Beauty Tips for Ministers
Because you're in the public eye, and God knows you need to look good.
Headbands For Gals
April 4, 2008 on 7:55 pm | In Accessories |Since I’ve grown my hair, I enjoy wearing a wide variety of hair accessories. On most days I pull back my bangs with a clip or barrette because it’s easy, but I’ve worn silly little Princess Leia buns, headbands, scarves (cue Cher singing “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves”) and big clips. I do not wear, and shall never wear, scrunchies (AUGH! So 80’s!), cutesy barrettes (although I vacillate on what constitutes too cutesy for my age and station), or big plastic banana clips.
Headbands seem to be back in a big way this season, but they’re not the old Hillary Clinton types that make us look either too Alice In Wonderlandy or plain dowdy (remember Bunny in “Sex and the City?” Like that: scary preppy dowager).
For your consideration, some head-bandish options:
Ethnic, cool, I’d ditch the triangle over the eye but otherwise this is beautiful and interesting. Would look great with a tailored jacket and slacks. Don’t try it if you can’t carry it off.
You may snicker if you like, but PeaceBang wears headscarves like this all summer, only without the dramatic “drop.” She of Eastern European heritage on both sides and it comes naturally to her. I like this look with high wedge sandals, a pair of linen trousers, and simple white blouse with a turquoise or other chunky necklace. The lines of your clothes need to be simple with this headwrap, or you risk looking like Mama Babushka.
Eeek! Bunny! Muffy! Skip and Tad are totally wasted on g&t’s! Don’t let them drive the boat back!
These should not be adorning the head of any self-respecting professional woman. They are the hair accessory equivalent of a reindeer sweater:
On the other hand, headbands come in a variety of fabrics and can be quite elegant if one chooses wisely from among them. Wider bands are very flattering, and avoid that “Hi, I’m Babs and I’d love your vote for Student Council President!” vibe.
Regardez :
A nice satin.
Kind of retro! Kinda groovy! Also satiny.
A dupioni silk that allows a mature woman the whimsy of polka dots but with far more polish and appropriateness than the previous dotty option. Note that the dots are irregular and almost animal print-ish. Fun. Would look great with a sweater set, mid-length pencil skirt and sling back pumps.
Not my favorite print (I kind of hate it, actually) but I wanted to show you something in charmeuse silk. Again, far more adult than the stiff little-girl bands.
I absolutely LOVE this look, the double-wrap headband, although it requires some work in teasing the crown of the hair that I have yet to master:
And for you very short-haired gals out there, remember that a headband can look sophisticated IF you’ve got a sharp hair cut and you wear some sophisticated make-up. A headband slapped on a nothing-special haircut and haphazard outfit is a common enough sight, but look how chic the right one can be!
Just run a little bit of product through your locks (a molding paste and a few drops a shine serum), put the headband on, apply some peachy gloss and blush, some mascara and a carefully smudged gray liner or shadow around your eyes. Really nice! A slim, flat satin band in a spring color (try orange! or aqua!) would also look lovely here.
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Where do you get these? I’m totally in a rut fashion-wise; maybe it’s because it’s STILL WINTER AND IT’S APRIL FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE! Will I ever get out of turtlenecks?
Anyway, being of short hair myself, I’m interested in the last one in particular. Perhaps a snazzy hair band will get me out of the winter blahs.
Comment by Judy — April 4, 2008 #
Oooooohhhhh. Are you telling us that “Princess Leia buns” are an acceptable look for clergy over the age of 25? I have long, THICK hair and double braids, pigtails, and yes, “princess leia buns” actually look cute on me. (I usually position them more towards the back of my head than the front…) I gave them up after age 25 except in the privacy of home fearing they were no longer appropriate. Can we really wear them in public?
Second, I second the headbands. Since the wide ones can be fun games for cats or prone to getting dusty, may I recommend buying a nice hatbox and storing them in there? I have a hatbox for my collars as well. Keeps them nice and round and starched. [Excellent IDEA!!! As for the buns, well, just make sure to wear them with an air of irony with otherwise hip clothes. I mostly reserve mine for when I’ve just gotten back from the gym and nothing else will work at all. Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi! - PB]
Comment by Rev Bee — April 5, 2008 #
Since I tend to look “country”, i.e. not hip, very quickly when trying on headbands, flower prints, etc. I tend to avoid anything like it. But the pictured headbands are nice and sophisticated (except for the “BiffTad” and the polka dot ones of course.)
BiffTad - translation:
“Oh Biff.”
“Yes Tad.”
In full preppy glory. Lots of Izod and deck shoes.
