It was a bit blustery, but basically comfortable. The higher-up-in-the-sky sun really makes a difference I can feel. I didn't spend all that much time outside, really. And we are supposed to get Serious Weather on Tuesday and Wednesday. Could be freezing rain, could be sleet, could be snow, could be an entertaining mixture of all three. But it will definitely give me more to write about...
I've started into the book Arctic Clothing, and so far interesting. Also interesting that the history of the fur is so focused on the acquisition end and so little on the consumption end. This interesting, if scantily referenced, article from History Today gives some helpful hints, but I'm really curious about the marketing and sales of furs, especially in Europe, when North America was being stripped clean of beavers and other fur-bearers, from the 17th century on. Not to mention Siberia.
One interesting piece so far is that while fur in Euro-American society carries imputations of status, in Arctic societies it is more about connection: the people who hunt the animals are the ones who wear them, and so they develop a more intimate personal and even spiritual relationship with them. I trust this theme will be explored further as we go on to narratives by native Arctic folk.
Why am I so interested in Inuit clothing? Well, a lot of how we dress ourselves for warmth today comes from Inuit models: mukluks, parkas and anoraks are all Inuit terms, even if the forms of modern garments bear only passing resemblance to their hand-sewn animal-skin ancestors. I'm really curious to know more about those original forms, and see if we can find more than formal relationships.
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