Of all the questions I have received about white tie galas protocol and garment choices this question has come up no less then 10 times.... 3 times just today! Are Tiaras appropriate at events like this? He answer: My dear they are only appropriate at events like this! That is to say ( full dress) White tie/medals events! When and how to wear a tiara has changed with the times. But in the past, those who wanted to wear one had to adhere to a strict, even overbearing, protocol. It was the event and not the status of the wearer that signals whether or not tiaras will be worn. Full evening dress (white tie and medals) was the starting pistol for tiaras. However, even in 1900 less aristocratic people needed the reassurance supplied on the invitation, ‘Tiaras will be worn,’ was shown to the bottom left of the invitation. The strictest protocol proscribed tiaras for girls and unmarried women. They were also proscribed in public places of entertainment like hotels and hired ballrooms. tiaras were once meant as a way to signify a coming of age. Tiaras are not to be confused with crowns, which are generally heavier, more elaborate and form a full circle on the head rather than a partial one as with a tiara. Crowns also convey a more formal, diplomatic bearing, traditionally representing legitimacy and power over a land and its people. Most traditionally The first time a tiara is worn is by A bride on her wedding day, It signals the crowning of love and the loss of innocence to marriage. The family tiara of the bride was worn by the bride and from that moment onwards it was the groom’s jewelry she was expected to wear. It was a subliminal message that she had moved from her own family to another. last time this protocol was followed on a grand stage was when Lady Diana Spencer wore the Spencer tiara for her 1981 wedding to Prince Charles. Nowadays few adhere to this protocol, even if they are aware of it. How to wear a tiara properly Protocol states it should be placed with the surface of the jewel work in the same plane as your face, so that the full impact of the jewel work is made on the other guests. Worn on the back of the head in the manner of an Alice band is hopeless, as the scintillation of the stones is lost to the ceiling void. Greasy hair vs. clean hair It’s not easy to actually wear a tiara, especially in this day and age of hair styles and hair care for women. Before the invention of detergent there was no shampoo and the modern ‘fire-hazard’ hairdo was anathema. Consequently, the hair was thick with sebum and pomades and could be set and curled and it stayed there. ‘Enhancements’ in the form of hairpieces and even wigs were also commonplace. Today the fire-hazard hair-do will only support jewel work when it is thick with lacquer and pins. This is one of the many aspects of the tiara that has brought about its fall from fashion. The tiara is supported by a frame made of a base metal that is usually bound in velvet. This must be the color of the wearer’s hair and the hairdresser needs to hide it in the coiffure. Those that look like brown pipe cleaners are a no-no, he says. Tiara construction The frame is often made of nickel and then either rhodium or hard-gold plated. Some tiara frames may be made in gold. Silver is rarely used as it is not rigid enough to hold everything in shape. The jeweled piece is fitted to its frame with an array of posts and screw fittings. Some less expensive and grand tiaras have frames with simple hooks and slots rather than individually handmade screws and threads. The ends of the frame will normally have oval shaped loops through which elastic is threaded. It is normally this elastic that provides the tension to secure the frame and tiara to the head. More sophisticated frames will have adjustable screw ‘tensioners’ to tighten or slacken the elastic to fit individual heads or accommodate a change of hair style. In some cases, particularly if the tiara is a heavy or very tall one, additional security is provided by one or more small comb fixtures inside the frame, often towards the front of the frame/tiara. Formerly made of tortoise shell, modern plastic ones can be found in use. They will normally be mounted in a shaped collar attached via some hinged mechanism with restricted movement. For all the work it takes to wear a tiara, at least they are light. That is That they weigh no more than a hat and that’s how it should be. “Heavy jewelry is bad jewelry. Tiaras are said to improve deportment and to give a unique psychological lift to the wearer.” (Munn) While Queen Elizabeth does own a few tiaras that weigh close to a pound (the Russian Kokoshnik tiara and the Grand Duchess Vladimir tiara), which are rarely worn because they are “notoriously heavy and uncomfortable.” Most are light on the head! There’s good news for those wanting to buy a tiara. First, they are available in many styles and materials and at all price points. Today they can be made of horn, paste, enamel, steel, coral, feathers and even fish scales. They range in price from under $1,000 to the stratosphere. Those that covert to necklaces and brooches will cost more. What needs to be stressed is that the wearing of tiaras by European royalty is not an expression of their rank but their adherence to tradition. They are simply doing what they always did.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 01:17:30 +0000
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