Hair accessories
Hair accessories are - like jewelry in general - a decorative item . A distinction is made between two different meanings of the expression: on the one hand, the designation of jewelry, which is used to decorate hairstyles or to design their shape constructively, on the other hand, jewelry made from one's own hair .
Hair ornaments as ornaments
Hair accessories are not a modern invention . The historical development of hair accessories can be traced back several thousands of years. Already flowers or simple wood regarded as the first batch of hair accessories. However, it can be argued that it was used to design hairstyles back then .
In the course of the development of the first high cultures , in addition to education , technology and medicine , jewelry was given a much higher priority. For example, the ancient Egyptians wore braided threads or gold ornaments in their hair. Even within the Chinese dynasties , the use of wooden sticks to pin up the particularly thick hair of Asian women was not uncommon.
The feather headdress of Native Americans is considered to be particularly impressive hair accessories . This was often used for decoration - but also to differentiate between the hierarchical structures within a tribe .
To this day, hair accessories have developed in very diverse ways. There are now no material restrictions, so it is possible to purchase hair accessories made of a wide variety of materials such as wood, ( precious ) metals , textiles , plastics , ( precious ) stones and cut glasses .
Hair accessories cannot be completely differentiated from the term headgear . For example, the crown is a modification of the hair ornament. In addition to the hierarchical importance, the crown is also used as a distinctive ornament . Today's optical remnants of the crown can be found in the so-called tiara . These are assigned to the hair jewelry in the area of bridal jewelry and come from the laurel wreath - a wreath with which the winner of a fight was crowned in ancient times .
Even with dogs of some breeds, a hair clip decorated with a bow is attached to the hair of the dog for dog shows to keep the eyes free. It remains to be seen whether this accessory serves the dog's wellbeing more than a haircut that serves the same purpose.
Item groupings
Modern hair accessories can be classified according to the type of use:
- Curlies
- Diadems
- Fascinators
- Hairbands
- Hair ties
- Hair clips
- Hairpins
- Headband
- Hair slide
- Hair bows
- Hair clips
- Hair sticks
- Hair pinchers
- Combs
- Mini hats
- Scuncis
Jewelry made from hair
Since the end of the 18th century, human hair has been made into body jewelry in order to express a special relationship between the original wearer of the head hair and the owner of the objects made from it. The heyday of this art form was in the 19th century. The origin of this form of remembrance is believed to be in the custom of processing the hair of the deceased into mourning jewelry. Strands of hair from dead relatives, but also the first curls of the children under glass in gold-framed brooches (“memory brooches”) were popular. This could be done relatively inexpensively, but also in a highly artificial way through undulation or interweaving. Examples of the complicated application can be found in the last third of the 19th century in the so-called "Prince of Wales curls."
In addition, a wide variety of pieces of jewelery were made in Central Europe that are braided or bobbin lace , such as earrings , bracelets , finger rings , watch chains or necklaces . Here, too, it applies that they should sometimes remember the deceased or were love gifts between bride and groom. If possible, they were made by the giver herself (e.g. when it came to a watch chain for the fiancé), otherwise hairdressers or jewelers were entrusted with the work. Following this fashion, hair of anonymous origin was also processed commercially into jewelry. The history of hair jewelry ends soon after the First World War, as can be seen from training in hairdressing.
For the history and distribution of hair work, see also the article hair picture ; These framed objects, which were hung up to decorate the wall in the living area, served in a very similar way for the private culture of remembrance.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gockerell, 1980, p. 48.
- ↑ Gockerell, 1980, pp. 42–43 with instructions cited from Alexanna Speight: The Lock of Hair, London 1871.
- ↑ Gockerell, 1980, p. 58.
literature
Jewelry made from hair
- Nina Gockerell: Jewelry made from human hair. Origins, motivation, development. Part I. and III. In: Waffen- und Costumekunde, 1980, pp. 45–64 and 1981, pp. 39–54.
- Irmgard Endres-Mayser: Jewelry made from human hair. Hair braid. Part II. In: Waffen- und Costumekunde, 1980, pp. 130–152.
Web links
- Hair Jewelry Collection - a very comprehensive collection of jewelry made from your own hair