Headbands Are Everywhere and Chicer Than Ever
From stretchy athleisure forward bandeaus to a hard horseshoe-shaped shell, headbands are seeing a fashion renaissance
From the runway to celebrity street style, the latest must-have accessory is both a '90s throwback and a chic athleisure-forward sporty look donned by Alix Earle and co. for both daytime and special occasion dressing. The small-but-mighty headband is officially back! Lately, it seems everyone is obsessed with bringing back the headband and all its multifaceted glory (the name deriving from the belief that the tight pressure of the banded accessory served as a remedy for headaches).
The headband originates with the Ancient Greeks and Romans from around 475 BC to 330 BC, when they wore wreaths in their hair for special occasions; decorating, and imbedding the bands with jewels, gold, and silver; historically, Olympic winners would garnish their hair with wreath bands. While in the 1920s, a Gatsby-esque bandeau, and wrap bands were all the rage (think of the glamorous jeweled feather headbands banded to Daisy Buchanan’s head with either a plastic strap or tied with ribbon). While in the ‘60s, the headband was common to accessorize large, voluminous beehive hairstyles of that era, and in the ‘70s, the accessory became popularized again, with the Woodstock free love, hippie movement, by way of brightly colored tie-dye bandanas.
The Alice band, a particular kind of headband made from either plastic or an elastic material in the shape of a loop, became popular in the 19th century due to the popularity of Lewis Carroll’s novel, Through The Looking Glass, the name extrapolated from Alice, the heroine of the novel who had hard shell headbands in her hair.
Of course, we can’t discuss the headband without paying our respects to Carolyn Bassette-Kennedy, and her ‘90s minimalism; Kennedy was notorious for wearing thin, and thick hard shell headbands, oftentimes in speckled dark brown, as well as colorful bandana headbands while out and about. Even the TikTok girlies recently discovered where Kennedy shopped for her tortoiseshell headbands: C.O. Bigelow, a historic landmark apothecary in Greenwich Village.
The cotton hair accessory has become a longtime go-to for the likes of supermodel, and trendsetter Bella Hadid. She has been spotted wearing an entire range of headbands, though she favors the thick headbands, a more athletic, stretchy headband for casual everyday outfits, especially for a quick errand run.
Even bombshell actress, Sydney Sweeney recently sported a stretchy, knit, thick headband, perfect to keep her hair out of her face, and emphasize her 70s-inspired glamour while she was attending a Miu Miu dinner party for Paris Fashion Week last fall. Jennifer Lawrence wore a leather headband strap that exuded quiet luxury late last November, and so did Sofia Richie Grainge. We’ve also seen the accessory on pop star Olivia Rodrigo (rocking a very Blair Waldorf-coded padded headband), Zendaya, Lori Harvey, and Brie Larson to name a few celebs embracing the headband return.
Recently, on the 2024 Fall/Winter runway, the headband has been prevalent in a variety of forms from designers such as Conner Ives having models sport a classic black stretchy headband to slick back their hair; Bronx and Branco accessorizing with glittery, and sparkly ethereal embellishments; and even for 2024’s Spring/Summer shows, the headband was a catwalk force for Helmut Lang, and for designer Molly Goddard. Regardless of the material, or the design, headbands remain a classic accessory, ready to slick your hair back for any fashion mood or vibe.
