Last night I did a "trial run" of a princess-like hairdo on my daughter. Next weekend (the 19th) she makes her First Holy Communion -and of course we couldn't buy a simple headband with a bit of white tulle attached. We went for the creme-de-la-creme bejeweled tiara crown with double-layered veil, seed pearls scattered on the veil and mixed in with rhinestones on the crown.

My kiddo is like me in terms of personal style: if you are gonna do it, do it to the HILT! Not only did we procure the most fabulous headpice for the ceremony, but, since it is so large and weighty, we got an artificial hairpiece to clip on to her short ponytail. Yes, she is wearing a sort of wig-let for her communion! Of course the updo looks fantastic (the hairpiece resembles a pontytail of ringlet curls) and matches her hair color exactly. But it truly has a practical purpose as well: since her hair is too short for a bun or true ponytail, we pull her hair back in sections, then clip the hairpiece in,and wrap it around the stumpy "natural" ponytail. This then offers a very secure place in which I use combs and bobby pins to hook the crown/veil into. I'll post photos once the big day arrives.

Seeing her looking ever so regal reminded me of a time in the not-so-distant past when I wore a tiara of my own! Believe it or not, for my 25th birthday party, I decided to purchase a silver tiara from a costume shop. I decided I'd go to the party dressed in SILVER (after all it was my 25th - "silver jubille" birthday!) I remember taking WEEKS to find a silver lurex t-shirt. I finally happened upon one in Saks Fifth Avenue somewhere on the Mag Mile after exhausting less pricey shopping venues.

Back in those days, when not wearing wigs, I often styled my red hair into a flip hairdo with the aid of nothing more than a teasing comb and curling iron. Here is the result on that happy occassion: