When it comes to wearing clothing, we often pay attention to what is in fashion today. The modern trends, the styles, the looks and the feels. We look at what is on sale, what celebrities and influencers are wearing, and what is appearing on TV shows and media. We look to learn about fashion as a whole through these simple but effective mediums. However, it’s also likely to force you to look into the history of garments to find out when they first became popular. For example, when was fur first worn?
Look through various stores such as Aria Mode, you can find fur for sale all-year-round in varying styles. But when did it first become a go-to item for humans to walk around in? the answer itself can be quite hard to find. Let’s try and investigate a little closer.
Humans a fur: a millennia long relationship
Humans have had positive relationships with many parts of nature, such as flowers, fruit, and vegetables. Many products that we enjoy today as a part of our day-to-day lives, though, were once seen as staples of human culture. While fur clothing isn’t as prevalent today as it would have been in earlier periods of human history, it still holds a reputation as one of the most desirable materials for staying warm when using.
So, when did humans first start wearing fur clothing? It’s hard to find an exact date, but it’s been going on for around 170,000 years, researchers believe. Fur has become a common part of luxury fashion, but once upon a time fur was simply the go-to item that you would have used to try and stay warm!
Fur first started being worn by humans around 170,000 years ago. They would make the most of an animal pelt to help stay warm and give them the chance to survive. It wasn’t like people had brick homes and central heating to rely upon 170,000 years ago anyway. As such, fur became a product which kept us warm, provided us with valuable food to feed our families with via the animal meat, and also as a fashion statement.
Someone wearing the pelt of a tough and challenging animal would gain respect in their community, seen as a warrior and a huntsman worthy of repute. Ever since the 11th Century, humans have enjoyed wearing various forms of fur as a luxury item. Long before then, though, fur was seen as a necessity as opposed to being a luxury item to be worn by the elite.
Indeed, in the earliest days of using fur it would have been unlikely that society would have had a class system anything like we have today. Long before fur was commercialised in the 11th Century, then, it was used as a crucial part of keeping warm, staying safe during winter, and providing people and families with the chance to survive.
While today we see fur as a luxury, once upon a time it was about as essential as one could imagine.