Heading for the top: Tiaras and Headdresses
When a bride walks down the aisle, her veil held in place by a sparkling coronet, she almost certainly never stops to think about the history of her headdress. Tiaras are also known as diadems and can be traced back to ancient Egypt, where they were used to decorate the heads of royal mummies. In the ancient East, some ancient diadems were extremely ornate and heavy, but by the late Roman period supreme power was often denoted in the simplest way - by a band of cloth worn round the head and tied in a knot behind. Emperor Diocletian's diadem in the third century AD was only a white cloth set with pearls.
In Greece, goldsmiths created tiaras to adorn the heads of statues of their Gods and a little later in history, their priests. The Greeks also awarded tiaras to contest champions, and highly ranked individuals wore them during social functions and special occasions.
Inspired by ancient Rome and Greece, the Napoleonic court was filled with women wearing tiara specially designed to harmonise with the Napoleonic ideals: simple symmetrical shapes featuring laurel and olive leaves and often enamelled in the red white and blue of the First Empire. After his defeat, the restored Bourbon monarchy encouraged the display of extravagant jewels and tiaras become more opulent and jewelled. This was also when tiaras became associated with weddings.
During the 1840s, the young Queen Victoria led England into a time of prosperity and wealth. Her wedding was the fashion event of the decade. It’s hard to imagine that now, isn’t it? Dumpy Victoria, with her face like the dog on the Churchill adverts, as a fashion icon? But she was. As a young woman she was both a trendsetter and a rebel – she was the first monarch to wear a white wedding dress, instead of a preposterously overblown article with ermine, velvet, medals and sashes. She also wore a really rather nice tiara: quite tall, to add height to her diminutive frame, and very slightly raked back to keep her hair well away from her face. And until the 1930s, that tiara was a feature stolen by thousands of copycat brides. Her bridal tiara was not the end of the matter for Victoria though; Prince Albert, her husband, commissioned at least half a dozen tiaras during his life time, so we can assume that Victoria was very aware of how well this particular headgear flattered her face.
During the first decade of the 20th century, more tiaras were worn than ever before. For the crowning of King Edward II in 1902 and Kind George V in 1911, new royal tiaras were made. Paris, always a centre of fashion, had special "tiara nights" at the Opera, women showed off many unique tiara designs, and opera glasses were turned to the boxes rather than the stage, as the haute monde (posh types, to you and me) surveyed each other to see who had won the ‘best tiara’ battle.
The tiara is a regular feature in modern bridal outfits, and recent high publicity designers include Cartier, Van Cleef, and Versace. Vivienne Westwood even designed and wore a punk one cast from acrylic resin.
How to choose a tiara
Choose your headdress according to your face shape. A tiara, with or without veil, should draw attention to your face by framing it, not draw attention away from it, or make you look unbalanced. Here are some of the basic rules:
Round face: To make your face appear longer, choose a tiara with some height or one that has a peak – think of Queen Victoria’s pointed tiara
Long face: Headbands or tiaras with little or no height that extend over your head from one side to the other at an even height will balance a long face. Consider a veil with a bow at the top or flowers in your hair to add width
Oval face: Lucky brides with oval faces have a lot of choice, but avoid tiaras that come to a peak if you have a straight hairstyle, the combination of height and length will make your face appear long. Wearing a headband, or attaching flowers to you veil will combat this effect
Try your tiara when your hair is in the style you intend to have it at the wedding. A trial run will point out any bumpy, wispy or just plain ugly hair horrors in good time to put them right. No bride wants to walk up the aisle wearing forty hairpins!
If you’re wearing pearls, choose a pearl studded tiara. If your dress has gold thread, pick a golden tiara. If you’ve chosen a rose embroidered veil, find a tiara with rose detailing. These small details add to the coherence of the overall theme and make you look as if you’ve been dressed by a top designer, especially if you extend this planning through to your accessories: flowers, bag, gloves, etc.
