Paul L. Underwood writes in today’s Style.com email:

Is the feather the new skull and crossbones? As any dedicated follower of fashion knows, obscure motifs have a habit of popping up simultaneously in different collections. For several designers, Spring 2007 was a season for the birds. Alexander McQueen embroidered a feather onto a jacket lapel, while Ann Demeulemeester and Martin Margiela introduced feather-themed jewelry.

Frankly, I find the feather far less poncy than the skull-and-crossbone ever was—and I liked the whole Jolly Roger thing. A feather, though, is just a feather, a little touch of saurian beauty.

Mind that Underwood is talking about real feathers here, or fancy embroidered ones like on this jacket, not just feathers screened onto clothing, which have come up with the screened-on trend of the last few years already. (See: Backs of canvas jackets with angel wings or biker gang-inspired designs.) Or at least I think he is. Wouldn’t make sense otherwise.

There is all good news for the DIYer anyway: embroidering a feather—or hell, pinning a real one to your lapel—is a lot cheaper than spending $2,200 on a finely-cut but rather conventional jacket.

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