What’s a birthday party or a dress-up game without a crown?  The most essential part of any king/queen/prince/princess costume is the headgear.  It’s amazing how much a fancy hat can mean: for a monarch, the wearing of a crown represents dignity, honor, victory, immortality – and more.

Crowns come in all shapes and styles: some are more like caps, some are like helmets, others look more like a tiara (also known as a diadem, for those who read the last Harry Potter book) or wreath. It all depends on where it comes from.

Royalty (and nobility) have been wearing crowns since ancient times.  Egyptian pharaohs weren’t allowed to let commoners see their hair, so they wore a variety of elaborate ceremonial headgear, depending on what they were doing: you’d probably recognize the red-and-white pschent, or the blue and gold striped headcloth known as the nemes, worn with a cobra headband in front.  Romans gave crowns to those who earned military honors: later emperors adopted a diadem style originally worn by Persian kings.

One of the oldest European crowns is the Iron Crown of Lombardy, which is approximately 1300 years old; no one is sure exactly when it was made, or by whom.  But it was used to crown kings of Italy for hundreds of years, since at least the time of Charlemagne; Napoleon used it a good thousand years after it was made!  It’s actually mostly gold, but gets its name from a band of iron on the inside said to come from a nail used on the true cross.   Holy Roman Emperors from the 10th century until the late 18th were crowned with a “hoop crown” (named for the arch that goes over the top), decorated with small painted icon and encrusted with jewels.

The British Crown Jewels includes a lot of pieces, like rings, swords, orbs, and more.  But the core of the British collection is the headgear on display in the Tower of London.  They’re especially special because the French crown jewels were sold by the 3rd Republic in 1885, and the Spanish ones were destroyed in a fire in the 18th century.  The most famous of these famous pieces are the Imperial State crown and the St. Edward’s Crown, which are used during coronation ceremonies.  You may be surprised to find out that some of these pieces have been redesigned, adjusted, or added to over time; some kings and queens liked to personalize, or to add special jewels that came into their possession.  Queen Victoria even made a whole new one for her coronation because she thought the St. Edward’s crown was too heavy and uncomfortable.

Who wants to go watch the last scene from The Princess Diaries II now?  Or the royal wedding?  Come on.  You wish your headgear was studded with priceless gems and trimmed with ermine fur, I know you do.

Once upon a time, scarves were a winter accessory, good for keeping your neck warm and showing off your knitting skills.  But for a long time now, scarves have been a year-round fashion, and it’s time for those of us who are afraid of looking stupid to catch up on the best ways to wear them.  They’re everywhere in the stores (and online!) so you should have no trouble finding some soft, light fabrics in colors and prints that you love.  Start with that: if you have an awesome scarf, you’ll be motivated to find a way to show it off!

Scarves are awesome, as accessories go, because they’re so versatile.  Unlike most hats or necklaces or belts, there are so many different ways to use just one item Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, a nurse asked me how my pretied bandana stays on.  She said she kept trying to wear a regular bandana while doing housework, but could never get it to stay in place.  I took it off, showed her the elastic in the back, and told her where to buy one online.

‘Tis the season for spring cleaning.  A lot of women are opening windows, shaking out rugs, and trying to scrub a year’s worth of gunk off the inside of the oven.  It’s funny how trying to clean the house can result in yourself getting really dirty!  Aprons and rubber gloves as protective gear are sort of passe, but trust me when I tell you that when you’re getting busy behind the fridge, covering your hair is one of the smartest things you can do! Read the rest of this entry »

Between the art and the mummies left behind by ancient Egyptians, we know a lot about how they wore their hair.  You probably have some pictures in your head already, like blue-and-gold striped pillowcase-looking thingies with snakes coming out of the forehead.  And stuff like that.  Right?  Well, there’s that and more.

Hairstyling was a big deal in ancient Egypt, for both practical and aesthetic reasons.  Tomb artwork depicts noblewomen with their hairdressers, applying cosmetics, bathing, and so on.  These people cared a lot about their appearances!

Your average Egyptian woman, up to the time of the New Kingdom (which started around 1550 BCE), wore her hair pretty short – either shaved or in a bob.   Read the rest of this entry »

A friend of mine recently donated her hair, and it got me thinking about long hair again.  But since I’ve done the topic of caring for long hair before, I went online and poked around to see what I’d find about long hair in terms of history and culture and society.  And I came up with some cool thoughts and facts.

