FashBlog.com

Almost every parent probably thinks their little girl looks especially adorable when she has little bows in her hair. When my daughter was a baby, I’d pull a tuft of hair up on top of her head (like Pebbles from the Flintstones cartoon) and put a baby barrette around it, which always evoked a chorus of “Aaah”’s, even from strangers. When she was a toddler, I’d buy those lovely hair bands covered with lace and and beads, and marveled at the angelic quality it gave her-for the 5 seconds before she pulled them off. By the time she got to school, my little girl had a box filled with hair accessories (we’d call them “hair ornaments”) that ranged from pony tail holders of every thickness and color, to barrettes of every shape, to clips that announced her name. Invariably, most were lost, but, she still has a box of fanciful hair extras, at the ripe old age of 14. I do believe that it doesn’t hurt grown women to add something to their hair every so often, either…within reason.

A few weekends ago, I was watching the old movie, “Amityville Horror”, and had a momentary shock when I saw Margot Kidder, portraying the mother, with a ponytail on either side of her head like a 2-year old. Now, this was filmed in the late 1970’s, but that was still no excuse for stylists to do that to her. (They also put her in clothes resembling private girls’ academies, such as plaid skirts and knee socks, but that’s another story.) Anyway, that look, in my opinion, does nothing to make a grown woman more attractive. One ponytail, on the back on a head, at the nape of the neck, or on one side is OK, but there’s something about that juvenile style on an adult that appears silly, at least to me.

Alas, I am guilty of hair faux pas myself by wearing scrunchies, those fluffy, round circles of material that my daughter tells me have gone out years ago. If so, I ask, then why do they still sell them? Those of you who read this column regularly know that I am a former dance teacher who still takes ballet class twice a week. Although it’s not mandatory that adults wear buns, we still hear about it if our hair happens to be loose, for the reasons I mentioned in my piece here about Clothes for Ballet Class. Well, to my eyes, putting hair up into a bun without anything around it looks rather…naked. Think of all of the pictures or performances you’ve seen of ballerinas; they all have something around their buns-glittery bobby pins, flowers or small snoods (netting that goes the over bun). Throughout the years, I’ve acquired quite a collection, and so I can co-ordinate my scrunchie with my dance skirt of the day (another no-no, but that’s one of those habits I can’t break). Someday, I tell myself, I will evolve past this, but by then I’ll be too old to move anyway, so it’s a moot point.

Anyway, my question to you today is whether you ever wear hair ornaments, or if you think they’re only for young girls and teens. It would be rare to see a 45 year old woman with a ponytail sporting a ribbon-much less a bow-but there is an astounding array of jeweled hair clips and combs that are lovely when used to pull or hold back hair. Once, for a fancy event, I used a comb decorated with pearls to pull back the hair on just one side, and actually felt rather glamorous doing so. (I’ve also mentioned here that I made my own fancy combs and clips when I was younger, and it’s a good project for girly-girls.)

A few years back, Paris Hilton was photographed wearing head bands, and, on her, they looked beautiful, and many high school girls don tiaras for prom night. Most of us probably wouldn’t feel comfortable following these examples, but there are still many hair accessories that may be a nice addition to an outfit if you’re in a fun and adventurous mood. Who knows? You may find others copying you…take it as a compliment.