wearing of fur, unlike leather, does not serve a purpose other than vanity.

No one is perfect and no one likes to be told their decision is wrong and immoral. I am guilty of wearing clothes that have probably been produced in sweat shops, wearing leather and sticking to vegetarianism for 6 months at a time, but once images such as these cause even the highstreet fat cats to ban the product, can anyone really wear angora fur guilt free?

Being obsessed with fashion has meant I have toyed with the idea of ditching the faux and wearing real fur. I’ve tried to justify it by telling myself it is okay because I eat meat and wear leather, but knowing and fully understanding the difference in fur production should be enough to stop anyone.

In an age where the vast majority of the western world has access to central heating, double glazing and good quality faux fur garments, and where animal cruelty is a criminal offence, should  any of us really be wearing fur at all?

 Stop the use of angora rabbit fur by signing the PETAUK petition:

 http://action.peta.org.uk/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=5&ea.campaign.id=23870

Peplum Perfection

By Leyla Keskin

Anyone who knows me will know that I am obsessed with any and everything 1940’s.  Women during this time seemed to look effortlessly classy and glamorous despite the difficulties of living in wartime Britain (or anywhere else for that matter).

Advert in Vogue circa 1947

 

My obsession started when, as a little girl, I realised that my Grandparents where alive during the war. I would ask them all sorts of questions about their experiences and loved hearing everything they could share with me, from how my Grandfather helped his Grandfather build their air raid shelter to how my Grandmother would watch her Mother draw a line on her calves instead of wearing stockings. My Grandmother would and still does tell me stories about her childhood and she always seems to remember exactly what she was wearing. She describes her outfits in great detail, creating a vivid image in my head and always ends her description with ‘Oh, I thought it was marvellous’.

Given my obsession with 40’s fashion you can understand how pleased I was when celebrities started posing on the red carpet wearing PEPLUMS!!!

The 40’s were all about curves. Clothes were made for women with curves or to create the illusion of the perfect hourglass and the gathered, flared material around the waist of a peplum does exactly this.

So you know what a peplum is but how do you wear it? I read somewhere that because the peplum is already a statement piece then you should not colour clash or team it with any patterns! Rubbish! As far as I am concerned there are no rules when it comes to colour or patterns.

One thing you do need to remember when rocking a peplum is that it is designed to show off those womanly curves. If you are wearing a peplum top then team it with a pencil skirt or a pair of skinny jeans to avoid it looking too fussy and loosing that hourglass shape. When wearing a peplum skirt you can team it with a strapless bodycon top for a glam evening look or dress it down with a jersey top for a daytime look. As with any look, remember to have fun and experiment – the peplum is both quirky and glam, vintage and modern and can be worn day or night.

I asked my grandmother the other day whether she ever wore peplums as a young girl, partly hoping she still had one or two pieces stashed away in her wardrobe.

‘A what?’

‘A peplum, nana’

‘You’ll have to show me what a pep….peplum is’.

I ran up to the small bedroom I stay in when visiting my grandparents and grabbed my purple peplum top.

‘Oh, a frill! I had a coat with a frill going around my waist as a girl. Oh, I thought it was marvellous’.