The history of the headscarf – Tatler

Dior AW20/ Charlotte Casiraghi at Paris Fashion Week AW20

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Originally hailing from India, the bandana was used as a practical way to keep hair from the face in the heat, now it has metamorphosed into a style icon in its own right. Having seen many fashion reincarnations throughout the years, from flappers to fashionistas, its back on trend once again thanks to the likes of Dior and Charlotte Casiraghi.

Flapper Girl Josephine Baker, circa 1920

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In the roaring twenties it was all about Hollywood, high society and hedonism. Raucous parties were filled with flapper girls and silver screen sirens who tied printed silk scarves around their heads and danced the night away. Whether it was worn to the side or tucked into a turban style, the headscarf became a status symbol of glamour.

WWII Poster, 1943

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It went back to its practical roots in the forties, with one of the most iconic images of WWII being Rosie the Riveter in the We Can Do It poster, who tied up her hair with a polka dot scarf in a bid to boost female worker morale. The image went on to become an emblem of feminism, and a hairstyle commonly referenced in pop culture.

Jackie Kennedy / Audrey Hepburn

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Returning to glamour in the sixties, fashions faces of the decade like Brigitte Bardot and Jackie Kennedy tied their scarves around their chins, a look often borrowed by the Queen today. It was a style so de rigueur to Audrey Hepburn she famously wore it on her wedding day to Andrea Dotti in 1969.

Diana Ross

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Two main things ruled the heyday of seventies style; disco and hippy-luxe. Studio 54 was filled with dancing Diana Ross types with lam tied around their heads and actresses like Farah Fawcett and Natalie Wood kept it boho-chic in relaxed paisley prints.

Madonna

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The emergence of Punk, Dance-Pop and Hair Metal in the eighties made way for bold and extravagant fashion choices. Material Girl Madonna, known for her pioneering cool-girl style, popularised the bandana once again teaming it with tousled hair and tons of over-the-top jewellery.

Clueless

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The Hip Hop movement paved the way for many of the street-style trends we see today and bandanas became very big with men on the rap scene at the time, like Tupac and Coolio. In a pivotal moment in 1995s cult classic Clueless, heralded for its camp interpretation of nineties style, Dionne Davenport dons a bandana in one of the most easily recognisable film stills.

Christina Aguilera / Paris Hilton

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The A-List of the noughties counted Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez and Gwen Stefani among its ranks. Taking its cues from both street-style subcultures and the glamour of the twenties, the headscarf maintained its status as a must-have for the style savvy from Christina Aguilera's overtly sexy Xtina persona to the Rich-Girl style of Paris Hilton in The Simple Life.

Prada / Marc Jacobs / Gucci

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Fashion is once again falling in the hands of the headscarf, the accessory could be spotted at some of the biggest names in the game during Fashion Month. For Gucci it was chintzy prints, Dolce & Gabbana kept it chic in black and Marc Jacobs provided full pastel colourblocking with monochromatic looks teamed with matching kerchief. However you wish to style it for the new season, we suggest you invest in one now.

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The history of the headscarf - Tatler