Yes, you can wear fancy hair accessories!
Jeanette Friis Madsen photo by Acielle at Style du Monde
One of my most stylish friends recently bought a hair claw and suggested I write about fancy hair accessories. Mmm…I thought to myself, I’m not sure about that! Ever the minimalist, I’m happy with a hair elastic, I’ve never owned a hair claw and the last time I wore a scrunchie was in the 1980s. But, it’s quite easy to stick with what you know and rule stuff out before trying it. While I may be cautious of the claw, I’m also a firm believer in not limiting options. And I do quite like hair slides, particularly when worn in a Gentlewoman Style a la Jeanette Friis Madsen (above). The Girl with the Pearl Hair Slide and the Pearl Earring.
Of course, my cool friend is on the money. Over the last few years Gucci has gone big on glitzy hair accessories, but this isn’t a look reserved for Millenials or Gen-Z’rs, women of all ages are enjoying hair decor. See J.Lo in Monaco and super-influencer Grece Ghanem in a scrunchie, for proof.
Photo: Tegen
Going into the Christmas season there are plenty of sparkly options in the shops, but my preference is for less flashy styles; pearls, resin and tortoiseshell hair clips, grips and barettes offset grey hair beautifully. My friend buys hers at Brighton-based Tegen Accessories (where you can shop by hair type), while slightly posher Alexandre de Paris clips and claws are available from Printemps, Feel Unique and Fenwick; both Oliver Bonas and Madewell have a good selection, and I’m thinking of buying a couple of modern hair slides from Black Colour, a Danish accessories brand I spotted in the lovely Collen and Clare boutique in Southwold (also available from Trouva).
Whatever your age or hair length, you can wear fancy hair accessories. See Joan Bakewell’s colourful hair slides from lockdown 2.0 for inspiration – and even shorter hair below:
Photo: Acielle at Style du Monde
And there’s no need to shell out lots of money on a designer merch; affordable and chic accessories can be found at H&M, Hush, Accessorize, Anthropologie, Boden and &OtherStories; as well as the local pharmacy, supermarket or street market.
Jayne Mayled founder of White Hot Hair during lockdown
Er, thank scrunchie it’s Christmas….
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Discussion (22 Comments)
Jan says:
Yes, but now is the perfect time for sparkly and spangly- you will fit right in and may find you love it. Try a small sparkly clip for the holidays.
Bernardine says:
The other more easily accessible meccas of hair accessories- Claires Accessories, and Monsoon Accessorise.
Mrs Tonia says:
My good ones are from Claire’s Accessories also.
Pearl grips from H and M, other good selection at my local Boots of all things hair.
No need to spend a lot. Have been wearing these since spring 2020.
Harriet says:
Just can’t do the claw…I hate seeing the spring bits in the middle but I have embraced the scrunchie again albeit a gingham number for the gym and bedtime…however I cant face the memory of green velvet with pearl trimming versions from the late ’80s!
I do like a big clip but with fine hair, they are often too heavy to be useful. I’m currently re-embracing the ageless messy bun as that seems to be a great day three hair option before I need to start slapping on the Olaplex again.
Debs Chowney says:
About thirty years ago, when hair accessories were a big thing, I splurged in John Lewis and bought a leather backed, black sparkle, narrow hair band and a faux tortoiseshell hair clip, which, to be honest were expensive even then. I’d never thought that they’d still be in use (the leather band was made in England and the clip in France) but they are and in excellent condition. I like to see hair ‘dressed’ and feel that sometime neck jewellery can get lost in the clothes we wear and just giving hair a ‘bling’ moment can be a good thing. I’ve also been known to wear my vintage costume jewellery clip earrings in my hair too!
Sara says:
Your post made my day, I’m in my 70s wear hair claws and slides and now find I’m in fashion. Because they have such lovely colours I buy most of mine from Inky & Mole.
I find all your posts inspiring, thank you.Sallie says:
My hair is very short but looking at the photos I can see anything is possible. I like the idea, particularly for the Holiday period and I may well give it a go. Thank you for the inspiration!
Sierra says:
Thank you Sara for introducing me to Inky & Mole. Loving their 60s vibe!
Alyson, your posts continue to interest us and open our eyes to new possibilities, which is great when you’re a woman of a certain age. Much appreciated, please keep them coming!How wonderful! Just love hair clips and claws. Such a lovely collection you have shown.
Thanks Mary. I really enjoyed selecting them and am planning to buy a couple of hair slides before Christmas. Watch this space!
Anne Murphy says:
They’re the best for my long silver hair on it’s ‘needs a wash’ days! Admit it, we all have them!
amanda nicoll says:
i bought a lovely jewelled circular hair slide from anthropology which was much admired on my christmas night out. more than any other bit of my outfit! looks kind of twenties style with a bob!
Thank you for reminding me of a hair clip that I haven’t worn for ages. I’ll have to go look for it. I think it might be perfect for the Christmas season!
Love this! I gave some decorated scrunchies to my grand daughter and barrettes and she loved them. Also am wearing
old tortoise clips when hair needs a wash.
Have a retail shop and 2 vintage depts. in which women are asking for hair accessories esp for weddings. Interesting …MaureenC says:
This is one where I’m happy to stand in the shadows and applaud those more adventurous than myself. I think if I started wearing hair slides of any kind my children might wonder about the impact of lockdowns and have a quiet word with my GP. I do wonder if the fashion for hair jewellery is a necessity to add some interest to what are essentially non hair styles. Long hair looks great on some women (I include you in this group Alyson!) but when I watch the news all the presenters and reporters seen to have compulsory longish, slightly lank hair whether it suits them or not. This isn’t meant to be a value judgement, just an observation. Maybe it’s a legacy of lockdown do it yourself hair cuts? My hairdresser says that the last fifteen years have been a desert if you enjoy cutting rather than colouring or attaching extensions but then he did train in the 80s when almost every young woman had a short sharp hair cut.
Sara says:
I seem to have quite mixed views; anything in tortoiseshell (fake, of course) always grabs my attention and I am on the constant lookout for strong ?claws (not sure if I have the correct term) as my hair has now, fortunately, grown to the length that I can clip it up instead of a daily wash and lengthy dry. I do have an aversion to the little-girl-hairgrippy thing, a la one well-known tv presenter, who shall remain nameless in an attempt not to bitch at women in public life. Think it’s part of my overall aversion to adult women adopting girly poses of all kinds. Fun is one thing, aiming to look like a child is another. Hair accessories need not be in that category, so bring on the sparkly/tortoiseshell/coloured slides, claws, clips, but just not gripped across our foreheads!
MARIA LITINA 
anne 
Jill 
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Great post, thanks Alyson.
I gave up fancy hair furniture when I hit the menopause as it seemed too ‘girlish’. For the last few years it’s been bobby pins/plain hair grips only (my hair is too short for elastic bands). I always enjoyed ornamenting my hair so it felt a bit sad to give it up completely. I’m still wary of anything sparkly or spangly, but I’m now thinking about small tortoise shell clips. It feels like tortoiseshell is a ‘neutral’ in a similar way to camo. I’d still err on the side of caution but I’m really pleased that you’ve brought up the topic and you might even have persuaded me to have a little bit more fun with my hair in future. Thanks for the post.