Snoods

When I woke up on Christmas Eve I had a failed set. It hadn’t happened in a while, but there it was, a couple floppy wet curls, and only a few of them really worked the way I wanted them to. The perfect dampness for curls really is a science. Normally this would mean putting it into an only slightly less stupid looking ponytail, and maybe having to change my whole outfit because wonky ponytails rarely look right with cute vintage-y clothes. Well the convenience fairy seems to have paid me a visit because I had just gotten my new snood in the mail. Bad hair day: fixed.

Snood from Arthelia’s Attic

A snood, for those of you just entering the world of vintage style, has a long history. To be brief, they started in the renaissance. They were really pretty and had pearls on them and stuff. Then they came back in the civil war, and after Gone With The Wind became super popular, they became a staple of working women during WWII.

I wonder why I never got one before. I knew about them obviously. But they just never grabbed my attention. They had seemed a little utilitarian and costume-y I guess. But eventually I figured I would get one anyway. For variety’s sake.

As soon as I tried it though, it occurred to me that a snood is more than a fashion statement, it’s a life-saver. Failed set? Fixed. Windy out? No problem. No time? Fixed. Feeling lazy? No problem. It takes two minutes to make your hair look cute and you don’t have to do jack else to it. Curls fill it out better, but to be honest I wouldn’t be above just back-combing it a little and shoving it in there. If you’re good at doing rolls all the better. I do mine with a foundation stick – another life saver because victory rolls are hard. Add a flower and red lipstick – you look perfect. Nobody needs to know you just rolled out of bed with shitty looking hair.

Snood from Arthelia’s Attic

The ones I got were from Arthelia’s Attic. These are the “expensive” ones. They’re the best, made from the right kind of yarn for the right drape, from a vintage pattern, and with a cute removable bow. Even so they’re only $25. Not actually expensive at all. Mike has been calling them my “dudes” for some reason. They come in all different colors (I got black first because it goes with everything) and don’t slip at all. It’s hard to look at a snood without imagining it just slipping right off but I wore mine for over 12 hours and it didn’t budge. I only used two pins. And really, it doesn’t have to look costume-y, though that’s still cute if you want it to. I wore a pretty regular shirt and pencil skirt, nothing really 40s, and it worked out great. So it really seems to depend on the clothes and other accessories you wear with it. So versatility too! Yay!

I had to get a pink one too. You can get yours here.