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Is it new? Well… not exactly. We’ve seen pearly Alice bands go stratospheric thanks to Simone Rocha. Chanel broke the internet with its pearl-studded logo hair brooch at the start of last year and Justine Marjan, celebrity stylist and purveyor of truly delicious hairstyles, declared pearls the hair accessory of 2019.
But, pearly accessories are getting more laidback and spontaneous going forward. In their spring summer 20 collections, designers Andrew Gn and Alice + Olivia put forward the case for scattering pearls throughout hair, rather than relying on one accessory for the upcoming season. The inspiration? It was the likes of Justine (who, incidentally, created the look at Alice + Olivia) and other tastemakers like her who got the ball rolling by posting pretty pearl-speckled styles to Instagram.
Just last month, Lucy Boynton won the Oscars red carpet with a choppy, modern bob, complete with a pearl encrusted deep side-parting. While at New York Fashion week earlier this month, designer Jonathan Cohen kept the trend alive in his Autumn Winter collection, showcasing the trends for the end of this year. It spells a second wind for the nation’s favourite hair embellishment.
Just like a pair of whopper door-knocker earrings, pearl-scattered hair has the potential to elevate an otherwise casual outfit, meaning it’s not just destined for the catwalk or the red carpet. The perfect blend of high-low, it works just as beautifully with a T-shirt, blazer and jeans combo as with a frou-frou ball gown (like Lucy Boynton’s).
Granted, pearl-speckled hair involves a bit more faff than an embellished clip or headband, but Lucy’s own stylist, Jenny Cho, took to her Instagram to share how it’s done. You will need a sheet of self-adhesive pearl stickers (Amazon is your guy), and some strong-hold gel (Jenny favour’s Gorilla Snot, if you’re interested), to lock them into place.
