Never Buy A Bad Hair Clip Again In 7 Simple Steps
Do you own lots of hair hair accessories, but find you repeatedly wear just one favourite hair clip every day? This is quite common. Hair clips are often given low priority when getting yourself dressed for the day, so you can end up picking the same "trusty" hair clips in the morning.
Each morning you choose a black or tortoiseshell clip or hair band, just because it "goes with everything." And the more interesting hair clips you own are left in the drawer again, unworn.
By thinking a little bit about how you like to dress when you buy your hair clips, you can over time build a wardrobe of hair accessories that work with your existing clothes and better reflect your personal style. Better still, rather than a drawer of useless hair slides and headbands, you'll have a collection of hair clips you not only love, but that you look forward to wearing every day.
Here are my top 7 tips for banishing the clutter and building a brilliant hair clip collection.
1. Purchase With Care
Before you buy a new clip, always ask yourself how you will wear it. Will you be able to use it in a hair style you are already comfortable with? Is it in a colour that works with at least three outfits you already have? If so, this will be a successful and useful addition to your hair clip collection.
2. Plan Ahead For Special Events
Your hair and face shape do not usually change dramatically from one year to the next. And it is often better to buy formalwear when you don't need it so you aren't left scrabbling for a nice outfit at the last minute. If you already have a small collection of alice bands and hair clips which you know will hold your hair comfortably and look nice, doing your hair for a formal event is not only simple but fun.
3. Know What Works For You
Shopping for hair clips is just like shopping for dresses. There are lots of fantastic hair accessories out there, but they aren't all going to look great on you. Knowing, for example, whether skinny or wide headbands flatter your face and profile best is information you'll be able to use for the rest of your life. This is also true for barrettes and hair clamps.
Getting the size right, balanced by the needs of your hair and in proportion to your profile takes experimentation. It is time well spent to learn which shapes and sizes are most appropriate for you.
4. Shop Systematically
By "shopping" I don't mean "buying." Always have an eye out for hair accessories that will work for your hair. Your favourite hair clip today may be discontinued. French handmade hair clips can last decades, so if you wait for your best clip to break chances are pretty good you won't be able to replace it easily. Shopping regularly with a plan will ensure you always have more than one great clip you can rely on every day.
5. Know How To Shop The Trends
Buying fashion follows two schools of thought. Some believe you need to pay attention to trends so that your whole look doesn't leave you looking tired and out of date. Others feel that once a woman is over 25 years old, fashion is irrelevant and you need only to know what looks good on you and translate that into a more enduring personal style.
Either strategy works with hair accessories. You can either buy cheap, trendy clips each year with the intention to throw them away after a few months. Or purchase very good quality classic hair accessories that will stand the test of time. The test of which you should do is whether or not you have fun with it. Getting dressed and doing your hair should be fun, after all.
6. Get the Colour Balance Right
Just as you build a useful and interesting wardrobe of clothes by balancing classic staples with "extras" in colours and prints, the same applies to hair accessories. Your core colours are the ones that go with more than half of your clothing wardrobe. This usually means black or tortoiseshell, but it also includes colours normally considered neutral in clothing.
This could be cream, navy or grey, but also includes all metallics like gold, bronze, copper or silver. Three-quarters of your hair clips should be in your staple colours. The remaining quarter should be fun, perhaps in a bright colour or print to pair with your Little Black Dress or white oxford shirt.
7. Remove and Replace
This is the crucial step to avoiding that drawer of useless, old hair clips. Nothing says out of date more than something chipped, scratched or dirty. Why spend a lot of money on your hair just to put an old clip in it?
Once a year go through your hair clip collection and throw things away. Put it on your list as something to replace if you need to toss a real treasure. If you follow Step 4 and are shopping systematically, this should remove your fear about getting rid of any favourites. Go on, throw those old hair clips out. Then you'll have room to treat yourself to a new classic!
Melissa Hill is owner of Stone Bridge Hair Accessories UK, the leading source of fine quality French hair clips and headbands. Visit Stone Bridge online for the full range of Stone Bridge hair clips.
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