A Haight Street vintage clothing shop(pe) remains closed today after the California Department of Fish and Wildlife acted on an anonymous tip and discovered illegal animal products on sale.
Decades of Fashion, where you cannot shop today, was raided by a dozen or so agents who looked for and found retail merchandise that contained fur from endangered or threatened animals. "Our primary purpose is to prohibit commercialization of animals, which for some reason may be threatened or endangered," Fish and Wildlife agent Lieutenant James Ober told NBC Bay Area. "Or sometimes it's animals that may have been taken under a sport hunting license. And we don't want them to be something that can be done for profit."
Typical vintage store items that might contain illegal animal parts include belts made from sea turtles or coats fashioned from African lions.
Officials have yet to speak with the store's owner, Cicely Hansen to determine whether or not she knew they were offering illegal ANIMAL PARTS. But J.T. Hansen, Cicely's son, reached out to KQED to protest his innocence, saying, "I had no idea. Neither did my mom."
A 1970 law prohibits the selling of endangered animal parts, but not the ownership of them. Hansen tells KQED he believes that all of the pieces in his mom's store pre-date the law and that game agents are acting like "bullies."
Decades of Fashion will be closed until the Department of Fish and Wildlife gets to the bottom of this fashion fiasco.