Stand Out from the Crowd with Feather Accessories

While birds of a feather may flock together, one Boulder-based jewelry designer is making feathered accessories that’ll make you stand out from the crowd. Liliana Aguilar, who started an Etsy shop called Plooms, has always had a passion for creating handmade accessories. And when she came across a pair of feather earrings at a local store, she was inspired to create her own. “I was stunned at how gorgeous the feathers were,” she says. “At that point I realized I wanted to share my own version of this creation. I started using very simple feathers and later moved on to using different exotic feathers. I loved how each pair presented its own design and came to life like two little birds.”

Aguilar finds that the natural beauty of feathers translates well into her pieces and the people who wear them. While she started out making just earrings, her designs have quickly blossomed into necklaces, hair clips and other miscellaneous accessories. “Soon after I discovered feathers, I discovered the art of fabric folding known as Kanzashi,” she says. “The fabric folding style is a traditional Japanese technique that is used to create hair ornaments. I immediately personalized the art form and created a fresh new line of hair accessories and necklaces. I love how the style can be versatile so that I can create something whimsical and fun or design something sleek and classy – something to wear for a night out or to wear for your wedding.”

She likes to play around with different color combinations – some items are rainbow colored and eccentric – but she also creates neutral-colored designs that can go along amazingly with any outfit. “Plooms accessories are perfect for jazzing up outfits because they are all so individual that I can honestly say you won’t find my kind of work anywhere else,” she says. “I love to see my feather earrings worn with summer dresses, jean shorts and beach wear. My feather fascinators and Kanzashi jewelry look amazing with winter wear and fall-time outfits.”

In addition to being inspired by the birds themselves, Aguilar also finds inspiration from the would-be wearers of her designs. “I’m inspired by all the pretty faces in public,” she says. “Sometimes I spot girls in public with a pretty hairstyle, hair color or a gorgeous outfit. From that point on, I’m able to come up with Fashion accessories.” By opening her Plooms Etsy shop, Aguilar has found a way to go wild with her newfound creativity while also being able to circulate her designs. “Colorado itself is so beautiful and so unique that it deserves to have a fashion scene to match it,” she says. “Plooms defines my fashion identity, and it allows me to integrate my creative ideas into this wonderful environment.”

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Iced Bra Launched by Triumph

A bra with built-in ice packs, a wind chime and a sprig of mint that was unveiled in Japan on Wednesday is promising to keep women cool this summer. In a nearly-naked publicity stunt, underwear firm Triumph Japan had models parading around showing off its "Super Cool Bra", featuring what appears to be a pair of small fish tanks encompassing the breasts. 

These cups are filled with a gel that remains soft and supple even when frozen, giving the wearer "a cool sensation against her skin", the company said in a statement. A traditional Japanese wind chime -- and a mint leaf -- dangle between the cups giving an impression of cooling "by way of its refreshing fragrance and sound".

The company, which has a long tradition of novelty launches that are never made available for public sale, said it conceived of the bra in response to a need to save energy during the hot summer. With no working nuclear reactors amid heightened public mistrust over atomic power in post-Fukushima Japan, the country has once again begun its "Cool Biz" campaign, urging people to dress down for work and avoid the need to crank up the aircon.

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Exotic Accessories Perfect with Upscale Style

Fashion moves in waves, and in today’s easier, unfussy stage, glitz and gold might seem over the top. But boring isn’t the only way to do a pared-down look. Exotic skins — and many more faux exotic skins — can bridge the gap between too much and not enough. Choices go from neon-embossed leathers that mimic python and ostrich to rare and very expensive tree frog skin. It’s mostly accessories, but there are a lot of skin-inspired printed fabrics out there, too.

