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We're embracing the return of a hair accessory we didn't think we'd see so soon after 2007

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What do Anna Rosa Vitiello, EDR and Tiffany Hsu all have in common?
What do Anna Rosa Vitiello, EDR and Tiffany Hsu all have in common?

Hey, Upper East Siders, you'll be glad to know that Ms Blair Waldorf has approved the return of statement Alice bands!

2007 was the year that just kept on giving - it gave us the iPhone, it introduced us to the Obamas, Lindsay Lohan made headlines every week, we fell in love with Amy Winehouse, the Spice Girls kicked off their reunion tour, the first season of Gossip Girl premiered and most importantly, Britney Spears survived that year.

READ MORE: Get ready to dress up like you're about to party with the Upper East Side crew on Gossip Girl

But back to Gossip Girl and Blair Waldorf's (Leighton Meester) signature accessory - the Alice band. Ms Waldorf was a trend-setting Upper East Side teen whose wardrobe had a French chic edge.

It also helps that her mom Eleanor Waldorf was an esteemed designer who moved in the same circles as every luxury designer you can think of.

From 2007 onwards, she popularised a hair accessory we all thought we had left behind in our formative years and I must say 17-year-old me was so delighted that she bought Alice bands in all colours and designs available. 

I was so dedicated to my GG style cause, that I once broke the rules and wore a satin Alice band to school, forgetting that I'm not a Constance pupil, where adding a personal touch to your uniform was permissible.

Now we're all older and wiser and the only uniforms we wear now are the lazy yet still 'with it' looks we gravitated towards from Monday to Friday.

READ MORE: Your ultimate guide to a trendy, yet professional work wear wardrobe for 2019

However, Gossip Girl is no longer our on-screen style bible, so we now reference from Fashion Week street style looks because in our four favourite fashion capitals (New York, London, Paris and Milan), new trends are suggested on the runway and the affidavits confirming their place in the fashion world are signed on the streets. 

And it's actually all thanks to Miuccia Prada's Spring 2019 collection that saw models walk the runway in these padded hair adornments that Blair and her entourage of friends she called "minions" would have definitely sat front row for. Some embellished and others just in plain satin.


We love Ms Blair, but this is actually the real reason why we've seen an influx of Alice bands spotted on bloggers, fashion week attendees and Instagrammers in 2019 - at both Paris Menswear Week and Paris Fashion Week especially. 

It seems the velvet 'beret' puffed-up Alice band is every stylista's most coveted accessory right now: 

Instagram

Paris

PARIS, FRANCE - MARCH 01: Anna Rosa Vitiello weari

PARIS, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 28: Tiffany Hsu, wearing
PARIS, FRANCE - JANUARY 23: Leonie Hanne is seen w
PARIS, FRANCE - MARCH 04: A guest wears a red head

Images: Getty

Now shop yours: 

Pernilla hairband - blue, R149 on Superbalist

hair accessories

Poetry Alice bands, all R150 from Poetry Stores


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