Tuesday, June 28, 2011

"You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive..."


 Afghan coat - a sheepskin or goatskin coat made with fur on the inside and soft suede-like leather on the outside trimmed with fur. Sometimes with intricate embroidery decoration, but often crudely made, they were very popular from the sixties to the early seventies and were particularly associated with the mods, then later the hippie subculture. As boundaries were being broken between social classes, it became acceptable for anyone (including the young generation) to don one. Often they were lined with patchouli to cover the terrible smell of the fur - that is, if the fur wasn't artificial, as favored by the ecologically conscious. For those who could afford it, imports from the Middle East were preferred. Especially popular with British invaders like the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, the trend faded when more streamlined man-made designs and fabrics took over in the late seventies and eighties.









































(Photos from Radical Rags, Rolling Stones 365 Days, vintage Vogues, Eye Magazine, and my screencaps.)

4 comments:

Susan Bainbridge said...

I had one of these coats.... for about a day. It was the absolutely the coolest thing, but unfortunately, was stiff and super uncomfortable. Worst of all, it was smelly - stunk up the whole house. I took it back to the head shop where I found it. Still miss it though for how gorgeous it was.

Anonymous said...

Authentic Afghan coats did not smell. It was the cheap imitations that came from other countries like Iran and turkey that were poorly made and smelled awful. They have Afghan coats a bad rep for being smelly.....

Unknown said...

What was the name of the store that You got the coat at?

Erin said...

Nice posst thanks for sharing