E-Mail This Article to a Friend Run of the quill This season, feathers aren’t just in your cap BY LIZA WEISSTUCH

You never really appreciate them while they’re around, but now, as winter looms on the horizon, there are plenty of ways to pay homage to our fine feathered friends as they flap away to warmer climes. Okay, we know you won’t really miss those pesky pigeons, but when you stick a feather in your cap — or earlobe or sweater — it doesn’t necessarily have to be an emblem of Audubon Society membership. We prefer to chalk up the current feather fetish to the same retro sentiment that brought the Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake back onto our pop-culture radar.

Case in point: you’ll have a tough time warding off flashbacks of Pat Benatar and Tracey Gold when you don a pair of feather earrings. Pick up turquoise or hot-pink ones ($14) at Urban Outfitters, or pluck a pair ($6) from the carts at Downtown Crossing. Even Banana Republic has joined the flock, offering dangling emerald-green feathers drizzled with beads ($32) and a matching necklace ($32). For a distinctly vintage sophisticated-lady look à la Billie Holiday, embellish a simple sweater with a brooch that radiates quills like a starburst; pick up one with a sequin-studded pendant ($24) from Arden B. Over at Tello’s, you can find a simple faux flower couched in a bed of feathers ($3).

Speaking of feathers in bed, Claire’s Boutique sells garter belts ($5.25) garnished with a plume or two. But if you want to be truly sassy and strut your stuff, Victoria’s Secret has frilly panties of satin ($24) or mesh ($30) that cover your bottom — just barely — with a silky quill.

Of course, evolution tells us feathers exist to keep creatures warm through the winter, and one or two won’t satisfy that purpose. We suspect that stores will soon unpack a fresh flock of feather-trimmed sweaters and scarves, but in the meantime you can warm up on chilly evenings in va-va-voom fashion with a silky boa ($50–$80) from Tommy Tish.

We humans have adapted plumes to plenty of practical purposes. Take, for instance, writing. Quills, of course, were the precursor to pens, and you still can get a stunning peacock or pheasant feather with a scalloped tip primed for ink-dipping ($9.95) at Bob Slate Stationer. When it comes to your own nest, tie back curtains with a tassel with soft, dyed turkey feathers that hang like a ponytail ($3.95), available at Tommy Tish. Tommy himself will also sell you a duster of ostrich feathers ($12.95) that would meet the standards of the finest French maid. Urban sells a cleaning tool with a less suggestive look: the Dusty Keyboard Companion ($12) is a toylike figure with a handle and a face sprouting a bouquet of ostrich feathers. It lends housework a feel that’s fun and as light as, um, a feather.

Where to find it:

• Arden B., Prudential Center, 800 Boylston Street, Boston, (617) 236-0834; CambridgeSide Galleria, 100 CambridgeSide Place, Cambridge, (617) 225-7960; www.ardenb.com

• Banana Republic, various locations; www.bananarepublic.com

• Bob Slate Stationer, 1288 Mass Ave, Cambridge, (617) 547-1230.

• Claire’s Boutique, 1 Milk Street, Boston, (617) 423-3880.

• Downtown Crossing carts, Washington Street, Boston.

• Tello’s, various locations; www.tellos1.com

• Tommy Tish Cards & Gifts, 102 Waltham Street, Boston, (617) 482-1111.

• Urban Outfitters, 361 Newbury Street, Boston, (617) 236-0088; 11 JFK Street, Cambridge, (617) 864-0070; www.urbanoutfitters.com

• Victoria’s Secret, various locations; www.victoriassecret.com