THE PRICE OF FUR

Evening Post, Volume XCVIII, Issue 146, 18 December 1919, Page 2

THE PRICE OF FUR

WHY HATS WILL COST MORE. A sensation has been oreated in the English fur.trade (writes a correspondent' to a Midland journal) by the great rise ia the price of all classes of fur, ranging from 50. per cent, to 100.per. cent, at a jump, and in a -week's time. A week ago ' fur for making hate was listed at 21s. Now it is over 30s per pound, and very little can. be obtained at that price. A prominent hitter's furrier states that he epent the most harassing and disastrous week of his career at the recent London Bales. Now Zealand skins, which w«re at one time 7d per pound and at the last sales 200 d, are now quoted at 300 d, or 50s per dozen skins. For hatting, fur has risen 50 per cent, to 100 per cent., and there is not the elijrhteet hope of it declining. Even at that price the fur cutters (furriers who cut the skins and pre-. pare them for the ha-tworks) did not get a look in, the dressers (thefee who prepare the skins for ladies' wear) being the largest buyers at exorbitant prices. Tho . skins will bo dressed and made into ladies' muffs, furs, and coats at a price, even though they are imitation, which will bo far above anything yet seen. "These dressers," he said, "wore buying • skins which hatters would not have looked at at one time, but they will find a ready market." "Of course, they.cannot wear," he remarked when asked if they would ntako ' lerviceablo women's coats, etc. "They wilt be got up to look like the real thing, " but time will prove them otherwise." "I wynt to buy some South American ekins, and asked the price of skunk. . I was amazed to find the price was 50s per Bkm. As it takes six of these ekins to make a lady' 6 pillow muff one can see at a glance what sort of prices are going to rule this winter for ladies' fur coats and muffs. Hats of everj kind are bound to go up now, for the manufacturers cannot stand anything like a 50 per cent increase in the price of fur, which has now reached its highest figure in the history' of the hat trade."