Why You Need a Hairband With Flowers
Well, you don’t really NEED a hairband with flowers, not in a way you need amino acids or love. But I have this basic instinct of championing things that some people dismiss as ridiculous or useless. For anyone who has read my defence of overdressing, this doesn’t come as a surprise.
I always have a violent allergic reaction when I hear people say: “oh, I love it, but where would I wear this/it’s too pretty to use/it’s just so impractical!” The other thing that drives me mad is when people do acquire those lovely things, but keep them for some mysterious “occasions” that seem to never arrive. I’m not promoting blind consumerism or overspending and if something isn’t you, by all means, admire from afar. What makes me sad is when people deny themselves some easy fabulosity simply because of silly notions about the proper use of things.
Let me give you an example of what I mean (yes, this is where the hairband comes in). A year ago, I bought the hair/head thingy that you can almost see on the picture above. It has lots of dramatic black fabric flowers and it’s not necessarily flattering, but I love it. This is exactly the type of thing people deem a frivolous purchase, unfit for a 35-year old woman. If you tell them that you bought it from H&M, they’ll relent a bit (because cheap!), but then wonder where one could conceivably wear such a thing and certainly this wouldn’t happen more than twice a year!
Well, guess what? I wear this contraption every single day. I put it on in the mornings and evenings when I clean my face and do my skincare routine, although sometimes I steal my daughter’s hairband instead, as it’s decorated with butterflies and has the additional advantage of sparkle. I do wear it with a black lace dress, too, but even I have to admit this doesn’t happen very often. So I have found other uses for my impractical accessory and let me tell you, it works just as well as an ugly, practical one.
PS Zara has a selection of turban-style hairbands at the moment and I think I need one. Possibly this.
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Good morning. I too am a believer in wearing and using what you love, and to hell with consequences. For instance, I have a collection of slightly batty hats: a scarlet cloche with feathers; a magenta boater; a wide romantic straw, and so on. I wear them for fun, for style, for practicality, for a splash of colour but mainly, just ‘cos I can. My hats give my colleagues a pain: they are outre, unexpected,unusual, noticeable–TOO YOUNG, perhaps? Here’s the thing: I could pass my days focusing out into my job and the connections of the workplace, and I would be fully occupied, because I am busy, as we all are, but ultimately, that is draining. However, if I stop before I leave the office to put on a batty hat and to adjust it so it sits exactly so, I am deliberately engaging with those parts of life that we tend not to think about or notice. I could just dash off to a meeting in a different building (for example), or I could let it become a tiny, thoughtful ritual that keeps me present in the passing of time. So, I enjoy the hat, or the new shiny red lipstick, the perfume, the carefully contrived clash of my red boots with my trousers-whatever– and in doing so, take responsibility for refreshing my spirit and recreating my self.
Your post today is, it seems to me, about finding or making magic in everyday, unthought things.
I agree with everything, you are much better at saying what I mean than I am 🙂 And your hat collection sounds amazing. I’ve got a few as well, my favourite being a huge black straw one that I’d love to wear all the time in the summer, but the brim is so wide that even a little wind lifts it up and carries it away. And I cannot see much from under it. But other than these too tiny issues, it’s perfect.
Snap! How very odd: I was tired and distracted yesterday,so took a walk at lunchtime, purely for fresh air and re-balancing, you understand….it turned out that what I needed to balance myself again was a few ounces of black straw in the shape of a wide-brimmed hat, quite impractical except that it will protect the back of my neck, which is essential in an Aotearoa-New Zealand summer. I haven’t had time to work it into my daily life; obviously, it’s not an old favourite, but it is a new favourite. I already love imy hat inordinately, along with a new blue-based red lipstick by Chanel–I have but little self control when faced with rows of pretty colours You would have to know Aotearoa-New Zealand to understand just how over-dressed I will be in my hat (and even in the lipstick, possibly) this summer, but I will wear them pleasure and gratitude, and celebrate the necessity of black straw for a balanced life!