Zeenat Aman popularized hairband in the 1970s in Bollywood, but hotel heiress Paris Hilton brought it back in vogue internationally last year… and the common hair band is making a grand comeback to fashion all over again this year.
Not strangely, this simple fashion accessory is quite a rage in tinsel town already. Deepika Padukone keeps her lustrous tresses in check with a plain thin one while Sonam Kapoor, who also has lovely hair, favors a golden band; Katrina Kaif added to her college girl look in Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani last year by using a hair band to push back her straight hair and let fringes show in front. Kangna Ranaut is another one who sports a multi-color fabric hair band often to hold her frizzy hair in place.
Bollywood fashion stylists Dilshad Pastakia and Prue Rajan, who have seen the trend growing, predict, “Every girl young at heart is going to sport this accessory this year.” Designers Swapnil Shinde and Nikasha Tawadey had their models on the Mumbai Fashion Week ramp last year in flowy kaftans and lacy hair bands worn hippie-style. Hair and beauty expert Asha Hariharan says, “Hair bands can help in volatizing tresses. Also, in films, when actresses need to wear hair extensions, a hair band often adds a natural look to it. The hair band looks great at the workplace and parties, too.”
If you are one who finds the hair band look too schoolgirlish, then “Just wear it differently by slipping it down in a slant towards the forehead,” suggests Simran Kaur Mundi, Pantaloons Femina Miss India-Universe 2008, who frequently slips off her crown and falls back on this accessory for costume parties and girls day-out sessions.
