I will be going middle-class to TRF this weekend, but it's supposed to be cold. I have a vintage mink capelet (round in the back) w/stole front. I know it's not middle-class, but would it be horribly wrong style wise?
I say wear it!
WEAR IT!!
Take some ribbon and make it look like leashes!
(im gonna steal that idea for my stole.... My minkies have been banished to the closet)
Who cares about class when it's cold... you could always make up a great story like you worked in the household of a wealthy woman who gave you the mink in her will and it's your most prized posession and only comes out on rare occasion!!
I wish I could find the picture I have of a friend of mine on cast at Scarby, wearing her Victorian cape last year on Opening Day in the snow. She looks adorable.
I say wear.....all through history people have broken sumptuary laws if they thought they could get away with it.
I concur...wear it! ;D
We have a set of replica Medieval brasses of a husband and his first and second wives (first one died, then he remarried). The first wife is wearing a gown of brocade, the second wife has a gown with fur around the collar and cuffs.
The significance of this at the time was that this was the way to see that Sir Henry received his wealth through his first wife. Brocade came from Italy, so it showed that she was of a higher social class than the second wife who wasn't as wealthy. The thought was that anyone could go out and hunt a rabbit or other animal for its fur, but the brocade had to be imported.
So I say wear the fur, even as a middle class person, because your husband (or you!) could have gone out and hunted it down. And I don't know if there are minks in England, but you could always stretch the point and say it is something else!
Taffy, I have a vintage fur capelet AND a pill box hat to match.I took it to faire and put some big feathers and stuff on the hat and wore the cape and everyone just loved it. They keep petting my cape and telling me how pretty it was. So I say WEAR IT! You'll look Marvelous. ::)
I did wear the capelet & although it was sunny, there was a nice chilly breeze - I was so glad I wore it. I got petted & even got an appraisal for it. I even brought my zibellini Ron for a walk (he's from the Weasley family & has a sister who is adorned w/"rubies" named Ginny).