image from http://www.kissandmakeup.tv/2011/05/hairfeathers_ar.htmlEarlier this week, a neighbor invited me to her house to be feathered.
I backed slowly away from her. "As in tar-and-feathered?"
The woman threw her head back and laughed. "No, silly!" she giggled. Then she pointed to the bird clipped to her scalp.
Or at least what was left of it.
When I was younger, I was taught to steer clear of things that birds dropped. This rule applied mostly to white feces, but could be extended to include other things as well...including feathers.
How do I tactfully explain to my neighbor that becoming one with an ostrich is not a good look for me?
How also do I tell the same neighbor that the feather that she has clipped into her hair is not a good look for her?
How long will it be before I am the only woman in the universe who isn't feathered?
These are the questions that keep me up at night.
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63 comments
Don't worry. I'll stand with ya. :) No feathers are going on my head either.
Well, I can say one thing. I will never ever ever ever ever ever ever be feathered either.
Ever.
Me either I can't stand this fad. It might be because I've spent the last 2 weeks being chased around by my daughter. Her allowance was burning a hole in her pocket and she wanted to be taken to a salon to get one of those put in. Luckily the neighbor knew how to do it or my poor 10 yr old daughter would have been exiled for sure from her classmates for being the only one without a feather. Ugh.
Count me out too. I won't be feathered either. I think it looks, do I dare say?...stupid! What's so cool about having a tiny feather in your hair anyway?
Love reading your blog--I always laugh when I read it!
Haha....I just posted the same opinion on Facebook the other day. What is the deal with the feathers?? I will never do it and I will not allow my daughters to do it. I think it is the lamest trend out there!
We invited some friends from church over for dinner last night. The girl had one of those feathers in her hair and I had a hard time taking my eyes off it through the whole dinner! I just kept wondering what exactly she was thinking when she got it... "this is going to look awesome.." ???
Hate this fad!!!! ugh.
It's so funny you say that! I remember getting in BIG trouble for sneaking a feather into my bedroom. We were not allowed to even touch them. I feel like my mom may have had an unnatural paranoia towards birds' feathers, but still... I'm actually kind of afraid of feathered hair.
Also, do they shampoo it? I'm concerned they don't shampoo it.
You should have gone to the party, if only for the blog fodder.
I'm way above that. I'm getting furred. I'm going to wear dog fur in my hair or something.
You are such a chicken, you should totally do it! Hahahaha! Sorry, I couldn't resist even though I hate puns!
No feathers here! I don't mind fads so much if they remain with the under 18 catagory. It's fun for the kids. There were things we did as kids that we can look back at and laugh. It'll be the same for them. It's when the moms take on the children's fads that I don't understand...
Not going there...or the strands that look like they came of a pom pom!
In addition to being a weird fad for kids, it is actually impacting adults. There was a story about it on tv because fishing supply stores are running out of the feathers that are used for lures (maybe fly fishing?). And the really "pretty" ones are selling for big bucks--to the fishermen and the hair salons. Some stores were actually refusing to sell to salons, because they didn't want to alienate their base clientele.
Not that you wanted to know, of course. :-)
well.. it may be a fad but it's a safer fad than the mini skirts and low neck t's that seem to be in w/the younger crowd. I let me daughter get one and she washes her hair and styles it like normal. it's actually really cute.
My daughter went to a salon with a friend for the friend's hair cut appointment and came home with TWO - a gigantic fluffy one on the left and a small one on the right. She had spent her own money. I hated it, but I made my peace with it by deciding we were celebrating our 1/32 amount of Native American blood.
Not interested. It's ugly.
Stay strong! I don't understand how this is fashionable for anyone over the age of 14.
I'm not doing it either!
I really think it looks cute on some people (granted they are teenagers), but it does concern me a little that it was inspired by Steven Tyler on American Idol. I wouldn't ever do it to my own hair.
AMEN!
My sister got one and I decided it was my job as her sister to stand up and say, "you look stupid."
