A tiara without diamonds! Why Royal Women Unite Over This One Essential Headwear…
“Wow, you look so different without it!”, my girlfriend recently blurted out.
We were chatting as I took off my headband to rearrange the way it sat on my head. And she was right!
To me, not wearing an Alice band is like how others feel without makeup or fragrance: a little… naked.
Why? Maybe it’s because I share a name with their original bearer. John Tenniel’s illustrations for Alice Through The Looking Glass are said to have given rise to the term Alice band.
In fact, they work – and the royal women seem to think so too. It was a veritable sea of headbands when they gathered again at Sandringham this year.
Zara Tindall attends Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham, wearing an emerald green Laura Green coat – and a beige headband was by Juliette Millinery
Mike and Lena Tindall – and another Alice band
Princess Beatrice of York looks chic in a padded navy blue headband at Sandringham
Princess Beatrice and husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi attend the Christmas morning service
Untouched, my hair looks like that of an electrocuted Hagrid. Think of Bridget Jones arriving at the country hotel after her journey in Daniel Cleaver’s open car.
But if I part my hair in the middle, brush it with a little hair product and place an Alice band on top, it’s tamed for the day. Behind my ears, out of my face. Out of sight out of mind.
It is this combination of functionality with diadem-style elegance that has made the headband so popular over the years, not least with the Sloane Rangers.
Hair should, as the 1982 Sloane Ranger Handbook put it, “be out of the eyes, honey.” Cue the Alice band – a family tiara, minus the diamonds.
The headbands at Sandringham this Christmas were a tribute to the talent of British millinery.
Princess Beatrice wore a navy blue velvet creation complete with blue flowers by Yorkshire milliner Justine Bradley-Hill.
Princess Eugenie’s was a beaded design by Emily London.
Zara Tindall’s was by London milliner Juliette Botterill, with a bow on top of the band.
Lady Margarita Armstrong Jones words a band of royal warrant holder Rachel Trevor Morgan’s ‘golden Lily of the Valley headdress’, a Greek design with subtle crystal embellishment.
And we can’t forget the Duchess of York, who attended for the first time in 32 years and chose a bespoke variation of Jess Collett’s ‘Ava’ headband, made from peacock feathers and described as ‘so light you can’t even know it is there’.
Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, attended the Christmas morning service at Sandringham Church wearing an emerald coat and peacock feather headband
Sarah matched her headband perfectly with her coat for the Sandringham walk on Christmas Day
Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones and her father, the Earl of Snowdon, attend the Christmas Day service at Sandringham
Lady Margarita’s gold headband accentuated the contrasting blue coat and black boots
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank leave the church
Mia Tindall wearing a floral headband as she walks with niece Princess Charlotte
These were power bands – they certainly weren’t the plain velvet versions that are perfect for everyday use and that you can find on the high street.
Well, apart from five-year-old Lena Tindall’s, which was a New Look bargain at £6.99.
The incredible craftsmanship and hours that go into their creation, as well as the detail they display (bows! feathers! crystals!), make them more band-meets-hat. The detail and elegance of a hat with the convenience of a band.
No wonder they have become such a hit with the royal family. After a hiatus in the ’90s (their velvet regality didn’t really feel at home among the grunge aesthetic of the Cobains et al.), they reentered our fashion consciousness in the mid-’90s thanks to Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl.
When Prada sent gloriously padded headbands in sweet ice cream shades down their SS19 runway in September 2018, it was official.
The Alice band was back. So much so that Prada fans were willing to pay £370 to get in on the action. Alessandra Rich’s SS19 collection – a tribute to modern modesty – confirmed this: cable knit sweaters and quilted velvet headbands that came together perfectly with mini hemlines and slits.
The headband could be… cool.
The then Duchess of Cambridge anticipated this move by wearing a raffia headband with net and floral details by London milliner Jane Taylor to Prince Louis’s christening in July 2018.
A few months later, in November 2018, she wore a raised velvet headband, also by Jane Taylor, for a service at Westminster Abbey to mark the centenary of the Armistice of the Great War.
Cressida Bonas had worn a braided blue velvet design by New York milliner Jennifer Behr to Princess Eugenie’s wedding the month before.
In May 2019, Pippa Middleton wore a blue velvet Alice band, again from Jane Taylor, to Lady Gabriella Windsor’s wedding. It was padded and therefore noticeable enough to stand in place of a hat, with the added bonus of a wide hat brim that doesn’t hit people in the face when greeting them.
Kate, Cressida and Pippa also showed off another benefit of the Alice band: because they keep hair out of the face and behind the ears, they’re the perfect way to show off statement earrings.
In November 2019, the Duchess of Cambridge wore a black beaded headband from Zara, which cost £17.99. Therein lies another appeal of the Alice band: it is the democratized power accessory.
Catherine, then Duchess of Cambridge, wears a raffia headband with net and floral details by London milliner Jane Taylor at Prince Louis’s christening in July 2018
Kate is wearing a black beaded headband from Zara, which costs £17.99
No hats for Pippa Middleton’s wedding to Lady Gabriella Windsor. Instead, she wore a quilted blue velvet Alice belt from Jane Taylor
Cressida Bonas wears a braided blue velvet design by New York milliner Jennifer Behr to Princess Eugenie’s wedding in 2018
While trophy bags fetch three figures, you can buy a powerband on a budget. My favorites come from Italian brand Marzoline (marzoline.com), particularly their capsule collection with London fashion PR and all-round queen of chic Alexandra Carello.
At a cost of around £50, Alex has worked with them to create a range of bands with the perfect amount of padding (all important) in a range of rich jewel tones.
Australian milliner Lisa Tan, now based in London, makes opulent headbands (think veils and hand embellishments) beloved of the racing set and perfect for making a tasteful statement as a wedding guest.
One thing is for sure, and who can blame them? The royal family is with the band.