A Gentleman and a Lady Riding to the Chase, 1506. Lucas Cranach (German, 1472–1553)

Feathers have always been a part of fashion history, but things really took flight in the late 1700s during the Industrial Revolution. Soon, fancy goods became available to more people, and feathers were all the rage. By the late 1800s, they were everywhere, especially on extravagant women's hats. Some kinds of feathers were even worth more than their weight in gold!  

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ICA-Art Conservation

Lady Smith and Her Children

But there was a big problem: birds were being hunted so much for their feathers that some were in danger of disappearing forever. Help arrived in the form of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, a law that made it illegal to harm certain birds and helped protect them from extinction.  

Feathers stuck around in popular fashion for a while. In the 1920s, young women whose flamboyant activities on and off the dance floor earned them the nickname “Flappers,” danced the Charleston wearing long feather boas around their necks, and feathered caps or headbands. But as hats for everyday wear fell out of fashion, the craze for feathers flew away.  

This image is a detail from a larger scene.

Standards for Crazy for Feathers