Oh you wont be the only one. ;)
Thank you for being a voice of reason. This trend is so stupid. There was actually a teenage girl in Coldstone the other night with a little table set up offering to feather your hair! I steered my 7 year old as far away as I could. Luckily she doesn't seem to know anything about it yet. Wonder how long that will last?
Feathers? Ew.
I remember when I was a kid there was a fad to have the feather 'clips'. I had a purple one with three (fake) feathers. Don't worry, this too shall pass. I think you should change your mind and go do it....so that we can hear all about it! You'll find a way to make it hilarious, I'm sure. Just do it! LOL
I just turned 24 and for a few months I had a feather - one of the super thin ones. My hair is so crazily thick that if I wanted it to show I had to style my hair very carefully. It was fun though, and lots o' people liked it! :P I wouldn't bother again though - it was just always getting lost in my hair.
www.blissfuldomesticgoddess.com
For the younger group, like maybe teenagers or tweens, I'm okay with this as a fad. WAY better than if they wanted something more permanent like piercing or tats! When my daughter was a teen, I pretty much let her do whatever she wanted with her hair because it will always grow out or can be recolored. Fortunately, the craziest she wanted was different colors and she never went too drastic. I think she turned out just great! (She's 26 now)
btw, I've been stalking your blog forever and I LOVE it!!!!!!
Tracy
I've been laughing along with your blog for a while. Seeing this post on feathering is so funny because I was just out visiting my brother and his wife in Boulder and she (she's a hairdresser) explained to me what feathering was. I had no idea. Craziness. She said it's on the way "out" in CO so of course it's on the way in on the East Coast (I live in SC). Ha! Keep up the realness!
Too funny. I just left the salon where girls were getting feathered and the pressure was on me. I was able to stand my ground - no feathers for this girl either.
Hahahahaha
I've spent months coming up with excuses not to attend those parties. I'm running out of "sudden illnesses" for myself and my kids.
I guess I am in the minority. I loved my feather and my girls each had one. But, my hair stylist said that it's dying fast. I'm surprised they still do them in Florida. I'm in Utah and we get all of the fads last.
Yay this is so true! This is why I love your blog :D If you had said you got one of these I may have second thoughts. Alright I am just kidding, but I would have been disappointed. ;)
Feathered girl right here. And I love it! I used to run and consult salons in my pre-SAHM life and I miss the edgy hair I used to sport. This is something easy that I can do myself for $10. It is in a part of my hair that if I want to show it off I have to style it a certain way. Otherwise people don't even see it. Its growing out now so I think it will be gone for good soon but it was a fun pick me up.
To me, it is just like low-lighting your hair or color/cutting it the latest style or wearing the newest trend in makeup. It may not be for you but others may like how it looks and how it makes them feel(a little bit of style in an otherwise bland life).
And FTR, my sister did tell me it looked dumb. She did her part, and I did mine by not caring what she or anyone else thinks. ;)
I was 5 the last time this fad rolled around. I think Boy George might have inspired it back then. My mom let me get some feathers, but they were just clips that you put in your hair. I'm nearly 33 and had no idea that anyone over 16 was doing this! Too funny! I say leave it in the 80's where it belongs!
As long as I'm alive, I won't be feathered. I think they're ridiculous looking in anyone over 10.
Do the people that are doing this realize the feathers aren't just "plucked" from the rooster but that the rooster is actually slaughtered and then discarded?! Just so they can participate in some hideous fad?! Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
IMO, this is one of those trends that's only cute if you're 22 YO or younger, otherwise you just look like an idiot desperately trying to appear cool. And sadly, a lot of women really are that desperate...
Agreed. You and I can stand together feather-bald as the world goes up in feather-flames. :)
That last comment almost sounded like a death wish, so I had to correct myself. I don't mean I WANT all the feathers to go up in flames. I just meant that at the end of the world when everyone else has them but us... anyway, you get it. Right?
