The fashion flock seems to have developed a fancy for feathers: They’re decorating cocktail dresses and bohemian jewelry. They’re statements of femininity and luxury — without being too frilly, experts say. “I think feathers are the ultimate in flirtatiousness,” says designer Peter Som. “There’s a sense of movement, and feathers take color really well.”
Som likes to see a knee-length feathered skirt paired with a simple white menswear-style shirt or a camisole. “Show some leg,” he advises, “and wear a strong shoe.” Naeem Khan, who has dressed Michelle Obama for black-tie state dinners, said he favors the “cloud effect” you’ll get from ostrich feathers on a grand-entrance gown.
A stiffer feather — perhaps a rooster feather — can add rock ‘n’ roll texture to a skirt or vest, Khan adds, and other feathers can be used on outerwear for warmth. Meanwhile, designer Pamella Roland’s favorite feathered look from her fall collection is a jersey dress with lace sleeves and ostrich feathers. “It’s a very glam look. With most of her clients in Florida and California, Roland notes it’s nice to have feathers as a fur alternative. “You can wear feathers year-round — maybe white feathers for spring and black for winter.”
This fall, look for style commentator Mary Alice Stephenson to wear a delicate top tipped with feathers around the neckline to offset masculine, high-waisted trousers, or a feather tank under a jacket with a pencil skirt. “Feathers inject glamour into clothes that are more straightforward, edgy or masculine,” she says. She gushes over Alexander Wang’s sexy, strappy sandals with a pouf of pink feathers at the toe. “If they’re done in a subtle, sensual way, then it’s something you want to embrace for fall,” Stephenson says.
But too many tufts run the risk of a Big Bird effect. “That’s easy for me to say, being 6 feet tall. If I was swathed all over in feathers it would be too much,” Stephenson says. On the more casual, approachable side, she’s seeing feather prints on T-shirts and bags inspired by bohemian, Indian and Peruvian looks, especially in color combinations with turquoise, white and brown.
Stephenson encourages women to give it a try — even if it’s in small, measured doses, and maybe in black at first. But more important than color, style or the wearer’s age is to wear it with confidence, she says. And, if one or two fall off, “Think of it like perfume, you leave a mark you were there in a very fashionable way.”
