On the First Day of a Feminine Christmas

Although not necessarily a Christmas photograph of Twiggy, I thought it was festive enough to kick off off the Feminine Christmas series.

The year 2020 has been many things, the least of which it is the year my sister and I became obsessed with hair accessories.  I love Twiggy’s straight bold rhinestone barrette and how it adds just the right amount of bling to her style.

About three years ago, I was browsing the kiosks at an upscale mall during my lunch hour.  My eye always led me to the sparkly barrettes and headbands but I never thought I had the hair type or was of the proper age (young) to wear an accessory on my head.  But this time, I spotted a medium-sized tortoiseshell clip that I would dare to try on.  With the help of the pretty sales associate, I pulled and fastened the top of my hair to the back and caught it with the clip.  “Oh it looks so pretty”, said the associate who was much younger than I.   “Oh I don’t think so”, I replied.  But she then held up a hand mirror up so that I could see the fetching orb holding my older tresses just so.  It did indeed, look pretty and if it weren’t for her skill with the hand mirror, I would never have bought it.

But I wore that clip everyday for one year.  When it broke, I wrote to the manufacturer and after sending them a picture of the broken piece at their request, they sent a pre-paid envelope for me to mail it for a free repair.  Who knew that such a little thing could have such a guarantee?  The sales associate had not mentioned that!

In high school, “baby” barrettes were all the rage and my sister and I tried to find the sweetest and most dainty ones to wear.  They took but a scrap of hair and we thought we were very cute.  Our favorites were the ones with tiny hand painted flowers on them but we also had a rhinestone star and petite red ovals.  Later, even when my hair was very long, I never bothered with headbands or ties and my hair was short during the later “scrunchy years” so I completely missed that maligned accessory altogether.

This past summer was so very hot and so very sad after losing our brother.  I didn’t care much about my personal style and found some drugstore hair clips to keep my hair’s upkeep to a minimum.  They worked great and soon both my sister and I were using them daily and also looking for more whenever we had a chance.  We tried jaw clips of different sizes and colorful catch-all barrettes.  We became fiends for knotted headbands too, and bought doubles so that we could share the joy. They became summer and grieving-time lifesavers.  Even now, we still wear our clips, barrettes and headbands and search for more whenever we are out together.  They are inexpensive and addictively collectible, these gem-like bits and baubles.

So what does my little story have to do with Christmas?  I guess I’m inviting you to try hair accessories to feminize your Christmas style and bring a little spark of joy into a season that may feel different this year or in our case, sadder.  A bright spot of bling may tell the world, and most importantly yourself, that life is still lovely and you’re still in the game.  That’s a tall order for a piece of rhinestone, paste, or plastic but I think of my hair bling as a little North Star to better days ahead – a focal point for faith and hope before the light returns.