'Decades Of Fashion' Owner Charged With Sale Of Endangered Animal Pelts

'Decades Of Fashion' Owner Charged With Sale Of Endangered Animal PeltsPhoto: Camden Avery/Hoodline
Camden Avery
Published on March 22, 2017

Cicely Hansen, the owner of Upper Haight vintage store Decades of Fashion (1653 Haight St.), appeared in San Francisco Superior Court today, where she stands accused of selling furs made from the pelts of endangered animals. 

According to the Examiner, Hansen was arraigned on nine misdemeanor counts of possession for sale of endangered animals. 

Evidence came from a Fish & Wildlife Department raid of Hansen's store last February, in which officers seized dozens of coats, shoes, boots, belts, pieces of jewelry and other items. Items made from the pelts of snow leopards, ocelots, and cheetahs were allegedly among the haul. 

Decades of Fashion owner Cicely Hansen. | photo: Decades Of Fashion/facebook

Hansen, who appeared at today's arraignment in a broad-brimmed feathered hat, vintage dress, and fur stole, insisted that she was unaware of a 2016 legal change that outlaws any sale of endangered animal products. (Possession of such products is legal, but not their sale.)

However, undercover investigators allege that Hansen allowed them to try on illicit items in a back room, including a leopard skin coat with a price tag of $4,500.

"She had a normal operation in front selling vintage clothing," District Attorney George Gascon told Bay City News. "This was purposely kept for a more discreet clientele."

“I’m a preservationist and not a poacher,” Hansen told the court today. Though she requested a public defender, she was denied one, as she owns a home. As a result, she did not enter a plea. 

Last year, Hansen told the Chronicle that much of the merchandise taken in the raid wasn't for sale, but was given to her by her grandmother, and being stored in the shop's basement while her Petaluma house was being renovated.