The History of Headbands

You may be surprised to learn that headbands have been around for many centuries! We know that Mesopotamian fillets were used to keep hair in place, while the laurel wreaths worn in Ancient Greece symbolized intellectual or physical prowess. Diadems were worn during the Medieval years, and the flower crown has never really lost its popularity throughout time. Headbands as we think of them now were worn by flappers in the 1920s and were famously seen on Coco Chanel in the 1930s. Bandana headbands were worn by women as a practical accessory in the 1940s; Rosie the Riveter was famously depicted wearing one. The postwar era saw the return of the purely decorative headband – the accessory was seen on everyone from Audrey Hepburn to Jackie O. Headbands tended more toward the glamorous in the 1970s, but the decade also saw a significant rise in headbands as sportswear (a trend that continued into the 1980s). In the 1990s and 2000s, preppy headband styles were all the rage as public figures like Hilary Clinton and famous TV characters like Blair Waldorf were frequently seen wearing them. The headband in its many forms continues to be a popular accessory today, but who knew it had such a long and storied tradition?