This is one of the stupidest trends I've ever seen. It makes me angry I hate it so much. It doesn't even look good. I understand it being trending among elementary school and junior high girls since they're all about trends and have no taste but it is absolutely ridiculous for everyone else.
I'm with you.
I loathe adults trying to pull off teenager trends. Please.
Some people like to be trendy. Apparently it just so happens not many of them are 'mean moms'!!!
To me this is a teen or maybe an early 20 trend. I think it wouls be sorta like me as 41 year old carrying around the latest happy meal toy...not meant for someone my age.
My husband told me you should tell her to "feather off!"
I was feathered in the 80's but only my bangs.
I thought feathers were a trend for younger than 16's - even my junior in HS is over the trend.
I'm still getting candled and pursed and tupperwared....I don't think I could handle being feathered too!
www.librarianmom.com
OMGoodness, my 50+ year old boss is sporting one. It's beyond weird and completely unprofessional. The trend has got to go. It's making otherwise "normal" people look ridiculous, ugh.
Reading all of the comments I find it slightly ridiculous how intense people are in their dislike of these feathers. I personally don't have one, but if it makes a woman feel a little bit better about her appearance and give her little bounce in her step shouldn't we be a bit more supportive and a little less harsh?? Heaven knows that there are days when I need all the help I can get.
Thank you! I've been wondering where all the women who still had their senses were to be found! I can't stand those strange hair feathers. 9 times out of 10, I can't even SEE them until the wearer points them out to me!
I'm with Steph, don't be such a hater, ya'll. Kind of a silly think to hate so much you get angry. While I don't have one, last spring my 10 year old really wanted one before a party because all of her friends had one. I wasn't going to spend much money on it but my husband ties flies so he had a good selection of feathers. I just bought some crimping beeds and he did it. She loved it, the kids had fun and when it came out a couple days ago she didn't really want it back in. And Yes, they do wash their hair just like normal. It's just a fun thing for girls to do that does't hurt anyone. And believe me, roosters aren't being killed JUST for feathers for salons. They are already a big part of the poultry industry.
I'm so glad I'm not the only grown woman who thinks this look is silly!
Ah. This explains the woman with the worms in her hair at karate tonight.
I totally agree with you! I see women at church my age or much older with feathers and I never knew it was a thing until recently so I was always wondering, what is caught in their hair? Should I point it out and offer to help extract it? Good thing I never did.
I thought I was the only one that didn't get the feather thing. The only thing that would look worse is someone feathered and wearing bike shorts. YIKES!!
Ugh - I hate those feather extensions! What I find the most horrendous - out here in ID the feather extensions are morphing into birds nests....
When I read this I thought that I must totally be out of the loop, because I have never heard of it or seen it before...but now that I know about it, I've been seeing this "feathered" thing all over the place! I barely have time to take a shower or go to the bathroom let alone get feathered.
My three year-old keeps telling me she "wants feathers in her hair". We're both going in to get it done together. Yes, i'm "that" mom. LOL.
The main reason I'm opposed to them is this sentence taken from the story link below:
They come from roosters that are genetically bred and raised for their plumage. In most cases, the birds do not survive the plucking.
My girls' high school just banned them along with "non-natural" hair colors. Which is another story...
Bait and Switch?
Another "No feather head!" here. Or my daughter as well. Trends come and go and this too shall pass.
Oh I am lovin the feathers. Dont knock it till ya try it! haha I think they are super cute. It is a fun way to add spice to boring hair! It is pretty intense how many people "hate" them, in these comments. There are things I think are lame, but wow! These peeps are intense.
Just the other night I saw some commercial on TV for "clip-on feathers in your hair", or something to that effect. Now you can be part of this trend too! No thank you.
I think they look dumb, too. No feathers here!
I pledge NEVER to entangle a feather into my hair. Go and sleep in peace my hilarious sanity-inspiring dear sister!
I am not into that trend either, but I generally am not into any fashion trends.
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