Above all, think about how you want to look when you walk down the aisle. You’re not a woman with a tiara on your head: you’re a princess who has just escaped from her tower to marry her prince charming. When the headdress is right, the look will be right.
Keep in mind that tiaras are not just for the bride - they can look wonderful on bridesmaids too.
In Greece, goldsmiths created tiaras to adorn the heads of statues of their Gods and a little later in history, their priests. The Greeks also awarded tiaras to contest champions, and highly ranked individuals wore them during social functions and special occasions.Inspired by ancient Rome and Greece, the Napoleonic court was filled with women wearing tiara specially designed to harmonise with the Napoleonic ideals: simple symmetrical shapes featuring laurel and olive leaves and often enamelled in the red white and blue of the First Empire. After his defeat, the restored Bourbon monarchy encouraged the display of extravagant jewels and tiaras become more opulent and jewelled. This was also when tiaras became associated with weddings.
During the 1840s, the young Queen Victoria led England into a time of prosperity and wealth. Her wedding was the fashion event of the decade. It’s hard to imagine that now, isn’t it? Dumpy Victoria, with her face like the dog on the Churchill adverts, as a fashion icon? But she was. As a young woman she was both a trendsetter and a rebel – she was the first monarch to wear a white wedding dress, instead of a preposterously overblown article with ermine, velvet, medals and sashes. She also wore a really rather nice tiara: quite tall, to add height to her diminutive frame, and very slightly raked back to keep her hair well away from her face. And until the 1930s, that tiara was a feature stolen by thousands of copycat brides. Her bridal tiara was not the end of the matter for Victoria though; Prince Albert, her husband, commissioned at least half a dozen tiaras during his life time, so we can assume that Victoria was very aware of how well this particular headgear flattered her face.
During the first decade of the 20th century, more tiaras were worn than ever before. For the crowning of King Edward II in 1902 and Kind George V in 1911, new royal tiaras were made. Paris, always a centre of fashion, had special "tiara nights" at the Opera, women showed off many unique tiara designs, and opera glasses were turned to the boxes rather than the stage, as the haute monde (posh types, to you and me) surveyed each other to see who had won the ‘best tiara’ battle.
The tiara is a regular feature in modern bridal outfits, and recent high publicity designers include Cartier, Van Cleef, and Versace. Vivienne Westwood even designed and wore a punk one cast from acrylic resin.
How to choose a tiara
Choose your headdress according to your face shape. A tiara, with or without veil, should draw attention to your face by framing it, not draw attention away from it, or make you look unbalanced. Here are some of the basic rules:
Round face: To make your face appear longer, choose a tiara with some height or one that has a peak – think of Queen Victoria’s pointed tiara
Long face: Headbands or tiaras with little or no height that extend over your head from one side to the other at an even height will balance a long face. Consider a veil with a bow at the top or flowers in your hair to add width
Oval face: Lucky brides with oval faces have a lot of choice, but avoid tiaras that come to a peak if you have a straight hairstyle, the combination of height and length will make your face appear long. Wearing a headband, or attaching flowers to you veil will combat this effect
Try your tiara when your hair is in the style you intend to have it at the wedding. A trial run will point out any bumpy, wispy or just plain ugly hair horrors in good time to put them right. No bride wants to walk up the aisle wearing forty hairpins!
If you’re wearing pearls, choose a pearl studded tiara. If your dress has gold thread, pick a golden tiara. If you’ve chosen a rose embroidered veil, find a tiara with rose detailing. These small details add to the coherence of the overall theme and make you look as if you’ve been dressed by a top designer, especially if you extend this planning through to your accessories: flowers, bag, gloves, etc.
Above all, think about how you want to look when you walk down the aisle. You’re not a woman with a tiara on your head: you’re a princess who has just escaped from her tower to marry her prince charming. When the headdress is right, the look will be right.
Keep in mind that tiaras are not just for the bride - they can look wonderful on bridesmaids too.
