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How To: Be a Feathered Femme

I’m off to the Sex, Wine, and Chocolate Un-Masquerade Ball this week in Atlanta. What is an Un-Masquerade ball you might ask? Well, according to the site the ball is to be a “sensual night free of sexual oppression for all of us fighting for the freedom of our bodies everyday.” Or, as someone else told me: “Dress as your gender night.” Needless to say, the ball which is a fundraiser for SPARK and Project South is sure to be a blast.

Naturally, I’ve been thinking about what I should wear to properly demonstrate my gender. I’m a sort-of-over-the-top lady. I think it is a mix of my femme gender and my Southerness. I mean, I’m not sure if you know or not, but it is accepted that most women attending football games in the SEC will wear dresses. I don’t go to football games, but I am Southern and that same pretty-fied attitude runs deep in my veins.

Red lipstick is a major part of my life. Once, when I still dyed my hair, (I don’t now due to a seriously hilarious and unfortunate accident that I will tell you about another time) I was asked to perform some mission work overseas. Before I could even weigh out the pros and cons of the situation I surprised even myself by saying: “Oh! I couldn’t do that. They don’t have my hair dye over there.” I have a huge (HUGE) cabinet full of jewelry that I mix and match everyday. I feel incomplete without loads of mascara. Going to the grocery store without my outfit and makeup is not something I will do. One of my heroes is my great-grandmother. She had a stroke when I was a child. When the paramedics arrived at her house to whisk her away to the hospital, she refused to get in the ambulance before she had sprayed herself down with her Estee Lauder. I admire that. I aspire to that.

Having said all of that, I do dress the way I want every single damn day. I love girlishness, loud outfits, bright colors, big jewelry, and feathers for my hair. And, I wear that kind of thing every single day. I figure life is too short to wear dress pants and button downs when what I really want is a big print skirt, heavy boots, tight top and red lipstick. So, I wear it. Proudly.

I am one of us lucky few who get to do that everyday without too much conflict. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone could do that? So, after much thought, I think I’ll be looking very much like me come Friday night, feathers in my hair and all.

And that brings me to today’s “How-To”: A Feathered Hairpiece

I make feathered hairpieces as an art form, sell them online, and (obviously) I wear them quite a bit. So, in celebration of, um, me, I thought I’d share with you how to make a super simple, super awesome, feathered hair piece.

You will need:

- a pheasant feather pad (they sell these already assembled at a variety of craft stores) $2.99

- a silver snap clip (probably lying around your house)

- ribbon (I chose black velvet)

- some other type of feather or rhinestones etc. (optional)

- scissors

- glue gun (E6000 glue or Fabri-Tac work too)

Step One:

Begin by flipping over the feather pad. Measure out a bit of ribbon to fit on the back. (you will eventually run the silver snap clip through the ribbon to hold the hairpiece to your head)