It's My Party And I'll Owl If I Want To

On the seventh day of Christmas my penguin gave to me…

Seven owls (just seven?)

Six roasted chickens,

Five golden pastries,

Four wobbling jellies,

Three French badgers,

Two turtle bars,

And a pelican in a pear tree

There’s everyday fashion, which you see people wearing walking down the street, looking like they all read the exact same magazine. Whether it’s stripy tops, harem pants or chandelier earrings (or all three at the same time), it’s out there, on almost every street. Then there are the online trends. Those quirky ideas that look so wonderfully refreshing, characterful and nothing like the everyday fashion. They often draw on retro styling, vintage materials, and handmade elements. Way too cool for those stripy-harem-chandelier types. But then, something scary happens...

You realise that those whimsical styles are just as ubiquitous online as the everyday ones are in real life. Suddenly, vintage suitcases, typewriter key jewellery and moustaches on sticks are there at every click of the mouse. And this is where the owls come in.

Owls are the current motif du jour on everything from food to fashion, stationery to sculpture... anywhere you can put an owl, somebody has put an owl. So it seems only appropriate to round up a sample of owlishnness to share with you...

You can eat owl cake...

Owl cake from Constant Craving - just amazing!

Or cookies...

Chocolate and vanilla hoot owl cookies from Fabulous Foods

You can have owls on the table...

Vintage owl crockery from Carnivore Cockatiel on Etsy (owls were big in 1976, too)

You can carry them to be practical...

Owl purse from Kate Spade, via FMDS Daily and Coco & Kelley

Or wear them to look pretty...

Dew drop silver starry eyed tall owl pendant from Beth Millner on Etsy. For something a little more on the cute side, this might be a good bet, too

Perhaps you could combine them with matryoshka to be really, really cool*...

Nesting owls from Urban Outfitters

You can even have a whole hoot-enanny to celebrate those owls for yourself...

Owl party by Sugarcoated via Concrete and Honey

Pinata from Birchangel on Etsy via Kallie Brynn Photography

So, who decided that 2010 was going to be the year of the owl? Well, that I don’t know, but there are already rumours that swans will be the Next Big Bird**. Perhaps there needs to be a formal announcement, like the Pantone Colour of the Year. Honeysuckle swans – coming soon to a 2011 near you!

* Because combining two trends at once can only be attempted by Very Cool People.
** Not replacing the yellow fluffy one, though.