Feather Dresses 2021: How to Style the Party Season Trend
Feather Dresses Are This Party Season’s Biggest Trend — Here’s How to Style It
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Feather dresses are synonymous with the glamour of the 1920s and are best suited for festive or formal occasions. A less expected outfit choice for Christmas and New Year's than your classic velvet, lamé, or sparkling fabric — a feather dress adds opulence to any room you walk into, and we know how to style and where to shop the best on the market.
If you fancy a luxe feather dress for party season, then heed these genius styling hacks we learned from celebs. With feather dresses you usually want to keep your accessories on the cooler side — go for silver shoes and jewellery, or even clear or white heels. If the dress is from the sunset palette — pink, yellow, orange — you can try pale gold or black accessories depending on what complements your skin tone. Beauty-wise, the more stylish celebs keep their hair pulled back, either in an updo, chignon, or a sleek centre part to keep the excitement on the beautiful plumages. And when in doubt, always go super minimal with your makeup look and accessories to balance out the busyness of the dress.
Now, the tough part — most feathers used in the fashion industry are unethical; that's also the case with other animal-derived materials like leather, silk, cashmere, and alpaca. When shopping for a feather dress or feather-trimmed clothing item, we suggest taking a few seconds to check where the feathers are sourced. In our shopping edit, we've included many pieces from UK-based clothing brand Natalie & Alanna that uses ethical "marabou" feathers sourced in the UK that are a byproduct of the poultry (turkey) industry.
Although polyester is even worse for the environment than sustainably sourced animal feathers, high street brands like ASOS use synthetic polyester feathers for its affordable feather dresses. Designer brand 16Arlington has some of the prettiest midrange feather clothing on the market, but the brand uses 100 percent Ostrich feathers and doesn't offer much supply chain transparency on its website. Taller Malmo and Andrew Gn have more luxury price points, but list South Africa as the source for their Ostrich feathers. Other brands in the edit — Andreeva and Nadine Merabi — offer no information on what kind of feathers are used or where they are sourced. Keep reading for 13 outfit ideas for a festive feather dress and where to shop the best party dresses on the market.
Orange Feather Dress, White Accessories
Shop: Orange Feather Dress
Pink Feather Dress, Metallic Rose Shoes
Shop: Pink Feather Dress
White Feather Dress, Silver Accessories
Shop: White Feather Dress
Black Feather Dress, Black Accessories
LPA Aurora Dress
Keyhole Feather Dress, Satin Heels
Natalie & Alanna Bebe Dress
Glitter Feather Dress, Silver Accessories
Asos Edition Sequin Cutwork Mini Dress with Feather Hem
White Feather Dress, Black Heels
Shop: White Feather Dress
Blue Feather Dress, White Mules
Shop: Blue Feather Dress
16Arlington Borage Dress (£995)
Velvet Feather Dress, Metallic Heels
Shop: Velvet Feather Dress
Pink Feather Dress, Pale Gold Heels
Shop: Pink Feather Dress
Nadine Merabi Evie Dress (rent for £60)
Blue Feather Dress, White Shoes
Shop: Blue Feather Dress
Yellow Feather Dress, Black Accessories
Shop: Yellow Feather Dress
Powder Blue Feather Dress, Clear Accessories
Shop: Blue Feather Dress
Andrew Gn Feather Crepe Gown (£2,835)
