Yesterday's Alexander McQueen spring 2011 show brought about some pretty major, high-fashion events: Sarah Burton, who succeeded Alexander McQueen after his untimely death this past September, debuted her first full runway presentation. Models somehow managed to walk in decorative shoes that could double as lawn ornaments. A fantastic dress woven out of* oats *hit the runway. (It was co-crafted by a corn husk guild and no, I hadn't heard of such a thing either.) But one silly, not-so-complicated thing happened too: I remembered that feathered dresses are just F-U-N.
The finale dress of Alexander McQueen's show was this totally amazing plume-accented gown. The very definition of insane, wouldn't you agree?
There were a few more feather-trimmed dresses to be found on the spring runways, including these pretty ones from Chanel...
...and these from Emanuel Ungaro (left) and Zac Posen (right).
The sight of all these feathery runway looks made me remember that I had something important that I'd been meaning to tell you lovely ladies: if at all possible, you should get your hands on a feather-trimmed dress, and wear it at least once a year. It will make you happy. Very happy. Driving-a-convertible-on-a-summer's-day kind of happy. Sure, you'll question yourself when you buy it and ask "Really? Do I seriously need a feather dress? Am I ever going to wear it? Is it too over the top?" But the answers will be yes, yes and yes. A feather dress is it's champagne in dress form: it's bubbly, always festive and just the thing for a big night out.
I know this because I've worn a feather dress to a party before and I have to say, it was pretty darn fab. Said dress was a hand-me-down from my mom's BFF--she bought the A-line, ostrich-feather-trimmed cream minidress, wore it to death in the swinging '60s and couldn't bear to part with it until recently. Yes, I felt a little silly when I first slipped it on, but once I hit the party and the compliments on the dress rolled in, I was one happy camper. I was also the first--and last--person on the dance floor. A feather dress has that kind of affect.
There are a few draw-backs of course:
__1) __Feather dresses are, for good reason, kinda spendy. (They top out a whopping $6K, but you can find feather skirts--which are just as fun, and even more wearable--for under $100.)
__2) __You can really only wear your pricey feather dress a few times a year. Otherwise you become known as the "feather dress girl" and that might not be the rep you're looking for.
__3) Something about the floaty, soft feathers on your dress will make people want to just reach out at touch them/you. And they will, often without asking. Some of these people will be strangers. Some of those strangers will be men. Some of those men will not be so cute, or so young. Not cool. You will probably not like this. At all.
Other than that, it's pretty much impossible not to have a good time while wearing a feather dress, even if you were sitting at home, watching Glee on the DVR. Now that's the kind of get-happy guarantee I wish all my clothes had.
Okay, I'm stepping off my feather dress soapbox ladies. Anyone else have a get-happy wardrobe item they swear by? Are you flying high over these feather dresses or think they're just way too much to pull off?
P.S. This is the oat dress I mentioned earlier, on the left. (Or it might be wheat--I don't know my grains if they aren't in Wheaties form.) The two dresses on the right are also feather dresses, but each plume was painted to look like a butterfly wing. See, bugs are in for spring!
P.P.S. This is just one pair of the insane shoes!
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