The Bandeaux Page This page <regencyfashion.org/band/band.html> is part of the Regencyfashion.org site created by Catherine Decker Last Update 2 Feb 2006 Links Last Verified 2 Feb 2006

Tired of your tiara? Thinking a turban is too much? Feeling in the mood for feathers? It's time to put on your bandeau and head out to court, the ball, or that important social event . . .

Outside Links to Pages Associated with Regency Bandeaux
"Locutus" or Original Regency Bandeaux Page
"Locutus" or Original Regency Headdress Page

Outside Links to Pages Associated with Bandeaux Before 1790 or After 1830
Bronze Age Bandeaux at the Louvre
1850s and 1860s Bandeaux
Time Magazine 1927 article with bandeaux references
1924 Cartier Diamond Bandeau
1925 Cluny Lace Bandeau
Press release on 1928 Cartier Bandeau
Contemporary Fur Bandeaux

Cathy's Reflections on Bandeaux
The 1790s and the 1920s were times when the terms bandeau, bandeaux, and bandeaus were commonly used. In the 1790s, a bandeau usually meant some sort of twisted cloth band around the head with feathers. In the 1800s, the term was used more for bands of trim made of cord, pearls, jewels, flowers, ribbon, lace, or fabric worn on the hair or on turbans, caps, or hats. Hairbands or hair jewelry that circles the head in a band may be called bandeaux. The term also applies to bikini tops made of bands of fabric and hats in feather shapes, but these are not what this page is about. In recent years, bandeaux have become the thing to put on your female baby for a cute photo. Indian or hippie hairbands are basically bandeaux. If it looks like a band, then I consider it a bandeau. The border between bandeau and tiara or bandeau and wreath is a pretty vague, loose border. The terms basically have a good deal of overlap. In my comments below I will specify (if I know) whether or not the plate was explicitly labelled a bandeau when published.

Fashion Plates, Descriptions, and Commentary

	Detail of fashion plate from The Gallery of Fashion, November1794, Figure 31, titled "Afternoon Dress, in Half-Mourning." Part of the text reads: "HEAD-DRESS. Toupee and side hair frizzed, and thrown into large curls; bandeau of white and black riband, cut out and formed into a wreath of flowers; one black and two white ostrich feathers placed in the front. Plain chignon, falling very low upon the back." I don't know why this plate shows half-mourning, the type of mourning appropriate for a distant relative or for after six months of more serious morning. Since the plates from The Gallery of Fashion claim to be based on actual fashions worn in London, it might be possible to find out with some research (let me know if you figure it out!) Even in this bad scan of a bad photocopy, you can see the drama of this bandeau with plumes and the intricate detail that went into this hairstyle.
	This is a detail of a fashion plate from a French journal. At the moment, I can't identify the particular year because I don't have access to a huge number of my web files. I'll update this when I do. The headdress seems to be a made of a band around the head of either ribbon or pearls with a half-garland or half-wreath of white roses arching over the top of the hair. The effect is very Grecian. The dress in this plate is a wool shawl dress, which also imititated the drapery of Grecian gowns.
	Detail of fashion plate from Ackermann's Repository, 1820, titled "Evening Dress." The official description of the hair reads: "The front hair is dressed in light ringlets; the hind hair is disposed in different plaits, which are fastened up in bows. White flowers, intermixed with pearls fancifully disposed, ornament the hair." Although not labelled a bandeau by the magazine, the placement of the ribbon, pearls, and flowers seems to form two bands or wreaths around the head. The term "bandeau" seems to have become limited by 1820 to mean a band around the head that supports plumes. Band-like ornaments of ribbon, flowers, or gems are more likely to be labelled wreaths or garlands.