‘Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible’: Thou Shalt Not Wear Fur

Fashion’s fatherly force to be reckoned with, Tim Gunn just sent fashionistas scurrying into their neighborhood coffee shop or hunkering down in their favorite chair at home to crack open his third book, Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible: The Fascinating History of Everything in Your Closet. His first commandment? “Thou shalt look fabulous.” And for Tim, “fabulous” means fur-free.

Nearly half of the chapter “Coats and Jackets” is a treatise on fur. In fact, he subtitled the chapter “Why fur belongs in the dustbin of history.” And Tim provides fur’s history, including taking his readers back to the time when he himself believed, while working at Liz Claiborne, Inc., that it would be difficult to have a luxury clothing brand without fur. But, as he explains, he agreed to meet with PETA Vice President Dan Mathews to discuss the possibility of the 46 Liz brands, which include Juicy Couture and Kate Spade, going fur-free. “[O]ver time,” Tim remembers, “I became convinced that fur was unnecessary and even immoral.” And under Tim’s guidance, Liz Claiborne became a completely fur-free company.

Now, Tim derides real fur with the same wit that struck fear into the hearts of many a Project Runway contestant whose design talents came up short: “Now, my bile rises when I see fur on someone in this day and age. A fur coat today is the grossest form of conspicuous consumption, with only the possible exception of Kim Kardashian’s $2 million engagement ring,” he writes. “It’s gross. And I seldom use the word ‘gross.’ Few items of apparel to me are as gut-wrenching and repugnant as a full-length fur coat.”

And Tim doesn’t just talk—he acts. He helped PETA save animals who are used for their skins by narrating an exposé of the fur, leather, wool, and exotic-skins industries, which he then personally sent to designers.

Between the media buzz, the industry accolades, and the glitzy release parties, Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible is sure to be a bestseller, just like his second book, Gunn’s Golden Rules. And we’re betting that after fur-wearers read that none other than Tim Gunn, the dashing dignitary of decorum, places real fur below even UGGs and jeggings, they’ll want to give their wardrobe a makeover.

Image courtesy of Flickr’s The Commons.