It’s funny, what some people will consider long is really medium or short to others, depending on what the norm is where you live.  A girl with hair to her shoulders has medium-short hair, but a guy with the same length will be perceived as having long hair.   Read the rest of this entry »

What shouts “spring” louder than delicate, sweet pastels?  Pale shades were all over the runways for this season, and many women are thrilled that ladylike and feminine colors are back in.  But if you plunge head-first into this trend, you run the risk of looking washed out or overly sweet and girlish.  And some women shy away from pale colors because of their hair and skin tones.  Well, never fear ladies, because there are lots of ways to wear pastels and I guarantee that you can find a way to do it that suits your looks and your sense of style. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m a huge fan of giveaways.  I enter several a week, in vain hopes that I’ll furnish my house/dress my baby/eat gourmet food, for free.  Trust me, if you enter enough of these things, you’ll win something eventually!  But I’ve had an unusual run of good luck lately: in the last couple of months I’ve won a cookbook, a diaper pail, and a pair of baby legwarmers.  But the biggest win of all was actually my husband’s.  He won a $300 designer purse.

And promptly gave it to me, duh.

I went through all kinds of agonies trying to decide what to do with it.  On the one hand, it’s a really beautiful bag Read the rest of this entry »

This spring is all about the feminine. Of late, fashion has emphasized menswear styles for women, military-inspired clothing and accessories, boxy cuts. But 2012 is heralding a new year full of fresh, feminine motifs and silhouettes, which is a nice change for a lot of people out there!  If your wardrobe needs an update, here’s what to look for now:

Color blocking – Bold and bright color combos are all the rage, and you can achieve the concept by combining individual solid-colored items and accessories.  But avoid using more than 3 colors at a time if you don’t want to look like an unusually hip clown.  Check out the most popular hues here – they’re really yummy this season!  Start this look out simply by putting on a solid stretchy headband – there are loads of colors to choose from! Read the rest of this entry »

There are two kinds of people: those who shower at night and those who shower in the morning.  Personally, I love to shower in the morning, but I just can’t get in the habit of waking up early enough to do so.  I’ve been sleeping on wet hair several nights a week for most of my life.  The question is, is that a bad idea?  Many internet question boards are dedicated to the drama of whether or not your should sleep with wet hair.

There’s an old-wive’s tale floating around that sleeping on wet hair will make you sick.  Let me be the one to tell you that this is a myth: there’s nothing about wet hair that can harm you in that way.  If you slept with wet hair above the snow line in the Canadian Rockies in February, I can see you catching hypothermia.  But otherwise, it’s not a concern! Read the rest of this entry »

Do you sleep with things on your Head?

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I’ve tried going to bed with wet hair and dry hair, up hair and loose hair, covered and not.  I’m sure most of you have as well, in your quest to figure out the best way to keep things from getting too out of hand overnight.  This next series of posts is going to discuss a few of the options, and why one or another might work best for your needs.

Gotta include a couple of fun facts first.  Obviously, the original purpose of a nightcap was to keep a person warm in a poorly heated house.  Think about it: you can keep everything but your head under the covers.   Read the rest of this entry »

Pantone, the international authority on color, has released what it’s Color of the Year for 2012, Tangerine Tango, a warm red-orange hue.  Like last year’s happy pink Honeysuckle, Tangerine Tango is vibrant, radiating energy.  It’s a little exotic, a little spicy, but definitely friendly and upbeat; this is an approachable shade of a color that can sometimes be off-putting in it’s brightness and visibility.  If you’ve been shying away from orange, definitely give this one a shot!   Read the rest of this entry »

If this post doesn’t make you hungry, I’ll eat my hat!  The question is, which hat?  I actually only have a few, being a tichel kind of girl most of the time…. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll scare up one of these tasty toppers.

• Nacho hat - Imagine a sombrero made out of a hard taco shell.  Create a bowl-shaped depression on the crown, fill it with flavorful melted cheese, and presto, Read the rest of this entry »

Ok folks, Black Friday has come and gone, Cyber Monday is nearly behind us…now it’s time to take the approaching holiday seasons seriously (if you want to, I mean).  I admit that a little snow would make it easier to feel festive right now, but alas we must play the hand we’re dealt.  Bryant Park’s skating rink is open anyway, and latkes are tasty all year-round.

So, whichever holidays you care to celebrate, take advantage of an opportunity to avoid the horrendous lines, out-of-stock merchandise, and crabby shoppers and do your business online instead.   Read the rest of this entry »

‘Tis the season for gratitude, so I’m going to use this post to express thanks.

