Headbands tend to be associated with preppy fashion, à la fictional headwear aficionado Blair Waldorf. But what if I told you there was a decades-old way to push back your hair without looking like a Catholic schoolgirl or a British monarch? Enter: the thick jersey headband.
Beloved by stars including Barbra Streisand and Brigitte Bardot, the thick jersey headband is a viable hairstyling choice for the low-maintenance. Nowadays the jersey headband is more of a pragmatic staple of workout wear, but it previously occupied a venerated space in cinema during the 1960s and ’70s. Barbra Streisand wore a white one in 1973’s The Way We Were, as did Ursula Andress in 1963’s Fun in Acapulco, and Romy Schneider in 1970’s The Things of Life.
Thick headbands were largely replaced by the ’80s, with people donning thin zig-zags and cushiony velvet headpieces. But lately the comfortable stretchy iteration seems to be on the come up once again. From Bella Hadid mixing her namesake smoothie behind the counter at Erewhon in a bright white headband, to Addison Rae heading to Pilates in a sparkly Christian Dior, the headwear can accompany anyone’s personal style.
Be it for fashion or simply to keep your hair out of your face, a jersey band is always an excellent choice. Below, see how stars of past and present have demonstrated how to wear it.
Barbra Streisand holds back her thick head of hair with an equally thick headband.
Courtesy Everett Collection
