Later in the Victorian era, a band of hair was swept around a bun, to give a little extra height to the forehead, a sign of good breeding and beauty. The 50s saw the scarf wrapped around the head, adding bolts of colour and an added 'tail' of movement at the back of the head where the ends of the scarf hung free. Even if you weren't trawling the Amalfi coast in a sports car with a movie star, you could look and feel like you were.
In the 60s, bands of hair were used again in a completely different way, plaited or twisted to add a little drama and bring attention to those all important goggle eyes. In the 80s with the minimalist movement came sombre wide lines of black just behind the hairline giving a perfect smooth finish to an overall look that shouted 'serious' fashion.
Fast forward to the here and the last season in fashion saw a few more incarnations of this time honoured staple. At Rosemount Australian Fashion Week, Easton Pearson borrowed a little Grecian style while at Jayson Brunsden, white fabric Hollywood glamour head wraps gave his girls the feel of an everlasting holiday. At Expo, plaits of hair sat behind the season's signature sleek head to seperate the face from a shock of textured frizz. On the New York runways, Anna Sui used a flapper influence to tie flowers above either ear on a leather string.
For the individual, it's no longer the piece of fabric that keeps hair out of the path of some dreadful bug, as in ancient times. Or an accessory that's loaded with some deeper meaning. Refreshingly, the headband has become pure eye candy. And it's one hair 'do' that can be tried safely at home.
If you're not getting your stylist to create a work of hair art for your wedding or a special event, you could do what we all did in the 80s. Cut a ring across the leg of an old pair of tights so that it forms a seamless loop and it makes a perfect home made headband. This little instant hair gem has the added feature of slightly lifting the eye brows to take a couple of years off the face, or keep you awake throughout that 3 o'clock meeting.
All in all, the headband has been and will always be a fashion firefly, dipping in and out of the limelight. It's one of those little hair echoes that will always be lurking in the back of the stylist's repertoire, reappearing time and time again with a refreshing new phase and face.
Find more hair tips here.
|