Fabulous fall trend: Feathers

Forget about those tacky, itchy boas that you can pick up for 5 bucks on St Mark's Place. This fall, quality feathers can be found everywhere from H&M to the couturiers, so get ready to indulge! Worn the right way, feathers are incredibly fun, stylish and elegant - ideally, you want to wear your plumes with solid colors and fitted silhouettes, so as to not get overwhelmed by all the fluff. Save the prints and oversize pieces for a better occasion, and accessorize with discreet jewelry (if any), rather than big, loud statement pieces. Just don't go too conservative: New York has lots of ostrich-collared, diamond-studded UES ladies already, and they're lovely but we don't need more of them!

For inspiration: D&G fall campaign (above right), behind the scenes at Burberry Prorsum (left), Gucci fall campaign (below right), Madisyn Ritland in ELLE's "Electric Company" editorial, current issue (below left). As for how to shop this trend, it is unfortunately one of the cases where a cheap knockoff will not only not work as well as the designer original, but might even actively make you look bad. I've seen some plumage on 7th Avenue, that was basically all you'd need for a night of turning tricks in the parking lot at far end Delancey. A much better option than to go with a sloppy or slutty coat like that is to splurge on a designer wrap or scarf, such as the green ostrich boa by Adrienne Landau in the ELLE editorial (retails for $295) and pair it with a more budget-friendly, but classy looking wool or cashmere piece. You can get away even cheaper with this cute pink scarf from Schumacher (below) - get it for 40 bucks or so at www.dress-for-less.us!

Alternatively, head out to the Garment District (if you live in NY!) and pick up some plumes of your own choice to embellish a plain dress, cardigan or coat. Go for the luxe, expensive looking feathers, such as peacock and ostrich. This is a great way to update a boring little black dress or a basic wrap cardigan!

Feathers also make for amazing accessories. Remember Erin Wasson's famed headband at the Chanel "Night of Diamonds' dinner at The Plaza last winter? An alternative to the hippie-esque headband is the little peacock hair pin that is so popular right now. I like the pieces below, from Avila, Dahlia and Lori Vintage (all available at Etsy.com). Also check out the necklaces from Forever 21 and Miss KK (the latter at Moxsie.com), below the Etsy stuff.

As for myself, I'm wearing mini peacock earrings today and I'm lovin' it! Also, totally unrelated, I just passed by Bryant Park on my way home and they're super busy setting up the tent over there. Nice!