Fur Muffs: History in Brief

For many, fur muffs arguably connect with past centuries, society women all poshed up, and puffed gowns. Indeed, hand muffs have a long history.

For the first time, hand muffs were marked in ancient writings in 1400 (http://www.astorplacevintage.com/history-fur-muffs/). Meanwhile, the first appearances in imagery can be tracked down back in 1600‘s. At those times, even men used to give warm to their hands in fur muffs. Back then, fur was hard to get, so these accessories were often made of silk or sateen, and then ornamented with lace and ribbons. Hand muffs were quite handy for hiding small stuff, while ladies even managed to keep their lap-dogs there.

In 1600‘s, the Hudson Bay Company started massive production of fur muffs, which made the elegance of warming their hands available to the middle-class people as well. Among women, the favorite fur was sable, ermine, and squirrel. Meanwhile, men preferred muffs made of otter, tiger skin, and lynx fur. In 1700‘s, those accessories became a real boom of fashion; this made hand muffs an exclusively feminine accessory ever since. There was a transformation in the model itself; muffs turned bigger and more massive. The nineteenth century witnessed gradual go-out of this accessory, mostly due to the advent of fashionable fur coats with pockets that were handy for warming ones hands. During the early 1900‘s, hand muffs briefly came back into fashion; ladies often put them on while driving cabriolets. During the deprivation days of World War II, women still had the desire for luxury, and started using old fur coats for making hand muffs. With the change of the public role of women in the postwar years, fur muffs gradually left female wardrobe; now she had a job, was driving a car and smoking…