KCBD NewsChannel 11 LubbockFeather trend affecting area fishermen

A new hair accessory has girls all over the country fighting to get a hold of the new trend. It's known as the feather. Salons and stores simply can't keep them in stock.

What started in Colorado quickly spread to other parts of the United States.

Interesting enough, this item has been around for quite some time and the origin might surprise you.

"The trend now is to put hackle feather, fly tying feathers in girls' hair," said Mountain Hideaway owner, Kyle Jones.

Shelves used to be full of the fly fisherman feather gear. Now they are empty and the store can't keep the item in the store.  

Kyle Jones noticed  this trend 18 months ago when a girl from Colorado came into his store looking for one thing, feathers, but not just any. She was looking for the feathers that are specifically bred from roosters to be skinny, water proof and durable.

"She wanted to know if we had any because she had stripped the supply store in Boulder," said Jones.

The fad snowballed from there and fishermen are not happy.

"They laugh then they realize we can't get them anymore feathers and they become frustrated, because they're trying to get ready for their once a year family vacation," said Jones.

Jones used to sell only a dozen a year, now he is cleaned out with girls wanting more.

"Mountain Hideaway was the first place we called, because we thought that would be good and they will be inexpensive but that didn't work they were all out," said Petra Hair Design owner, Petra Clary.

Luckily, Petra Hair Design found a supplier.

"We wanted to buy a few and they said we have a buy a large amount. So I thought I hate to invest in this because I didn't know if it's a trend that is going to last," said Clary.

But the trend is lasting and other stores like Wild Oats is catching on.

"It's just another accent piece, another piece of jewelry that people are adding to their hair," said Wild Oats employee, Sealy Vest.

Also, these funky colors are not just being worn by young girls.

"Girls of all ages, women everybody," said Vest, "We have them coming in and they want them right then. We're constantly re buying, shopping and restocking."

Simply put the roosters are out of feathers. Less than 50,000 are bred each year and this latest craze has stripped suppliers completely.

"There are only so many chickens to go around. You can't just grow new ones at the drop at the hat," said Jones.    

The feather suppliers plan to do a study to figure out how to keep up with the supply and demand.

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