Hairpin (fashion)

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Hairpins (around 600 b.c.)

A bobby pin, a type of hairpin

A hair pin or hairpin is a long device used to hold a person's hair in place.
Hairpins made of metal, ivory, bronze, carved wood, etc. were used in ancient Assyria and Egypt for securing decorated hairstyles. Such hairpins suggest, as graves show, that many were luxury objects among the Egyptians and later the Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans. Major success came in 1901 with the invention of the spiral hairpin by New Zealand inventor Ernest Godward. This was a predecessor of the hair clip.
The hairpin may be needlelike and encrusted with jewels and ornaments. It often may be more utiliarian—designed to be almost invisible after being inserted into the hairstyle.
The jewels and ornaments on the hair pins add as a hair jewelry piece. In many cultures, hairpins are used with jewelry for many of occasions. For instance, in American culture, women predominantly use hairpins as a jewelry accessory at weddings, balls, and other major events.
Hairpins also may be constructed from different lengths of wire that are bent in half with a u-shaped end and a few kinks along the two opposite portions. The finished pin may vary from two to six inches in final length. The length of the wires enables placement in several styles of hairdos to hold the style in place. The kinks enable retaining the pin during normal movements.
A hairpin patent was issued to Kelly Chamandy in 1925.^[1]

Hair stick

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hair sticks

A hair stick (also hairstick) is a straight, pointed device, usually between five and nine inches in length, used to hold a person's hair in place in a hair bun or similar hairstyle.
Unlike many hair pins, which are usually small and quite simple, hair sticks are often more elaborate and decorative, and feature jeweled or carved designs that make them stand out as pieces of luxury jewelry. The price of hairsticks varies greatly depending on the style, materials and craftsmanship - the cheapest pairs of plastic hairsticks can cost less than a dollar, while a single, hand-crafted hairstick by an artist can cost over two hundred dollars.
Historical Use
Hairsticks have been in use for thousands of years, and have been found in cultures of the Ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks. Although some of these have been jeweled, luxury items, such as the gold hairsticks of Egypt,^[1] more common, wooden hairsticks have also been found in cultures such as Rome,^[2] suggesting that they were in wide use amongst people regardless of their financial standing. However, the most influential culture on modern hairsticks has been Japanese, and in particular the use of decorative Japanese Kanzashi.
Although many modern hairsticks draw more on the elaborate approach to the design of Kanzashi more than on the simpler designs for functional pins, Kanzashi are used within a far more rigid and traditional environment. Kanzashi are frequently floral in design, especially those dictated by the changing of the seasons and used by Geisha (see full Kanzashi entry for more details).
Modern Use
Hand-crafted, purpose-made jeweled hairsticks that add colour and flair to hairstyles have overtaken the use of simpler chopsticks, and have become a more popular hairstyle embellishment.
Because of the wide availability of components for the crafting of hairsticks, making home-made hairsticks has also become a popular trend. Many people enjoy making their own pieces using the blank sticks that can be online, and buying pins, crystals and beads from various online suppliers. A large number of these kinds of pieces are also put up for auction online.

Hatpin

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A hatpin is a decorative pin for holding a hat to the head, usually by the hair. In Western culture, a hatpin is almost solely a female item and is often worn in a pair. They are typically around 20cm in length, with the pinhead being the most decorated part.
The hatpin was invented to hold wimples and veils in place, and was hand-made. In Britain, demand eventually outgrew the number that could be supplied by hand-making, and they began to be imported from France. In 1832, an American machine was invented to manufacture the pins, and they became much more affordable. In Britain, they rose to popularity towards the end of the Victorian era, and continue to be a popular accessory. Laws were passed in 1908 in America which limited the length of hatpins, as there was a concern they might be used by suffragettes as weapons.
Hatpins are also collectible items, and there is an American Hatpin Society for collectors.

Bobby pin

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This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009)

A plain bobby pin

A bobby pin is a type of hairpin. In British English, it is known as a hair grip or kirby grip. It is a small pin or clip, usually of metal or plastic, used in coiffure to hold hair in place. Typical bobby pins are plain and unobtrusively colored, but some are elaborately decorated or jeweled. A bobby pin is a double-pronged hair pin that slides into hair with the prongs open and then the flexible prongs close over the hair to hold it in place. Bobby pins became popular in the 1920s to hold the new bobbed hairstyles.
Uses
Like barrettes, decorated bobby pins are sometimes used to be noticed in hair. A decorated bobby pin can have beads, ribbons or other details on it and is usually worn to pull back front sections of hair while looking more decorative than a plain bobby pin.
Ballet dancers often use bobby pins to keep their hair in place for class or performances.
Recently, due to their cheapness, strength and durability, hair grips have been applied for a variety of different uses. In Africa, Bobby pins are systematically used to repair inoperative sandals.^{[citation needed]} The tactic, simple yet refined into an elegant trade, has been incorporated by both nationals and expatriates living alongside each other throughout all regions of the continent.^{[citation needed]}
A bobby pin may be used as a convenient roach clip.
Bobby pins can also be used to hold cloth headbands or bandannas in the hair. Many Jews use bobby pins to hold head coverings, such as a yarmulke, securely to their hair.
To use a bobby pin, simply push hair into the desired position and push the bobby pin into place. There is no need to open the clip first.
They can also be used to pick some locks.
Uses
Like barrettes, decorated bobby pins are sometimes used to be noticed in hair. A decorated bobby pin can have beads, ribbons or other details on it and is usually worn to pull back front sections of hair while looking more decorative than a plain bobby pin.
Ballet dancers often use bobby pins to keep their hair in place for class or performances.
Recently, due to their cheapness, strength and durability, hair grips have been applied for a variety of different uses. In Africa, Bobby pins are systematically used to repair inoperative sandals.^{[citation needed]} The tactic, simple yet refined into an elegant trade, has been incorporated by both nationals and expatriates living alongside each other throughout all regions of the continent.^{[citation needed]}
A bobby pin may be used as a convenient roach clip.
Bobby pins can also be used to hold cloth headbands or bandannas in the hair. Many Jews use bobby pins to hold head coverings, such as a yarmulke, securely to their hair.
To use a bobby pin, simply push hair into the desired position and push the bobby pin into place. There is no need to open the clip first.
They can also be used to pick some locks.