5 Ways the Met Gala Could Have Done Better: May 21, 2024

It’s Day 24 of my Spring Challenge!

As a reminder, this challenge means that either you get an email in your inbox 5 times per week until May 31st (which means I get a set of luxurious, vintage jammies) OR I have to donate $5 to a charity I hate for every week that I miss the goal.

Series #4: 5 Ways the Met Gala Could Have Done Better

Today’s Pick: Hair Accessories

And I literally mean hair accessories.

Yep, we’re back with the Victorians!

Jewelry made of hair became fashionable during the Victorian age when mourning fads reached their height.

People mourned their loved ones for longer and longer, with etiquette books outlining the activities, clothing, and jewelry allowed for each period and type of mourning.

Popularized by Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who came from Germany where this was a tradition, hair jewelry was popular for more than remembering departed loved ones.

Essentially, hair was a light and fine material and while making jewelry, it could do what metal could not. It could be manipulated into various intricate shapes and display smaller, subtle patterns.

This made it popular for gifting, with lovers, close friends, and family gifting each other jewelry made from hair. Queen Victoria herself gifted Empress Eugénie a bracelet of her own hair. The Empress reportedly burst into tears.

Again - what a great way to celebrate the Met Gala! Hair is inherently temporary and as humans, we go through so many changes with our hair, both naturally (baby hairs, old age) and unnaturally (dying it, straightening it out). And of course, it’s natural!

Now, I’m not advocating for millions of humans having their heads shorn so celebrities can be decked out - that would definitely be a reason to be canceled.

BUT it would have been great to see inspiration taken from this old trend, with perhaps a strand or two of the celebrity’s own hair (yes, they shed, just like us!) woven into their jewelry.

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xoxo,

Simran