Line #58 Main/ItsFakeFurItsFine


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4	[[quoteright:350:[[{{Franchise/Barbie}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/94_hhbarbie_2522.jpg]]]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:Didn't hurt that the doll's price wasn't as high as if her dress had been trimmed with real fur.]]
6
7	->''If I had a million dollars''\
8	''(If I had a million dollars)''\
9	''Well, I'd buy you a fur coat''\
10	''(But not a real fur coat; that's cruel)''
11	-->-- '''Music/BarenakedLadies''', "If I Had $1000000"
12
13	Basically a work explicitly states that a character is wearing fake fur, to avoid upsetting any [[UnfortunateImplications anti-fur viewers]].
14
15	The main reason for this is having [[GarnishingTheStory the glamour of fur]] without any of the guilt (or angry letters).
16
17	Note that simply wearing fake fur isn't enough, since that could just be for budget reasons. This requires the show clearly stating it InUniverse in some way.
18
19	In RealLife, some people claim some vintage furs they have are fake, to avoid harassment. Conversely, it is also possible to buy clothes containing real fur claiming to be faux fur, since farming certain types of animals for fur can actually be cheaper than synthetic materials. There has also been backlash against fake fur because it's a type of plastic, which has led to debates on whether it's truly better for the animals and environment. Maybe the safest choice is to just avoid both variations altogether if possible. That, or {{take a third option}} by making fake fur made out of sustainable, eco-friendly, and plastic-free materials like plant fibers.
20
21	A SubTrope of PrettyInMink.
22
23	Compare FurAndLoathing.
24
25	Contrast CruellaToAnimals.
26
27	Compare/Contrast LiveMinkCoat (fur is real, but still no animals harmed).
28	----
29	!!Administrivia/InUniverseExamplesOnly
30
31	[[foldercontrol]]
32
33	[[folder: Comic Books ]]
34	* Although Veronica of ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'' wears fur a lot, often, when she says what fur it is, it's fake. This was also put in reprints of older stories, editing the older text.
35	** In one story, Archie dreams about a BadFuture where [[GreenAesop the planet has been environmentally and ecologically devastated by unchecked pollution and waste.]] When he runs into Veronica, she's gushing about a new fake leopard fur coat she just bought. Archie expresses surprise that Veronica would brag about wearing fake fur, but she replies that of course it's fake, since in that world, leopards went extinct decades ago.
36	* In a ''ComicBook/JosieAndThePussycats'' comic, Melody gets upset when Josie wears an outfit with a fur collar. Josie tells her that it's orlon, but Melody being [[TheDitz Melody]] protests that cute little orlons shouldn't be killed for their fur.
37	* A very odd version occurs in the comic ''Chaminou'' by Raymond Macherot. It takes place in a WorldOfFunnyAnimals, where it used to be the case long, long ago that some of them ate each other. A legendary king outlawed the practice however, and in a flashback we see him in a traditional royal outfit. A note points out that his cape was made of ''fake'' ermine - that is, he wasn't a hypocrite.
38	* Clash's bio from ''ComicBook/JemAndTheHologramsIDW'' states she loves faux fur.
39	* ''ComicBook/ThePrincessAndTheGrilledCheeseSandwich'': Brie throws a ball with a stipulation that forbids guests from wearing clothing made of real fur. Cam decides to attend it while wearing a stole, enraging Brie when she sees her with it, but Cam reveals that it's made of fake fur and boasts that it's much better quality than the real thing. This makes Brie warm to her.
40	[[/folder]]
41
42	[[folder: Film ]]
43	* In ''Film/{{Clueless}}'', Dionne chastises Cher for her fluffy backpack, but Cher says that it's fake.
44	* Averted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}''; in the song "Rumor in St. Petersburg," one of the men trying to sell things on the street notes that the item he swiped from the palace is "lined with real fur."
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]
48	* An episode of ''Series/WhiteCollar'' mentioned that [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wc_fur_coat_02_2211.jpg the furs being bought were fake.]]
49	* In ''Series/SomethingSoRight'', the male lead's ex-wife shows up wearing a fur coat, and the first time she says, "Don't worry. It's fake fur." He replied, "I don't think anyone's staring at the fur."
50	* When Series/{{Castle\|2009}}'s mother inherits a windfall from her NewOldFlame, she grieves by going on a shopping spree. Afterwards, she tells Castle that she plans to return everything and give the money to the man's children (she was about to break up with him and he wouldn't have left it to her had he known). But since he ''did'' love her, she feels she can keep her new leopard jacket, further justifying it by assuring Castle that it's fake fur.
51	* During a ''Comic Relief'' special, Creator/FranDrescher showed up with a rack of furs. She held a black one, saying "It's fake, but you wouldn't believe what I had to fake to get it."
52	* In ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'', Salem has a huge gambling debt to a guy (who later turned out to be a cheater), and the Spellmans are forced to work for him to pay it off. At his gambling hall, we see women wearing fur wraps. The furs are later stated to be fake when the Spellmans try to make a potion, and a hair from a fake fur is an ingredient.
53	* In the ''Series/PennAndTellerBullshit'' episode on [[AnimalWrongsGroup PETA]], they make it clear that they have nothing but contempt for this trope, and consider it to be hypocrisy in its purest form. They point out while interviewing a PETA spokesman that he's wearing a (fake, they assume to give him the benefit of the doubt) leather belt, shoes and watchband, thus propagating the fashion even though his outfit didn't directly murder any animals.
