If you’re not quite sure how to wear your headpiece or fascinator, we’ve answered some of the most common questions below.

 

Which side of my head should a headpiece or fascinator be worn?

Ultimately, it’s the wearer’s choice however tradition dictates that headpieces should be worn on the right hand side of your head.

 

Why should headpieces be worn on the right hand side of the head?

This is an old tradition, stemming from the days of courtship when a couple might be out on the streets going for a long, romantic stroll. The men would stand on the left of their ladies, protecting them from passing carriages and the like, so the women would wear their headpieces on the right so that they wouldn’t block those pretty little faces from their beaus.

Certainly if you want to look knowledgeable in the world of millinery (or if you’re entering fashions on the field) you’d want to ensure your headpiece sits on the right hand side of your head, but as men have ‘evolved’ and ceased to protect us women from perceived dangers of roads, fashion too has evolved and so if you want to wear your hat on the left hand side of your head (or in front, or behind), then we say you should go for it.

In fact, a lot of our headpieces look better or are designed to sit in different positions, so there you go.

 

How far on the side of my head should the headpiece or fascinator sit?

So, we’ve mentioned that headpieces should sit on the right hand side of your head… but whereabouts on that side, you ask?

While a lot of this comes down to face shape & fit, ideally your headpiece would cut across the right hand side of your forehead just a tad.

If you have a headpiece with a round base, the base should ideally sit at an angle on the side of your head.

Of course, sometimes headpieces are designed – or just look so much better – being front-on, right at the back or even (sometimes…) flat on top.

Generally speaking though, aim for the right, aim to cover a bit of your forehead and don’t forget where any quills should be aiming either…

 

Speaking of those, where should my quills point?

If your headpiece has quills, you probably want to have them pointing from floor to ceiling (or at a slight angle) as opposed to lying flat and pointing from ear to ear.

I’ve got a parting – do I hide or rock it?

Ideally, place your headpiece so it covers your parting (if you have one).  It’s not a rule, but trust us when we say you’ll thank us for it.

Not only might it hide any ‘in-desperate-need-of-a-colour’ roots, it also doesn’t put a dampener on any killer volume your hairdresser or blow drier worked tirelessly to produce.

My hair elastic keeps slipping, what should I do?

Sometimes people just don’t ‘fit’ hair elastics. More often than not, this comes down to head or hat shape and, while it’s potentially tempting to just anchor that hair elastic around your chin, your headpiece is a hat, not a helmet and you’ll be committing a cardinal fashion sin if you go there.

Generally speaking, one of us SHOW PONIES definitely doesn’t ‘fit’ hair elastics, so unless we’ve anchored the headpiece down with a bun or pony tail, we go free range and just attach the hat via the inner comb & it stays all day (and night..!).

While anchoring hair elastics with a bun or ponytail will definitely help, so too will using bobby pins. Slip that into the hair elastic then go hard putting them through your hair.

While we’re chatting hair elastics, for aesthetic reasons you might like to ‘hide’ your hair elastic with your hair (certainly if you’re entering fashions in the field) but they’re so subtle anyway it’s no biggie if they’re visible.

 

How about the comb? What do I do with it?

You’ll find backcombing a small section of hair (and then even giving it a good go with some hair spray) will make it easier to ‘dig’ the comb in & should give the headpiece further stick-ability.

When we insert combs into our headpieces, we generally insert them so they either point ‘down’ one side of your head or (and especially if they’re on a headband-style hat), go back-to-front (i.e. prongs pointing towards your face, not towards the back of  your head).

Again, that could change depending on where you position your hat but that’s a general rule.

Happy days!

The SHOW PONIES xxx