Cover Your Head!

Headscarves are one item of clothing that has stood the test of time. One could argue that their longevity is a result of its versatility. From hijab’s to bandana’s, they have been known to represent different cultures, religions and movements. They have been particularly linked to conservative people, cultures and religions.

Headscarves have had multiple uses over the centuries. They have been used by women to protect themselves from the sun and rain. They have been used in some African cultures to differentiate married women from the singletons. They have been used as a form of showing respect to men as well as respect for their religion. They have been used in within empowerment movements. They now play a huge role in our every day dressing as a fashion staple and even as a protectant for our hair when going to bed.

The covering of heads can be seen as dating back to the 13th century in the Assyrian culture.

In the early 1900s, monarchs such as Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II. In the 1910s various French designers drew up designs that would include colourful and embellished headscarves.

In the 1970s headwraps were used as a uniform of rebellion against the shaming of black people and their African origins, and instead empower such individuals. In the 1990s and early 2002s headscarves became a huge symbol of the hip-hop and RnB culture and this trend and movement quickly spread throughout the US. During these decades headscarves were giving an afrocentric aesthetic in celebration of black people.

Headscarves have now stepped out their traditional roles of keeping conservative people covered up and only showing up at traditional functions. They have now stepped onto red carpets through celebrities not only from Africa, but internationally. They have stepped on the Miss Universe stage, a stage that past decades of African people would have of only dreamed of.

Unlike most clothing items that come in and go out of style, headscarves have been a consistent item of clothing over the centuries and will continue being such for centuries to come because of the message they carry and their. As decades bury past fashion trends, headscarves are still very much alive, and will not be dying anytime soon. Different brands are constantly reshaping and the way we see and tie our headscarves, and with the explosion of new headscarvery on the scene, my advice to you would be- COVER YOUR HEAD!