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2019 Fall MADD saw students bundle up to perform service
The Romans had a complicated relationship with fur. On one hand, they associated it with the countryside, with animals, with poverty. Instead of seen as a luxury good, many Romans found it undignified. Hunters and rural Romans donned fur far more often than the urban elite did.
But on the other hand, fur was a precious commodity, highly sought in trading ports around the world. Pelts were commonly exchanged as gifts among wealthy Romans, who recognized its international value. The Assyrians and Phoenicians were especially known for their intense purchase of fur; even Homer made mention of fur as a gift in the Iliad.
Though the Romans were not concerned with the mistreatment of animals, they were torn by fur's international reception and its domestic associations. Wearing fur was both a mark of wordly sophistication and one of pastoral roughness. Likewise today, fur is a way to flaunt wealth, but also a way to label oneself as unaffected by animal cruelty. In both societies, fur is a status symbol with negative connotations. These connotations must be kept in consideration while studying history and looking to the future of fashion.