Is the tiara making a comeback?
Another way to look at tiaras is to ask when did they go out of fashion? What is the history of the tiaras comeback? I just finished a short book titled, Tiaras: Past and Present by Geoffrey Munn, the book was published in 2002, making the present part of the book less up to date. This is a great start to the history of tiaras.
The reason I am looking at the trends for tiaras is due to a magazine I subscribe to. I mentioned in my August post that fall magazines were something I looked forward to in starting the season off. So imagine my delight when I saw the cover of my W Magazine over the weekend.
The cover model and singer Rihanna is wearing an amazing set of jewelry, one of those items that happens to be a tiara! For a moment I thought it was costume jewelry but quickly flipping to the details of the items, the jewels including the tiara are by Cartier! I went on the W Magazine’s Instagram site to get more photos of that tiara.
So how do you try and see the beginning of a trend? You need to start by looking at past patterns, the same as fashion, trends get recycled.
Beginning of the tiara
Tiaras originated from the Greeks but it was not until Alexander the Great reached a gold mine in Northern Kazakstan in 331 B.C. that tiaras were created into more fine works of art. Tiaras were enjoyed by the privileged and turned into ways to express great wishes for brides to be. I have mentioned some tiaras in past posts as being wedding gifts. The first declined happened due to the spread of Christianity and the fall of the Roman Empire. The outward need to show allegiance to a new way of thought and put away the ways of the past created this lapse in having the tiara as acceptable fashion.
So what created a revival of the tiara? Napoleon. When Napoleon became the Emperor of France in the 18th century he needed to have symbols that created his own identity. He was inspired by the Roman Empire and adopted tiaras and diadems to create his own style. See the painting featuring the garland crown below. This looks very similar to the garlands worn in ancient times. Josephine, the Empress of France had her own tiaras created to show her rank and position. Below is an emerald and diamond tiara created for the French Jewels in 1820.
I think the next wan in the tiara trend was around the first World War (1914-18). The Russian Royal family was executed in 1918 and those remaining with connections to the Czar and his family fled Russia and selling what jewels they came with to pay for their new home. I cover that period in this book review. In America income tax was implemented which changed how the wealthy operated after that.
The book mentioned hope in the coming jubilee of Queen Elizabeth’s to bring back a tiara revival. It has been 13 years since the anniversary of the Queen’s 50-year reign. I don’t recall a major shift in the tiara trend.
Spotting Trends
Do you see a trend towards wearing tiaras? W Magazine has 2 Ads that showed tiaras, one was for Miu Miu and the other, Ermanno Scervino (below).
In an ad put out by W Magazine to increase awareness of their updated site, a familiar face and ironic tagline graces the page.
The mention of this not being a comeback near a photo of Lindsay Lohan is somewhat mismatched. Lindsay has tried to reclaim her acting crown or tiara, in this case, but has not seen the glory days of her career. This photo is a dated one, not a recent one (from the looks of it) but choosing her with a tiara makes for a case on the trend the tiara might see or W Magazine foresees. I hope it comes back in more settings than just weddings! I would love to hear your thoughts! Do you have a tiara (costume or real)? Have you worn it and where? I would like the tiaras that convert to a bracelet or necklace. I hope you enjoyed this article. Please return for more on the trends in the jewelry industry!
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