Hairpin (fashion)?qsrc=3044

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]

See also

Look up hairpin (fashion) in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Hair stick
• Hatpin
• Bobby pin

References