Feathered lapel pins
I love feathery weddings, and that includes the groom’s lapels.
(photo from NYTimes)
Thanks to Brooklyn Bride for bringing this New York Times style feature to my attention.
Related: this feather bouquet, and this discussion of peacock-themed weddings.
Comments
12 responses to this entryRachel
November 29th, 2007 · 8:13 AM · #I have a friend that does work with feathers. She’s VERY talented. http://www.whimseywear.com/
scunshine
November 29th, 2007 · 9:54 AM · #I totally have a peacock feather bouquet! and a feather cake topper. I’m trying not to add too many feather accessories but the lapel sounds awesome.
Vera
November 29th, 2007 · 11:28 AM · #What about the animals that are killed to get the feathers? Why not carry a mink bouquet?
Me
November 29th, 2007 · 12:09 PM · #Yes, I don’t want to be a downer, but I agree with Vera. I am a vegetarian and I’ve always wondered if the birds are killed to get the feathers. And if not killed, certainly plucked; it’s not like someone’s picking them up off the ground, right? It’s a fine line, as I do wear wool so maybe I shouldn’t talk, but I guess I feel like shaving wool doesn’t hurt like plucking would (like, it doesn’t hurt to get my hair cut, but it does hurt if someone yanks a hair out of my head…). Does anyone know if there are fake feather alternatives? I like the look but worry about the animal cruelty factor.
scunshine
November 29th, 2007 · 12:13 PM · #I’m not sure about other kinds of feathers but most peacock feathers come from their natural, annual molt. I’m not sure if comparing them to a mink skin is the most appropriate.
Lily
November 29th, 2007 · 12:24 PM · #From some quick searching, Scunshine, is correct that most peacock feathers are harvested from their annual molting. As with any animal product, the care of the animals throughout the rest of the year is a consideration, but I would assume that in general, to get pretty feathers, the birds would need to be well cared for.
Other feathers may require plucking. I know that goose down does. I’m not sure about ostrich feathers.
Me
November 29th, 2007 · 1:50 PM · #So someone actually does pick the feathers up off the ground! I find that incredibly cool and endearing.
However, another quick search for ostrich feathers shows some less happy possibilities, including plucking them as well as killing them for meat, leather, and soap.
Has anyone ever heard of fake feathers? Maybe I should figure out how to make them and go into business!
scunshine
November 29th, 2007 · 1:56 PM · #yes, ostriches do get killed for both meat and feathers, some family friends I knew when I was young had a farm. but for them, meat was a primary concern, not selling the feathers. I don’t know if the farm would differ any if they were trying to sell feathers.
Rebecca Faulkner
November 30th, 2007 · 7:36 PM · #Yay for peacock themed weddings! I’m having one in honor of my fiance’s last name: “Paunovich” means “son of peacock” in serbian!
I found an ebay seller who sells humanely harvested peacock feathers from his own farm. Do a search for “humane feathers” on ebay and you will find him. He is a rabbi from Minnesota.
Tiah
December 2nd, 2007 · 1:33 PM · #I’m having a peacock themed wedding. All the feather’s that I bought so far are from peacock farms and the feathers are only collected during molts. Aside from that, the peacock colors are going to be carried into my dress (purple and peacock teal), into the invitations, and into carious other aspects of decor.
Siouxzi
December 3rd, 2007 · 8:46 AM · #We used peacock feathers as aisle markers and I used a few in my hat veil as well. I wanted to mark the aisle a touch but didn’t want to pay for a big slab of material to get walked all over.
Chirae
May 1st, 2008 · 10:06 AM · #I guess this is the first post to this thread in 6 months, but I just came across this page today…
Thanks for the info on the peacocks! I was about ready to go beg a petting zoo owner to let me have feathers dropped by an ostrich so I wouldn’t be supporting the ranches!
I”ll probably spend all night reading this site. The Knot was starting to make me gag.