head pretties

I was speaking with one of the owners of the theater the other day about how I love headbands. To be honest, that's a bit of an understatement. I mentioned how I have approximately 40 headbands-- I mean, give or take. She said to me, "That sounds like an obsession!" but I insisted that many of them have been gifts, especially in the last year or so. Then she said, "Oh, well then it's a collection." She did that face she does when she's sounding teasing, but insistent. But my point:

I have a collection of 40+ headbands
(give or take but mostly give)

You know how people sometimes have their "thing"? Like, Julie has belts, and my sister has cool/weird necklaces, and my mom has bracelets. Headbands are kind of My Thing, to say the least, along with cardigans (which will be a different blog post entirely). Sometimes I walk into stores and my thought process is literally, "HEADBANDS HEADBANDS HEADBANDS HEADBANDS HEADBANDS" and then I go try them all on every single one. I am a Headband Connoisseur.

I received seven headbands for my birthday this year (three with feathers, two with bows, one with both). If you think I'm hard to buy for, you're wrong. I told Ames I wasn't going to buy any more for myself ever again, but have bought four more since then. I have a bin in my linen closet to hold them all. Ames teased me, but it's better than having them scattered around the house, wouldn't you say?

I think the fondness began early, owing to my mom's self-proclaimed inability to "do hair." Thus, as a two year old:

I'm the stylin' one on the left

Ta da! An easy and adorable (if I do say so) quick-fix. And the thing for bows on headbands certainly continues (16 in my collection) :

The Greatest Bow Headband to Exist while drinking a Diet Coke (surprise!) in Paris, France

(Eiffel Tower to my left, not pictured)

One of the greatest things about headbands is the grand variety-- a headband for any occasion!

Intense Christmas Carol party headband
(curls not included)

9th grade competitive Irish dancer headband

Honeymoon in Disneyland wedding Minnie Mouse ears with a veil headband

Waiting on the plane for four hours to leave New York City awesome head wrapping headband
(featuring Anna Mortimer)

Look how cute Ames Bell is headband

Happy New Year/We threw a party and people came headband
(featuring Julie Garbutt)

Allow me to introduce a few of my recent favorites from my expanding collection:

Feathers are rarely a bad idea headband

Bejeweled headband

My middle name is Rosie the Riveter headband

I feel like a Who in Whoville would wear this oversized bow headband

THE BEST PART IS: I have never spent more than $7 on a headband in my life.

GOOD FOR: Dressing up/down an outfit, cuteifying dirty/gross hair, making a ponytail more interesting, pushing bangs off your face, accenting how cute your bangs are, conversation starters, making yourself look younger in headshots (truth), collecting something inexpensive but awesome.

HEADBANDS TO AVOID: Anything more than $10 because why are you spending that much?, anything over-the-top that makes you look like a poser, anything that looks like it should be drawn onto a Peanuts character.