Comment by jinnis — April 5, 2008 #
Do you really hate the brown and black floral one? Because I love that pattern! Hawaiian motif with professional neutral tones. I love Hawaiian florals, but the traditional bright colors might be overwhelming in the hair, yes? Maybe that’s just me. [I think it would look really cute on you, ’cause you’re not frumpy. Think denim jacket and cute brown skirt and heck yea! - PB]
I haven’t worn headbands in years (my hair is crew cut) but I remember that it is important not to get one too tight. Even just an eensy bit tight will slowly creep up on you all day until you can’t quite figure out why you’re cranky and tense until you take that puppy off and suddenly sunshine fills your head, endorphins flow and knees weaken. So, be careful not to squeeze your noggin.
Comment by Louise — April 5, 2008 #
I like bandanas, I have several of them in different colors and patterns. I’ll either fold them and turn them into headband, or cover my entire head with one. They’re pretty versatile and fun.
Comment by Charlotte — April 5, 2008 #
Great head coverings and bands. You should see the head here in Jerusalem. Anything from ill fitting wigs to hijab to the refugee babushka look to the tourist, definately American baseball cap.
Personally, I let me freak flag fly - different and makes a statement!
Comment by Suzanne — April 6, 2008 #
PB, you said in my comment above that I could wear a certain headband because I’m not frumpy. (Thanks!) You also say that headbands are good with short hair, but mine is crewcut short, less than 1 inch.
Do you really think I could wear a headband? ‘Cause I do like the wide ones, but figured with no hair actually being held or arranged by the band that I wasn’t eligible. Our travelin’ lifestyle isolates me a bit from other women with shortshort hair, so I’m open to hearing other opinions about this…
Comment by Louise — April 6, 2008 #
Oops, I didn’t mean to make the entire half of that comment a link. I meant to simply link to this post of mine that shows photos of my hair (and glasses, but that’s beside the point right now.)
Comment by Louise — April 6, 2008 #
Okay, clearly I’m too clutzy to actually do a well-formatted link, so here’s the photo post
ourodyssey.blogspot.com/2008/03/website-wednesday-making-spectacle-of.html
Comment by Louise — April 6, 2008 #
I’d also like to know where you find nice headbands. Years ago, I could get nice hair accessories at stores like Macy’s. They had a huge selection. But they seem to have ditched hair accessories now, or just carry a very few. Places like Target have tons — of cheap crap. Where to find the good stuff?
Comment by Dianne — April 8, 2008 #
Well, this is a fun coincidence. Having just returned from 2 weeks in Israel (plus one day in Palestine) I have been fascinated with headwraps of all forms. Mostly in Jerusalem, where there are loads of Orthodox Jewish women, and the hat stores are booming - lots of lovely cloche hats, velvety snoods, jaunty ’20s gangsta caps, etc. Beautiful scarves in all textures and patterns that were tied at the nape of the neck, and then scarf and hat combos. Also many stores with elegant ankle-length dresses and skirts. I had previously separated “modest dress” from any kind of style, but in urban areas, these ladies know how to do it up!
Arab women wore an immense variety of hijab, mostly bright scarves pinned beneath the chin, and on the younger ones, truckloads of eye-makeup, skin-tight jeans and long-sleeved tops that were also tight and low-cut. Sometimes sexy, heeled sandals with pedicures and toe-rings. All technically “modest”, if one’s hair, arms and legs are covered!
Didn’t feel right taking pictures of strangers, and my Hebrew and Arabic was limited to “Hello” and “Thank you”, so I didn’t ask. But I did think of y’all. [Thanks for the fun glimpse into the Holy Land Beauty Culture! I’m glad you’re home safely and hope it was a wonderful trip! - PB]
Comment by rev. Gidget — April 8, 2008 #
Aside from any modesty issues or intrepretive/cultural issues as rev gidget suggests, would you wear any sort of headband with vestments on Sunday morning or for another liturgical observance?
My gut says no, and when I wore my hair long I wore it pulled back or up very simply when vested. I’m growing my hair again and I’m interested in what this crowd thinks.
Comment by Madgebaby — April 8, 2008 #
Aside from any modesty issues or intrepretive/cultural issues as rev gidget suggests, would you wear any sort of headband with vestments on Sunday morning or for another liturgical observance?
My gut says no, and when I wore my hair long I wore it pulled back or up very simply when vested. I’m growing my hair again and I’m interested in what this crowd thinks. [I think a simple band without color would be fine if it doesn’t look Alice-In-Wonderlandish. My hair is growing, too, and there were some Sundays I had overgrown bang falling into my eyes. Curses! Now I keep tiny barrettes in the office and in the pocket of each robe to tuck my bangs in. You can’t see the barrette and it helps keep everything neat. - PB]
Comment by Madgebaby — April 8, 2008 #
Definitely heed Louise’s advice! I have a rather big head and very thick (& slippery silky) hair, so the kinds of headbands that would keep my hair in place also gives me headaches very quickly. I try to do scarves sometimes, but the slipperyness of my hair, combined with the softness of the scarves I like means that I get very fidgety with them, always pushing them back into place or rearranging entirely. Not a problem for summertime drinks, but definitely not professional.
Comment by claire — April 12, 2008 #