54	* In ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'', [[UpperClassTwit London]], acting as an animal-loving celebrity, attracts the rage of a local animal rights group after Maddie lets it slip to a reporter that London has "fox furs" in her wardrobe. It is later revealed that it was a misunderstanding; London's furs are fake but she thinks that "faux" (which rhymes ''dough'') is pronounced ''fox''.
55	* In ''Series/SpecialUnit2'', Nick and Kate have to talk to a creature that's kept prisoner in an icy room. Carl the gnome gives Kate a fur coat to keep her warm, and says it's fake, but because he stole it and would not count as severe a theft.
56	* In the live action part of ''Series/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow'', the brothers think they've struck it rich, and Luigi mentions he always wanted to buy his mother a fake fur coat.
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	[[folder: Literature ]]
60	* ''Literature/ChildrenOfTheLamp'': When Philipa conjures up a fur coat for herself in The Five Fakirs, she makes sure to make it out of fake fur. She later finds out that her uncle Nimrod also conjured up a fur coat for himself - except with real fur. He says he isn't bothered by it, since it's not like any animals died to make that coat.
61	* ''Literature/AvalonWebOfMagic'': When Kara is going on her magical shopping spree, she checks to make sure that the fur on the piece of clothing she wants is fake. She's assured that it is.
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder: Music ]]
65	* Music/BarenakedLadies "If I Had a Million Dollars":
66	--> (If I had a million dollars)
67	--> Well, I'd buy you a fur coat
68	--> (But not a real fur coat; that's cruel)
69	** Parodied later with "I would buy you a green dress (but not [[InsubstantialIngredients a real green dress]], that's cruel)".
70	* At the very beginning, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etviGf1uWlg video]] for Deee-Lite's "Groove Is In The Heart" reassures viewers that Lady Miss Kier is wearing fake fur.
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder: Toys ]]
74	* In the last couple of decades, most {{Franchise/Barbie}} outfits featuring "fur" have stated on the box that the fur is fake.
75	** This also has purpose of not getting sued from customers who would have actually wanted real fur, and claim to be scammed when it turned out to be cheaper synthetic. Whether it's to appeal to changing sensibilities and general feelings regarding animal rights or to cover them from lawsuits is unclear, and it could easily be a convenient way to do both.
76	** The back packaging for the 1994 Happy Holidays Barbie states that Barbie is "celebrating the holidays in style with a glorious gown of gold and faux fur!"
77	** Though the 1996 Happy Holidays Barbie has faux fur trim, the packaging doesn't mention that despite a disclaimer that she "cannot hold muff as shown". Their website, however, calls it "''luxurious'' white fake fur".
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder: Video Games ]]
81	* The names of clothing items in ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons'' always specify that they're made of faux fur or pleather, likely because most of the characters in the game are animals.
82	* Parodied in ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' with Udyr. In his pre-2022 design, he wore an animal pelt (a bear skin by default, but would transform depending on [[AnimalThemedSuperbeing which animal spirit he was channeling]]), and with his joke emote, he would relay "[[BreakingTheFourthWall If PETA asks, this fur is fake]]."
83	* ''VideoGame/TheSims2'' "Glamour Life" set offered a fur coat, but stated that the furs weren't real, even in the game.
84	* In ''VideoGame/StrongBadsCoolGameForAttractivePeople'' Episode 3, [[GranolaGirl Marzipan]] admits she once bought a coat thinking it was made of faux fur before she learned it was made of [[{{Pun}} Faux-faux fur, the furs of Faux-fauxs]].
85	* Parodied in ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''. One of the cosmetic items is a fur-lined lab coat for TheMedic, and the description ''boasts'' that endangered species were killed in the making of it. Even though it boasts synthetic fur.
86	[[/folder]]
87
88	[[folder: Web Comics ]]
89	* ''Webcomic/LastRes0rt'': One of Jigsaw's early outfits is lined with very fake, very lime green fur.
90	* ''{{Webcomic/Megatokyo}}'' spoofs this. When [[http://megatokyo.com/strip/638 Seraphim shows different outfits from around the world]] the Russian outfit is a fur coat, hat, and muff (the fur even wraps around her wings), and she is really worried it might not be fake fur.
91	* TheRant for one strip in ''Webcomic/KnightsOfBuenaVista'' says that if the reader prefers, they can tell themselves Mary owns a bunch of fake furs instead of real furs.
92	* ''Webcomic/PennyAndAggie'': On a related note, Aggie is giving fashion advice and says that wearing leather is wrong, but that wearing pleather - which looks and feels exactly like leather - is fine.
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder: Other ]]
96	* When the website for the British paper ''[[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ushome/index.html Daily Mail]]'' post pictures of celebrities wearing fur, about 2/3 of the mentions state that the fur is fake (even though some are real, but might have fooled the writers).
97	* Viewers of the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants may remember host and devout animal rights activist Bob Barker's threatened resignation in 1987 over a decision for contestants to wear real fur jackets over bathing suits. He managed to talk them into using fake fur instead, and announced ''"All the ladies are wearing simulated fur!"'' (standing ovation) However, he was never able to stop them from giving a real fur coat to the winner, and stepped down permanently in '88 over that.
98	* In January 2019, it emerged in Britain that there is a trading standards issue concerning real fur being mis-sold, advertised as fake fur. [[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-retailers-selling-fur-faux-fox-rabbit-shoes-coat-amazon-groupon-boohoo-tk-maxx-a8121241.html Lawmakers are in a debate]] as to whether this is legal or ethical, or not
99	[[/folder]]

Context Main / ItsFakeFurItsFine