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Fly Away: How to Add the Runway Trend of Feathers Into Your Everyday Wardrobe

May 6, 2011 / By Jessica Reed

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Fierce, fab, flirty -- feathers say it all!

Photo: Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

Feast your eyes on the fashion runways and you'll witness the latest happening trend: feathers. Our colorful, whimsical bird friends have encouraged the fashion world to spread its wings. Designers take it to the extreme with towering feathered headdresses and feather skirts with more plumage than a peacock. Dialing down this strong look to a more subtle style will leave you strutting your stuff instead of looking like a fashion dodo.

Choose loud and proud pieces when you feel like flaunting your feathers. From a feather boa wrapped around your shoulders at a party to a skirt or dress adorned in delicate, neutral-colored feathers, this centerpiece of your outfit will turn heads without requiring anything extra. Skip over the feathered accessories if you choose this road; otherwise, your daring fashion move will turn into a bizarre overstatement.

Dress up plain outfits with colorful, feathered jewelry. Want to play up that LBD (little black dress)? Add a silver necklace with one dainty black feather fluttering at the end. Feel like taking your solid-colored blouses to the next level? Match green or blue shades with peacock-feather earrings for a style that transforms the everyday into the exotic.

Add flair up high with feathered hair accessories. Experiment with a simple feathered clip to keep your hair out of your face without going too Lady Gaga. For those wild party nights, step out of your comfort zone and embrace feathered headbands, hats or even clip-in feather extensions -- like hair extensions only with, you guessed it, feathers. Opt for neutral colors or thinner shapes to keep your look from overwhelming all the beauty that is you.

Still not comfortable with the feather trend? Compromise by choosing silver or gold jewelry in feather-shaped silhouettes. It wraps all the elegance of nature into a piece that won't make you sneeze.

Before you buy that feather-coated skirt or dress, give it a tug. If the slightest touch causes feathers to fly everywhere, throw it back on the rack and move on.