Oh, I do hate writing about this subject, that seemed the obligatory piece this past year or so….fly tying’s feather shortage ‘crisis’. I had noticed in the Portland area that the feather fashion craze had seemingly faded away, although you could still see the feather earrings and the rare feather insert into some young woman’s hair. While visiting the Village Fest, the Flea Mart last week in Palm Springs, and in numerous shops, I was struck by the wide availability of feathers this and that, as well as long strands of flashabou/krystal flash like products for hair insertions. 

This over priced Peacock monstrosity was one of several on display along with hundreds of feathered jewelry pieces by just one vendor amongst many I observed. Was this some marketing push in advance of the Coachella Fest?

Upon casually assessing some several thousand young women on Spring break, I don’t think I saw but a few with any feather earrings or hair insertions. There seems to be a large supply of feather adornments for sale…..but any demand? 

What was noticeable in this feather affair was the absence of high quality rooster feathers and the predominant use of lower grade feathers.