People are drawn to the look because it’s “discreet luxury,” says Colleen Sherin, senior fashion director at Saks Fifth Avenue. She sees consumers pulling back from ostentatious embellishment in favor of pieces with a longer life, and that goes for the wealthy, too. “If we’re talking about the real thing, they’re investment pieces. You buy them for quality and longevity — a croc, alligator or ostrich shoe or bag — you’ll truly have it forever, and you’ll be able to pass it down to your children, nieces and nephews. Even the rich are thoughtful about how they spend their money,” Sherin says.

And for those who cannot afford the real thing, the mimicking leathers and quite-sexy prints are good stand-ins, she says. “It’s a trend because it’s available to everyone,” she says. In its May issue, Harper’s Bazaar features Penelope Cruz in a croc-embroidered gown and croc sandals by Givenchy; Salvatore Ferragamo’s emerald croc beauty case; croc boots from Calvin Klein; and a Reed Krakoff croc luggage piece.

Yes, exotic skins and their less expensive cousins are widely available, agrees Jana Matheson, creative director of Judith Leiber, but it’s still an “insider” look, which, of course, seems to make it all the more desirable. The leather bags at Leiber run $195-$795, while genuine skins can cost several thousands of dollars. “Exotics are a secret luxury. It’s an insider club,” she says. “If you understand skins and know what you’re buying, you don’t have to show off. If you have a brown, beaten-up piece of luggage that happens to be croc, an innocent bystander wouldn’t know it, but you would — and your friends might.”

Some of the most exotic exotics she’s worked with include tegus lizards, stingrays, tree snakes and frogs, which, she explains, are so small they’re used for small pieces and even then they need to be pieced together. “They are pretty inconvenient,” she says. Matheson says there isn’t a single customer for the look because there is so much variety: suitcases, evening bags, belts and shoes. You can have any color of the rainbow, turn them metallic, paint them or bleach them so there are no natural markings, just the texture.

So far the only thing she hasn’t figured out how to do is get crystals to adhere to the bumpy surface. California-based designer Heather Belle made it a mission to craft leather versions of exotic skins not because she was taking an environmental position, she says, but because the faux versions look as good as the real thing — for a much lower cost.

She’s also working with a plastic that’s almost like a galvanized rubber. “My background as artist and painter has allowed us to develop a handcrafted replica without destroying or killing animals. I’m not maligning those who do, but we have a choice and that choice is of the highest quality and standards at a better price,” Belle says. She adds, “I love this process. ... I’m playing with recreating elephant skin right now, but it’s hard getting the painting process down to create something really luxurious and beautiful.”

Skins and skinlike leathers take color so well, allowing people to participate in the season’s other big trends: big, bold, bright and neon hues. The trend in handbags has been clean, simple silhouettes, but now there’s a bit of a backlash, says Shelby Kruzhkov, director of merchandising for handbags and small leather goods for retailer Henri Bendel. “I think we’re eventually going toward embellishment again, but now, in the interim, interesting materials have become the most important thing.”

Bendel’s uses mostly lookalike leathers because they mimic the real thing so well while keeping down costs. The embossed versions of ostrich and stingray look “very luxe and classy” and instantly elevate an otherwise simple outfit, Kruzhkov says, while snake, croc and lizard skins can easily be incorporated into a 24-hour wardrobe, from day to night. The wearer can treat them as a seasonless “basic,” even though they are eye-catching and fashion-forward, she says. Clutch handbags are probably the most popular “exotics” accessory, but a satchel, suitcase or tiny evening bag are popular, too.

Leiber’s Matheson suggests a fold-over lunch-bag style, while Saks’ Sherin says a belt is a good baby step into the look. Or, she adds, a silk blouse covered in a skin pattern can go under almost any jacket or blazer. She says she likes seeing this creative evolution of a classic; it makes for “wise shopping” as a trend now and closet workhorse later. Her own brown crocodile suitcase — which belonged to her grandmother — still gets regular use. Matheson gets good stories out of her exotic-skin pieces, too. People always ask questions and offer compliments. “There’s the fantasy of where you can go with these or where you’ve been,” she says. “Skins just say ‘adventure.’”

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