Fine Fur Care

One of the benefits to being a New Yorker is the change of seasons we get to enjoy and the change in wardrobe those temperature swings entitle us to.  While you might be hard pressed to justify having a fur coat or two if Palm Beach was your home town, as a New Yorker a fur coat can easily be considered a winter essential for style, warmth and quality of life!  And let’s face it – a properly cared for fur will last you years and years.  It’s an investment!

As a fur care specialist, we want to help you make the most of that investment, so here are our top 10 helpful care tips that you’ll want to keep in mind:

1. Always hang your fur on a sturdy broad shouldered hanger.  Your fur needs the support to relieve the stress on sewn seams and never crowd other garments around it.  Your coat must have air circulation.
2. Never store your fur in a cedar closet or with moth balls; they rob your fur of moisture.

3. Never store your fur in plastic.  Your fur needs to breathe.  It needs air flow.  Stifling it in plastic can lead to pelts drying out, discoloration due to oxidation and off gassing and hair shedding.
4. Keep your fur away from radiators and heat vents.  Heat will accelerate the biodegradation of the skins and dramatically reduce the life of the garment.

5. If your fur gets a bit wet – shake it out and hang it to dry away from a heat source.  DO NOT try to ‘blow it dry’ with a hair dryer!
6. Do not sit on your coat for prolonged periods of time.  The friction will weaken the fur.  Avoid shoulder bags, backpacks, seat belts, etc. when wearing your fur.  Again, friction is the villain that will harm it.

7. Always apply hair sprays, perfumes and other alcohol based cosmetics before donning your coat.  And allow adequate time for them to dry.
8. Take care of minor repairs, rips and tears promptly.  Repairing fur (and leather) garments require special sewing needles, threads and skill.  As you can imagine, a fur has a different density and must be sewn from the ‘back’.  (Just an FYI - We are fully equipped to not only repair your fur but to remodel it!)

9. Clean your fur once a year.  Your skin needs to be cleaned and conditioned.  Your hair needs to be cleaned and conditioned, and yes, your fur needs to be cleaned and conditioned (glazed).  Air borne particles will settle into your fur no matter how often or how infrequently you wear it.  These particles will rob the fur of its natural oils and emollients.  They must be removed annually with professional fur care or they will do irreparable harm.  Please note – this is not the same cleaning process used to dry clean your clothes.  It’s a special fur process – and we use it.
10. You can prolong the life and beauty of your fur by storing it during spring and summer in a temperature, humidity and light controlled professional cold vault. Yes, your home may be centrally air conditioned, but it doesn’t maintain 50% RH (relative humidity), stay dark or even have a consistent cold air temperature!

If you’re thinking we know a lot about furs and their care – you’re right. We became experts at fine fur care by doing our homework and investing in the best tools and technology available so that we can ‘spoil you’ and your fur with our superior service.