Having a bad hair day? No worries, a bandana can always put it in place, making you look youthful as ever and save your day.

Bandanas are a fashion classic and have come a long way. From a simple piece of cloth, today a bandana is a must-have fashion accessory. With time, its fashion value was discovered and was given a whole new colour and flavour, especially when Hollywood celebrities including Demi Lovato, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Tyra Banks and many more were spotted wearing bandanas.

Why do we love wearing bandanas so much? Well, because it is simply a piece of cloth which embodies versatility and creativity — the only limitation being your imagination. 

Tie your hair up with a bandana or use it as a scarf, it’s a fashion statement

So no more fretting if you are a hair salon victim, where some chemical application or an over-worked pair of scissors may have damaged the best of your hair. Cover your hair with a bandana or knot one round your neck, there are some great styles on Instagram. A colourful bandana can complement your outfit, or you can mix or match it with your accessories.

You can find bandanas online and from Zainab Market. The variety ranges from subtle prints to sharp neon colours and every bandana has its own price tag.

Bandanas are linked with bikers, but they are great to use in the gym to keep your hair away from your sweaty face and on drives when you like to keep the sunroof open or if you are breezing in a convertible a la Audrey Hepburn or Grace Kelly.

Eos brings you a few tips on how to wear a bandana:

SWEATBAND

By folding a bandana scarf into half, from one corner to the other forming a triangle, start folding from the top so it forms into a perfect band. You can tie this sweatband on your forehead to look edgy. Not only does it look good but it is a good way to beat the heat and look fashionable at the same time. Team it up with a pair of sunglasses and no one will be able to recognise who this starlet is.

Bandanas are a fashion classic and have come a long way. From a simple piece of cloth, today a bandana is a must-have fashion accessory.

BRACELET

Why wear shiny jewels when a piece of comfortable cloth can be turned into a cool-looking bracelet? Especially for summers, when metal allergies are not uncommon and all those jingly jewels just don’t work for you. Just tie a bandana on your wrist and you have a vibrant pop of colour to complete your outfit, even if it is a kurta.

NECK COOLER

Twist your favourite bandana and tie it around your neck. Many people in the West are seen embracing bandanas in music festivals in spring and summer. Here’s a trick to use your bandana to keep cool in the scorching heat. Splash some icy cold water on the bandana before tying it around your neck. But make sure it is not soaking wet.

PIN-UP HEADBAND

In summer it is irritating to have hair in your face and the best bet is to tie it up into a ponytail or braid it. The common DIY that girls opt for is to make headbands into a bandana. To get the pin-up headband look, fold your bandana into half, so that it forms a triangle. Start folding it until it forms a fine band. Once done, pull all your hair back and bring the bandana from behind your neck pointing upwards. Fix the scarf around and style your hair. You might like to pull some bangs out or do some back-combing before tying the knot.

TWISTED COLOURS

If you don’t want a single-colour bandana, twist two different-coloured bandanas together to form one. Separately fold both bandanas and start twisting them. Then wrap one over the other. This way you can have variation of colour and it looks like a very colourful band, but up-close it’s just a bandana.

HEAD WRAP

Fold your bandana into half, as mentioned before (one corner to the other in the opposite direction). You can style your hair as you like. Place the bandana with the band side resting on your forehead. Take the two ends of the scarf at the back of your head to tie it into a knot. Tying it into a perfect knot will secure your bandana from moving or flying away. This versatile piece of square cloth can cover your head, hide your hair and spice up your style in so many ways.

Published in Dawn, EOS, June 15th, 2018