HAIR JEWELLERY: My First Matha Patti!

Hihihi!

I've been dying to encrust my hair in beautiful, shiny jewels for quite some time now. You all know of my love for jewellery but I feel that it shouldn't just be restricted to the 'normal' parts of the body (fingers, wrists, neck etc) we choose to adorn. The only problem with adorning the hair is that the high street is going through a dull, unimaginative period and only offers basic headbands or, at a stretch, floral crowns or tiaras. They look nice, but I just want some solid bling in my hair!

Then I came across 'Matha Patti' which I think translates from Hindi as 'Head Band', don't quote me on that though, my Hindi isn't quite what it used to be... Anyways, I've seen these things knocking about for years at full-on Asian Weddings, in fact my sister even wore one to her own. Despite this, I didn't actually know what they were called so it was a quite the struggle to find them on t'internet!

So recently I finally went in to a Desi Clothes shop and the conversation went a little like this:

"Do you do that hair thing?"

"You what?"

"You know, bling for the hair?"

"Oh, you mean Matha Patti?"

"Err, maybe..."

I was shown a few in-store but they seemed like bridal pieces, lots of reds and golds that just wouldn't match well against my hair so I gave them a miss. I was looking for something silvery perhaps with a splash of 'cool' colour like blue, turquoise or even lavender. But hey, at least I knew what I was looking for now!

Armed with my new-found knowledge I laid siege to the internet, searching for the finest Matha Pattis money could buy. At this point I came across Shelly's Jewels on Instagram. Salmah (the boss) sells the most incredible Matha Pattis I've ever seen! She was very charming and helpful, giving me plenty of advice - I thought they might look a bit silly on me with my fringe. Nonetheless, after her advice I parted with the cash, £35 to be precise!

And gosh, how glad am I that I did?!

A little bit stunning, isn't it?

I have to say that I found it quite difficult to wear! It can snag on the hair (and mine is still a bit touchy after the bleaching) as it has all these little hooks to secure to your head. I ended up using the odd grip-pin here and there to keep it in place. Also I wasn't exactly sure how it should rest on the head! Instagram saved the day though, and I was told the third Tikka should be resting on the hairline.

I did have a go at this however I found that placing the chains of pretty stones across my forehead felt much more comfortable. This way the tikkas rest in the centre of the forehead, giving the effect of an oversized bindi!

Here I've parted my fringe and stuck on the headpiece.

I combined my Drop Dead Unicorn Jumper and a midi skirt with this modern take on a traditional Indian Head-dress to give a real 'East meets West' look! With my mixture of Indian origins and British upbringing I find it fascinating to mix and match elements of both styles and this Matha Patti definitely adds an extra dimension to any outfit!

And finally, to the 'Desi Gok Wan' that didn't have the guts to use their real username on Instagram or Twitter, left a 'question' on my Tumblr stating how I've worn this 'wrong' and I look 'stupid', I actually prefer it this way. So get bent.