It used to be when a bride came in for a first consultation she would bring pictures of her gown and veil. There was no question about combs, barrettes and clips because they all wore veils. “But now with less traditional (second and third time) brides along with a loosening of classic bridal styles seen on the runways, and an emphasis on uniqueness and originality, many brides are foregoing the formal veil entirely,” says Karen Marie Shelton, hair stylist and creator of www.hairboutique.com, an online hair accessories and product e-tailer and style blog, “so bridal hair accessories fit the bill perfectly.” That´s why you want to catch your brides before any style plans have been set. This way you have a blank canvas to work with and can suggest such alluring choices as bejeweled tiaras, flowered combs and clips, satin and pearled veiled headbands, and beaded designs on combs and pins. And, the best part — the general price range is anywhere from $30-$300. They can be MUCH cheaper than the price of any veil or head piece from the dress shop. That´s where you can up-sell a bride to hair accessories for the entire party!
California Celebrity hairstylist Robert Hallowell, the Kitchen Beautician, agrees, “If a bride chooses to forego the veil or a traditional headpiece she´s going to need an accessory to balance the entire look — some kind of bling, zing or ding up around the top — she´ll be incomplete without a stunning hair accessory.” And Barbara Lhotan, creative director for education and an experienced bridal hair stylist for ElieElie Salons in Virginia has also seen the uptick in less traditional, looser, up-do styles. “Flowers, whether real or silk and in many more colors than just white are so popular right now!” Both stylists say they keep a selection of these bridal accessory beauties on hand at all times. On shoots and when working with a new bride, they always display them at their station to show them off and let the bride know they have LOTS of options.
Need ideas? Need how-to´s? Gretchen Maurer, creator of www.weddinghair.com and author of Milady´s The Business of Bridal Beauty and the recently released The Morning of Your Wedding, now offers 110 free step-by-step hairstyle directions in free PDF downloads from her site. “I think bridal ‘hairwear´ is a necessity nowadays and have many examples of less structured styles using these accessories, along with the how-to´s on my website!”
TREND: HEIRLOOM-INSPIRED, ART-DECO
DESIGNER: LINDA LEVINSON
BRIDAL STYLE: SOPHISTICATED, ELEGANT
For those brides whose dress and style exhibits a sophisticated elegance and a more classic retro look, suggest the period, art deco styles from Linda Levinson.
TREND: UNIQUE, ONE-OF-A-KIND DESIGNS
DESIGNER: BALU
BRIDAL STYLE: TRADITONAL, SHOWY
Balu is a specialist in the Hispanic wedding market with a very strong latin background. Her showy, more traditional pieces sparkle in rhinestones, crystal, and velvet.
TREND: FLOWERS…NOT JUST WHITE ANYMORE!
DESIGNER: TARINA TARANTINO
BRIDAL STYLE: COLORFUL, UNIQUE, FRESH
Her avant-garde, highfashion flowers are made out of traditional wedding fabrics of tulle, satin, silk in every color of the rainbow including white — some are even embellished with crystals! “Her colorful designs literally fly out the door,” says Shelton, who stocks them on her site, hairboutique.com
TREND: NATURE-INSPIRED
DESIGNER: JANE TRAN
BRIDAL STYLE: SIMPLE, NATURAL
Jane Tran gets her inspiration from the coast of California in organic forms that remind of a walk down a deserted beach: swirls, shell shapes, twigs, clusters of pearls…
INSIDER INFORMATION
Once you´ve decided to try hair accessories you might want to do some trial runs — and incorporate these tried and true tricks from stylists Barbara Lhotan and Robert Hallowell who use them in their styling business regularly.
THE TREASURE BOX.
Keep a selection on-hand to inspire ideas and let the bride touch and feel. One stylist keeps hers in a beautifully carved “treasure box” on her station, another keeps hers in a clear plastic door hanger divider, another displays headbands on a full paper towel roll covered in a satin pillow-case.
THE PRICE POINT.
Remind brides that bridal accessories can cost MUCH less than a veil or traditional head piece.
THE PACKAGE DEAL.
Offer a package where you sell hair accessories for the entire bridal party and the bride gets hers for free!
THE HOOK.
Use a crochet hook, like Barbara Lhotan, who uses one to pull small amounts of hair through a tiny band or clip — they´re more precise than fingers.
THE STICK.
Try coating the teeth or jaws of accessories with rubber to stick and hold hair better. Plasti-Dip from Performix, from the Home Depot is a favorite of Robert Hallowell.
THE PIN PRIMER.
Never slide bobby pins in straight, always on an angle and always have them going across each other in both directions to firmly hold. Also, never slide all the way to the wide end which is looser and never split them open or apart or grip them in your teeth before use as that will only loosen their grip. Try bending the hair pins to form a little arc — this way the pin will lie flat in the hair — because heads are not flat and straight.
THE BAND.
‘Blax´ bands hold small sections seemlessy and you can attach the accessory to the banded section or run the clip through the band first.
GET IT YOUR WAY.
Make sure you tell your client how you want her to prepare her hair on her wedding day. Some stylist like day-old hair and some like fresh, clean, and dry hair — but the style depends on you getting the hair the way you want it.
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