Fashion

Leather Hair Accessories You Can Actually Afford

by Catie Keck

Braids, topknots, and bedhead all made appearances on the runway this past week. But our fashion overlords have spoken, and one of 2015’s most accessible looks from New York Fashion Week are leather hair accessories. These aren’t just your run of the mill hair ties (because that would be too easy). Barrettes, ponytail wraps, and leather headbands all made their mark on model up 'dos. Feel free to raid your childhood accessories bin as you see fit.

Senior Editor of Yahoo! Beauty, Joanna Douglas, spotted the trend at the Derek Lam show “where hairstylist Orlando Pita used PHYTO mousse, hairspray, and custom-made holders made of leather and chopsticks to pull back hair into a ponytail at the nape of the neck.” Pita also styled Carolina Herrera’s models with metallic leather cord to hold their low ponies in place. “I knew I wanted to add and there just happened to be some leather on the table in front of me so I said, ‘How about that?’” she told Marie Claire. How about that?Anthony Turner, who styled Proenza Schouler with Bumble products, debuted a “look [that] was supposed to be be ‘anti-pretty’ with matte hair and the accessory as the focal point.” A similar motif was seen at the Tanya Taylor show, where Allen Thomas Wood tied a thick leather cord with gold accents in the mid-ponytails of his models. These two stand in stark contrast to the retro leather floral accessories seen at Fendi.

But ugh, you may be thinking, I’m never going to be able to afford these ridiculously expensive designer hair accessories. We’re with you, so we scouted a few similar items to get the looks for a much more reasonable price point (i.e. not the cost of a semester’s college tuition).

1. Leather Head Wrap

Try this one for a look similar to the one seen at Proenza Schouler (they come in black over on Etsy).

2. Metallic Hair Cuff

Here's a Carolina Herrera-esque hair cuff (without all the fuss of having to tie your pony tail a billion times).

3. Metallic Leather Ribbon

For those who want a the Herrera with all the fuss, try this ribbon. At $4.50 for 3 yards, you can share.

4. Leather Barrette

Derek Lam's barrettes were custom made, but you can get a look that's similar with one of these.

Images: Etsy (4)