As you can see, hat and hairstyles have been coming and going throughout the ages.  Every now and then something “retro” or “vintage” comes back into play, but there are plenty of toppers and ‘dos that have faded into the shadows of history – with good reason.  You have to wonder what inspired some of these styles!  But mainly, I’m grateful that people rarely walk around looking like this anymore – and that I’m not expected to follow these trends.

• Rubber bathing caps with fake flower petals: These are not comfortable.  They do not look real.  They do not increase your hydrodynamicism (I totally made up that word, but you know what I mean).  Stick with plain Lycra folks, ok?
• Nightcaps: I know we have modern heating to thank for this one as well, but I’ve seen one too many episodes of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman that featured Horace and Myra in hideous 19th century pj’s, complete with a pompom-ed stocking cap for him and a frilly mob cap for her.  And as someone who covers completely for much of the day, bedtime is my only chance to let my scalp breathe.  When it’s dark, no one can see your greasy/unstyled/frizzy hair anyway, so you might as well let it down. Read the rest of this entry »

A good lather and rinse (followed by conditioner!) is all most people need to keep their hair clean.  Unless you have unusual hair circumstances, everyday oil and dirt buildup aren’t all that hard to deal with; by now I’m sure most of you have a routine down pat.  But every now and then something weird happens to you (or one of your kids or students!), and you’ll find yourself frantically Googling for advice.  This post will cover some basics of dirty-hair emergency management.  If you have any questions or icky hair scenarios, comment and I’ll see what I can find to help.  Be prepared!

The basic toolkit for dealing with unusual substances includes: Read the rest of this entry »

“O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-ey’d monster…” Well, the jealousy I’m thinking about is more of a green-haired monster.  Or a green-scarved monster.

You know what I mean.  Everyone knows someone whose tichel is always tied perfectly, and in a way that would make your face look fat.  Or someone who has a different hat to wear every day of the month, for both seasons.  Someone whose hair is always shiny/bouncy/curly/straight and never flat/dull/frizzy/frumpy – like your own.  You’re torn between worshiping her perfection and wanting to throw a paper bag over her head.

Some women don’t stress about their appearances.  Either they’re confident about their abilities to construct an outfit, or they just don’t care.  But there’s a huge middle of the road where you have women that constantly struggle to pull themselves together. Read the rest of this entry »

My previous post about Native American headgear covered some pretty wide bases, but there’s a whole world of accessories beyond hats, so I just had to share some more highlights.  For example, everyone knows the word “wampum,” but do you really know what it means?  And you may be aware of Southwestern silver-and-turquoise jewelry, but do you know when it was first developed?

Wampum comes from the Narragansett word “wampumpeag,” which means “white strings” – referring to strings of white beads made from a type of whelk shell.   Read the rest of this entry »

It’s almost Thanksgiving once again, and as the black-and-orange decoration disappear from store shelves, they’re quickly being replaced with cornucopias and those big black buckled hats that we spoke of last November.  My previous turkey day post focused on Pilgrim fashion, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to mention some interesting Native American (or First Nations, or American Indian, or whichever term you feel is most descriptive) styles.  There are a LOT of styles to cover (for half a continent’s worth of people, so yeah), but here’s a rundown of the most commonly known, or otherwise really interesting-looking.

As I said last year, those big feathered head-thingies that you typically picture when you think of Native American clothing are war bonnets worn by Plains Indian men (Sioux, Comanche, and Cheyenne are some of the most commonly known Plains tribes), mostly for ceremonial occasions.  Feathers were added to a bonnet in honor of great deeds done in battle; in order to begin making one, a person had to earn ten such honors Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, you can wear white after Labor Day.  We’ve been over that before!  And no, it doesn’t just have to be “winter white.”  Bright white (with cool or blue undertones) is just as acceptable year round as shades of white with warmer, yellow overtones.  According to Elle magazine, white has been very popular this season.  White is great because it can be either simple or elegant; it’s so versatile!

If you doubt that there can be more than one kind of white, I dare you to find a wedding gown website.  Prepare to be boggled at the possibilities!  If you’re not sure what shade will look best on you, consider your skin tone.  ”Winter” and “summer” skin have cool tones, and look good with cool whites.  ”Autumn” and “spring” look better in warmer whites, like ivory. Read the rest of this entry »