Hair Apparent

by Helen i-lin Hwang

These days, a casual-but-stylish look doesn’t only depend on your pants, shirts and shoes -- it’s also about selecting the right elements for your hair. Headbands and bobby pins are creative ways to add pizzazz to your locks, not to mention a bit of imperial grooming -- well, they’re the closest thing our everyday style has to crowns and tiaras.

The secret to wearing a headband is having a comely forehead. What defines such a thing, you might ask? If you're having a spate of breakouts, refrain from showing off those pimples. Have a conspicuous dark mole in the middle of the forehead that might vaguely resemble a third eye? Don't fret, just pull down some wispy bangs. The band shouldn't make your forehead look too large, nor too small.

H&M has attractive cloth head scarves with elastic at the neck to keep them snug. A seemingly austere black headband has lighter-shaded polka dots to add some cool geometric features. Another design has soothing colors with stripes of pale orange, light pink, lime green and bush green adorned with thin gold ribbons.

The Chestnut Street store also has the best selection of out-of-the-ordinary bobby pins. For centuries, bobby pins have not appeared on the designer's radar for creativity, merely dismissed as utilitarian tools used for strapping down strands -- forbidden to be seen. The only hairstyle bobby pins came into play with were updos for proms and weddings, and they were meant to match hair color and nothing else. But that trend is changing and the bobby pin is finally getting its due. From plain black, brown and blond beginnings, the metal fastener is getting minuscule plastic diamantes, sometimes one or two, sometimes the entire length of the pin. H&M also carries mixed-color pins (their headbands and pins range from $1.90 to $3.90).

For more headband options, try Ann Taylor -- they have ultrathin plastic bands in black and leopard print ($10). They’re perfect for the more sophisticated image. Old City boutique Molletta has leather headbands ($28) in various shades of the color spectrum. The thing about leather is that the material molds so agreeably to the scalp, it never pinches. The blue-themed headband has patches of light blue, dark gray and deep cobalt blue. The pink one has pastel pink, fuchsia, brick red and black.

Lately, Molletta's down-the-street neighbor, Vagabond, has been carrying items with playful, girlie-pop themes. This concept carries over into their hair accessories, including plastic headbands in pastel shades. The range of band width runs broad, medium and thin. The colors are delightful -- shades of light green, bright yellow, Popsicle orange and bubblegum pink. It's only $2 for these retro reminders of childhood jaunts on swings, with long hair blowing back and forth.

Wearing a headband can be like wearing a crown for the day. In America, where the closest thing people have to royalty are the Kennedys, headbands will have to do. And didn't Jackie O look stylish with such diadems in her beautifully thick hair? It's good to be queen, even if it's for just a day.

Ann Taylor Loft, Liberty Place, 16th and Chestnut sts., 215-557-9181; H&M, 1530 Chestnut St., 215-561-6178; Molletta, 55 N. Third St., 215-925-7733; Vagabond, 37 N. Third St., 267-671-0737.