Sumati Sivasiamphai
     
      Getting her feathers in a ruffle, here's what Sheikh Hot Kotture is casting her fluffy fashionista's eye on this week...
     
      While Bangkokians are used to sharing roads and sidewalks with elephants (no, I'm not calling you fat), there's a different animal that's about to start prancing around town. You won't see it caged up at Emporium's King of the Jungle exhibit, but you may see its fine feathers encompassed in your next outfit. Is it a bird? Is it a plane... oh wait, no, it's just a bird.
     
      Ostrich feather skirts will soon be flying into stores - but the trend of using animal feathers to garnish an outfit is causing an internal debate in Sheikh Hot Kotture:
     
      Yes: Wearing an ostrich feather skirt can give an otherwise bland outfit the drama it needs.
     
      No: Wearing an ostrich feather skirt can give an otherwise silent animal rights group the drama it needs.
     
      Yes: People used to hunt ostriches for their meat and feathers. But this led to the advent of regulated ostrich farms and is one of the main reasons why the flightless bird isn't extinct. So it's not like people are going to Safari World and nonchalantly plucking feathers off the gangly animal.
     
      No: Wax your head. Go ahead. Do it and see what it feels like.
     
      Yes: Feathers were popular in Europe and America in the late 1800s during the so-called "great feather boom". Ladies found it fashionable to wear feathered hats and boas. But since then the demand for feathers, especially ostrich feathers, has decreased. Coupled with the fact that animal rights groups are watchful over the fashion industry, we can assume that designers are cautious.
     
      No: It's still wrong to exploit animals for fashion.
     
      Yes: But how will the people of Oudtshoorn, South Africa survive? It is "the ostrich-feather capital of the world" you know.
     
      No: I'm sure they'll find a way to keep tourists coming back. Maybe they could invent a cocktail or become a hub of something.
     
      Yes: Excuse me, but aren't you eating a steak right now?
     
      No: Yeah, but a flatulent cow could contribute to global warming so I'm helping the planet.
     
      The paradoxes can be more serious than mismatching stripes and polka dots when it comes to using animal products in fashion. But it's likely that ostrich feather skirts will only enjoy temporary fame as a trend anyway.
     
      The skirt itself is probably different from everything else in your wardrobe, but it doesn't look too dissimilar to the mat in your bathroom. Its ostentatious appearance only makes it appropriate for extremely formal evening events and last time I checked, going to Demo wasn't regarded as a black-tie affair.
     
      The skirt's distinct look means you'll have to wait at least six months before you can wear it again, for fear that it'll reappear in a Facebook album.
     
      While feathers have been common in fashionable accessories for a while, there hasn't been a distinct focus on ostrich feathers until recently. Bringing back an item that was once a trademark of elite women may be considered both theatrical and comical by today's standards. But when it comes to repackaging an old product, no marketing pitch works better than saying, "Remember that thing that was kind of popular a long time ago? Well, here's a crazy thought - what if we reintroduced it? Because if people sort of liked it before, it'll surely recapture its past glory."
     
      Ostrich skirts are currently being sold at high-end boutiques in Siam Square for as much as B8,000. Sheikh Hot Kotture counted at least five feathers falling off the skirt as she took the 10 steps from the dressing room to the mirror during a trial fitting. The skirt shed four more feathers on the walk back to the fitting room. Luckily an, "Oh my God, my skirt is molting" joke temporarily erased the dirty look from the shop assistant's face.
     
      While falling feathers is one problem, don't let that put you off from buying one of these skirts, because you'll probably only wear it three times. Of course, the next question is who would wear it? While Sheikh Hot Kotture believes that many women will either wait for the cheaper, fake-feathered alternative, you can get your manicured hands on the ostrich skirt if you are one of the three women categorised below:
     
      1. The Woman who Dresses Up for Every Occasion: You don't mind riding the BTS wearing a fancy ball gown. You'll most likely wear the ostrich feather skirt because of its high impact. C'mon sister, if you can afford an elegant dress, you can afford to get a taxi to your socialite charity event.
     
      2. The Shopping Snob: You buy into every trend. You enjoy making others feel insecure, and you'll pair the ostrich feather skirt with a fitted blazer and red lipstick, because you're cool like that, and you know that's one reliable way to wear the item.
     
      3. Bjork.