Feathers have always been huge in the world of fashion — and in the last few seasons, they’ve seen an especially big surge. While in the past, feathers were a glamorous touch added to hats and the collars of jackets, these days the feathers on  clothing and accessories have a more bohemian, earthy feel. Feathers and feather print adorn everything from jewelry to clothing to hair accessories, and I love the way they look with the other seventies-inspired fashion that’s popular this season.

And since feathers are literally everywhere these days, the good news is you don’t necessarily have to spend a fortune on them. Here are a few great feathered choices for just $20 or less!

My mother continually assures me that I’m lucky. “Dresses fit you so well,” she tells me. That’s easy for her to say; I imagine most mothers, deep down, want to dress their daughters in conservative dresses that leave a lot to the imagination, but leave me looking like I’m wearing a sack on top.

Forget showing off cleavage; it’s pretty hard when you barely have cleavage. I don’t mind looking nice in the occasional baggy shirt for a job interview, but how is a flat-chested girl supposed to look Hott?

I worry about my appeal to guys more often than I should. To be crude, can any guy be passionately attracted to a girl if he can’t get a handful of her? The comments I’ve seen on this site have been encouraging, but still, it can be disheartening when I have to avoid strapless dresses purely because I can’t hold them up. There’s a lot of boob-fixation in the media these days, and magazines, movies and tv shows can be insidious. They can start convincing us that large breasts are all guys think about and desire in a woman.

My situation has forced me to get creative when it comes to sex appeal; that’s why I look for fashion inspiration in other decades.

For all you fellow A-cuppers out there, I recommend looking to an era of fashion when flat-chested girls were celebrated. Look to the twenties, when women were sexy, glamorous, and flat all at the same time! I look for plunging necklines, button-down shirts and dresses, and boatnecks to show off my wide shoulders. We flat girls may not be able to exude sex appeal, but we can look glamorous. I also recommend looking to the seventies for fashion inspiration. A fashion favorite of mine is Diane Keaton in Annie Hall. She made wearing ties and vests sexy; there’s something very classy and even sensual about the preppy/androgynous look.

So if you’re a flat girl like me, don’t get yourself down. Find things that flatter your shape, and enjoy the blessings of a flat existence: going braless with those dresses with the low backs, running down stairs pain-free, and not having much ground to cover during the monthly self-exam.

[Photo courtesy of ebaumsworld.com]

The results surprised scientists, who had previously believed that happiness was stable when looking at societies over time. Bucking the conventional knowledge, happiness levels in forty countries “rose substantially.”

Denmark is the happiest nation, Zimbabwe the least, and the US was rated as the 16th happiest country. A similar survey released last week determined one reason America isn’t ranking higher on the list: Baby Boomers are generally miserable compared to other generations.

Is this true? Is our generation happier than our parents’ generation? Its probably true that our lives are busier as a result of being constantly connected through e-mail, blackberries, cell phones and social networks. I’ve often wondered if this adds or detracts from our general happiness — constant connectivity can be both a blessing and a curse.

As women, we certainly are afforded a collection of freedoms our mothers were denied. Our generation has seen increased educational and career opportunities, lessened social stigma of being single or a single mom and a rise in financial and social freedoms, just to name a few.

By my age, my mom was married with two babies and a mortgage. How times have changed! I’d like to think that my happiness level is higher than it would have been if I grew up in the sixties or seventies. True, I would have loved to hit up Woodstock or rocked a cute peace-sign studded shift dress, but these days I have a world of freedoms and options, unavailable to females my age just a few decades ago.

Whether its extensive travel or making our education or career the focus of our universe, we are truly able to choose our own adventure and need not be tied down to a hubby and rugrats so early in our lives. But does this make us happier? Or were women happier in simple times, when tradition and stability reigned?

I’m not quite sure where the modern, kick-ass, twenty-something female rates on the happiness scale. Some, like the author of What Our Mothers Didn’t Tell Us, would say our ambition and heightened goals have only lead to more unhappiness, confusion and insecurity. Others would say we are over-stressed, over-worked and overly obsessed with material things, body image and success compared to the Baby Boomer Generation. But I think us girls are doing just fine — we’re more socially conscious, more self-aware, more worldly and more open minded than our gray-haired counterparts. And so, somewhat tentatively, I do believe that we, the free and fearless females of our progressive generation, are happier than past generations.

What do you think?

Balderdash! And they look so damn cute!

If you’re thinking ‘grandma pant’, forget about it. No, my friends, high-waist everything: shorts, jeans, skirts and jumpers are making a slam-bam come back.

This style isn’t just flattering to one shape, either.

Curvy, plus sized, and teeny tiny babes can work ‘em. Embrace the shape! The cut creates an amazing hour-glass figure, even if you’re boy-shaped, like myself.

Farrah knew what was up, or at least, her stylist did. We’ve all seen the fashion come and go…and then come back again, but today how much better could we have it? The mix of seventies and eighties offers an ‘anything goes’ fashion perspective.

Baby doll tops, bell-shaped dresses, minis that show the leg but not the belly pooch, and now… keep your eye out for the high-waisted numbers. Snag yourself a vintage pair and really work it.

Better yet, get a pair with your girls and hip bop each other!