Saturday, December 6, 2014

Hairway to Heaven


Sad news from Brussels this weekend - we're down one true-blue (and blue-blooded) Bouffant Aficionado with the death at 86 of Fabiola, the dowager Queen of the Belgians.

Fabiola was a hair-helmet early adopter, and once she settled on her signature style, it rarely varied.  For state occasions she regularly sported a barnet that looked at a rough estimate to approach three feet wide.  In her youth this airy creation was a vivid chestnut; it grew only more impressive as she went silver.

But her passing is a double loss for cosmetology, for in addition to hanging onto a hairdo that may well have been visible from space, she was also (as can be seen above) among the very last adherents of the purple-eyeshadow school of maquillage.  When you add in that she was also a fan of that nearly vanished accessory, the fan, the world of royal fashions may never really be the same.

Today's Belgian king is Fabiola's nephew, and his queen, Mathilde, is a wallflower compared to her predecessor.  Where Fabiola brought a quirky beauty that reflected her origins in Spain's aristocracy, Mathilde is a conventionally attractive woman who rarely takes fashion risks.  One only wishes that in addition to presumably inheriting some of her aunt's jewels, she would take on some of her quirks...

11 comments:

  1. I shall henceforth be using her name as an adjective.

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    1. I believe I will do so, too. And I think I'll take that photo to the hairdressers next time I go; I fancy a change of style. Jx

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  2. Oh dearie me.

    You're going to have to post about the passing of her hairstyle over at THHoF.

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    1. You're quite right - I think we ought to declare a week of mourning...

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  3. Woe is to the people of her beloved Boufantestan.

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  4. Quick, short Aqua Net's stock!

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  5. In beauty school during the 80's, we referred to this as 'wearing your best year',

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    1. That may be my favorite phrase of the month, Yank darling - thank you. Haven't we all known old dears who are doing just that?

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    2. I know several, and I sometimes wonder if I'm one of them!

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