Last month, while on holiday in Curaçao, I was at a loss for what to do with my hair. It’s in that sort of bob that’s too short to be easily manipulated into a ponytail or pigtails, but leaving it free meant being constantly whipped in the face by wet strands as I lounged on the beach.
Then Gracie Abrams performed at Glastonbury. While her oxblood Rodarte frock may have been made-to-measure, her hair accessory was far simpler: a matching bandana, folded diagonally and wrapped around her head like Christina Aguilera did in the early 2000s.
“It’s a chic and effortless look inspired by style icons like Jane Birkin, Brigette Bardot, and Jean Shrimpton,” says Abrams’s go-to hairstylist Bobby Eliot. “What I love about a bandana is that it elevates a look without much effort. It also can be a way to give your hair a break from heat styling: Just spritz in a little salt spray and go.”
Brigitte Bardot, hair wrapped in a scarf, in 1959’s Come Dance With Me!Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection
Since then, the hair kerchief has become a signature style for girls on the go. More recently, Hailey Bieber and Alexa Chung have bandanna-ed while on beachy holidays—as has model Olivia Joan, who chose to sweep her braids back with a white version while visiting her mother in Lake Como, Italy. “I love how it keeps my hair out of my face and protects my scalp from looking sunburnt, while also looking fashionable,” she says of the look. “Nothing better than when fashion and function can coexist harmoniously.”
