Feathers plumes are nature’s crowns

The ostrich and other birds

Funny to look at but scary when it gets up close, the ostrich with its stretched neck, beady eyes, long legs and magnificent plumage offers the world large feathers that make a statement like no other feathers plumes can. The ostrich feather comes in all lengths and sizes depending where the plumage was grown but in its most dramatic form it is of a size that appeals to burlesque dancers who buy feather fans and boas that are made from the world’s biggest bird because the scale of the plumes can be used to tease an audience like no other plumage can.

It is not just dancers in Las Vegas that give thanks to a giant bird that is a throwback to a prehistoric era when even larger birds than the ostrich raced across the plains of Africa. Of course, there are plenty of other breeds of birds that produce impressively large feathers including the emu and the peacock. Peacock plumes are particularly popular with flower arrangers who use the plumes with their beady eye pattern design to augment flowers in a vase or to create a “dry flower” effect. The great advantage for flower arrangers using the plumage from large birds is that the plumes do not need any water or tending.

Plumage and down from birds have been utilised by man for centuries. For example, the eider duck has been donating its down, the incredibly soft fluffy feathers that keep out the cold, to enable humans to sleep warmly at night under an eiderdown.

Turkeys, geese and pheasants are all popular birds for being able to supply dramatic plumage or wonderfully soft and warm down, such as goose down which is often used to stuff pillows. Turkeys and pheasants are birds that offer the kind of plumage that is long and impressive that can be easily dyed into numerous colours whilst still revealing their distinctive patterns. Guinea fowl is another breed that offers superbly soft down that is too attractive to be stuffed into a pillow and so is invariably utilised within the fashion or theatre costume industry.

Jackets and stoles that are ado
ed with feathers plumes from all breeds of birds invite people to admire the majesty of the garment the way that fur used to before it became a fashion pariah. Perhaps it is because feathers and plumage are in such plentiful supply that people allow themselves to enjoy the sight of a fine plume, whether it is in a vase of flowers, in a milliner’s hat, part of a burlesque dancer’s equipment by way of a feather boa and fan, or simply sewn into garments such as jackets, stoles and dresses.

The way that birds’ plumage almost floats on the air when sewn into the dress of a dancer, adds considerably to the overall pleasure of the dance. The plumes - big, fluffy and dyed to match whatever colour the dress may be, leave an impression in the viewer’s mind long after the music has stopped.