Yesterday, The Huffington Post ran my article about fashion writer Suzy Menkes’s use of the word “squaw.” The word appeared in a story about royal headpieces published in the New York Times’s T Magazine, and was used in reference to the late Princess Diana:
“Then there is a cabochon emerald collar that the stately Queen Mary (Queen Elizabeth’ s grandmother) made from her family emeralds… Diana took the stuffing out of that piece by wearing it around her head like a squaw on a tour of Australia in 1985.”
Photo of Princess Diana by Jayne Fincher/Getty Images, via About.com.
According to several experts, the use of a word that many Native Americans object to was both insensitive and inaccurate. There is no single headpiece style worn by all Native American women. (To read the whole HuffPost story, click here.)
As I was writing the story, I wondered if it would have been more accurate for Menkes to compare Diana to an Indian princess — Indian from India, that is. I knew that in the 1800s and 1900, Indian royalty wore extravagantly jeweled headpieces. Maybe they wore them around their heads like Diana. So I got in touch with Sharada Dwivedi, co-author of Lives of the Indian Princes. She told me that Indian royalty wore “truly magnificent” precious-gem headpieces, including crowns and tiaras, but not headbands.
The Maharani of Cooch Behar in a tiara or crown. Photo via Sharada Dwivedi.
Turban ornaments called sarpeches were among the most luxurious decorations: Maharaja Tukojirao Holkar III of Indore, who ruled the Malwa region in the early 1900s, had an emerald and diamond sarpech worth 330,000 in 1925 rupees.
An example of a sarpech, worn by the Maharaja of Faridkot. Photo via Sharada Dwivedi.
A seriously fancy turban on the Maharaja of Mewar. Photo via Sharada Dwivedi.
Married women wore a head ornament in the parting of the hair known as a mang-tikka. While the mang-tikka could rest on the forehead, it didn’t circle the whole head.
The Maharani of Faridkot, wearing a mang-tikka. Photo via Sharada Dwivedi.
I love this explanation of the jewelry worn by married ladies. Everything has a meaning:
“A tikka for the forehead, worn in the parting of the hair, signifying ‘walk on the straight path’, earrings to remind you not to have weak ears and listen to gossip, a necklace so that your head is always bowed down in humility, bangles to tell you that your hand must always go forward for giving charity and anklets so that you put the right foot forward – and the nose-ring of which it was said that the pearl should not be heavier than the nose, meaning you should not spend more than what your husband could afford. So every bride was given these and told the significance and she had
to wear them throughout her married life.”
In other words, you could cover yourself in jewels to show that you’re a good, humble person. I have to use this on my customers.
Anyway, it doesn’t seem that Diana looked all that much like a maharani, jewelry-wise . In fact, if Diana’s choker-on-forehead look reminds me of anyone, it’s Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe in 1980.
Bjorn Borg (left) and John McEnroe (right) at Wimbledon in 1980.
From online photos, it looks like Borg was still wearing his trademark headband in 1985. Diana enjoyed tennis. Could she have been inspired by an athlete? We’ll never know.
I think she totally could!
Wonder Woman?
I love Indian Jewellery I had no idea of the meanings .. what a great post Wendy.. I wear lots of bangles but have taken my nose ring out long ago .. I wonder what that says about me xx
I love how Diana wore the choker, so fun, it seems reminiscent of a matha patti, also worn by Indian women (a more elaborate crown version of a forehead tikka)
P.S my anti spam word was siouxsie – score!
Hi there-whoever or whatever inspired Diana, it was such a stunning and unique style, which she totally pulled off-saying that, she looked fabulous all of the time xx
Well I don’t know about the tiara, but she was certainly channeling George Michael with the hair.
I’m going with Olivia Newton John in “Physical” on this one.
Bjorn, my first tennis crush! I love the meaning behind the wearing of jewelry, and this explains my love for gossip – I hardly ever wear earrings.
Ouch, when fact checking and proofreading goes wrong.
I always think “hippie” when I see modern women wearing headbands. Either that or “1980’s Revival Aerobics Class.”
The Indian jewelry you’ve shown here is stunning!
It’s a beautiful look for Princess Di. Jewelry worn casually and not importantly .. nice.
She was totally influenced by the 80s. Good grief, I was tying pink zebra print bandanas to ever appendage on my body. It was the 80s. It’s what we did.
I think she was indeed channeling Borg and McEnroe. Ok I’ll be cordial to the dear deceased Diana and say maybe she was going for an opulent flapper look! still blown away by the squaw comment, how ignorant!
XXX
Suzanne
Fab post! <3
I like Suzanne’s idea of Diana going for a flapper look but yes, it really does look like Bjorn’s head band!
That’s so funny about covering oneself in jewels as an expression of humility. Have you thought of doing posts on the history of jewelry and its meaning. Maybe you have and I should look instead of asking.
Yes you are right it is more Bjorn Borgish but then she was a true 80s girl. Love the Indian explanation for the jewelery too. Xxxx
I tried wearing a headband like that in the ’80s. Elastic band with silver and lavender strings twisted. I thought it was cool.
Really enjoyed your post today and those pictures were too cool
Love when I see you on Huff Post, it’s like hey I know who that person is!! I am cool.
Well, can’t wait to see if Kate tries to pull off that look!
Brett
I need to start designing sarpeches! That’s where the $$ is in this business (apparently). LOL over that Borg/McEnroe photo. God, how did they ever think they looked cool?
Last night I was thinking about this and thought that she might be channeling Olivia Newton John in her “Physical” video. That was 1981, and Diana danced with John Travolta in 1985, the same year she wore her choker as a headband . . .
It was absolutely the terry-cloth headband decade. I do think that was her real inspiration.
Wasn’t that the decade of headband veils at weddings too?
The nice thing about Princess Di was her sense of fun! She probably just thought it looked cool. Which is awesome.
Hilarious!
All I can think of is “Physical.”
The explanation of married women’s jewelry is fascinating. I wonder if I could use it myself.cx
every morning I read the huffington post on my iPhone and I saw your article this morning and I really liked it! I’m glad you wrote this follow up post.
Hi sweetheart, I am sorry for being late in discovering your wonderful blog, but I just want to say, I have been surfing chez toi for a while now, and I love your style of writing and your content. I am putting you on my bloglist and making surfing over to you a routine. I love how funny you are, and your highlighting inspirational women who wear what they damned well please melted my heart. If you don`t mind I would love to share a link with you for a post that talks about just that: http://www.inthepowderroom.com/read/style/nevermind-the-donts-of-fashion.html
xx Anika
http://byanika.com
@AnikaByAnika
I wonder what maharajas’ jewels meant too, other than, “Look at me! I’m the boss!” Was Diana waaaaaay retro by wearing it like a 1920s bandeau? I post about jewelry’s symbolism and meaning in my blog, so if you don’t mind, I’ll reference your blog at some point soon. Thanks WendyB!
Here’s a colour pic of Diana in the same outfit:
http://coloreddiamond.info/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2804.0;attach=20099;image
a close-up of the choker/collar:
http://coloreddiamond.info/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2804.0;attach=20100;image
and an even more Wonder Woman-style forehead bandeau:
http://coloreddiamond.info/index.php?action=dlattach%3Btopic=2804.0%3Battach=20101%3Bimage
Diana was trendy in the best sense of the word — no wonder she was such a fashion icon.
An emerald headband — Di really took 80’s fashion to a whole new level. Interesting stuff about the Indian princesses, and wow are those headpieces gorgeous; any chance we’ll see some of these photos become inspiration for some new Wendy B jewelry?
The closing comment was the best!
I love the symbolism in Indian bridal jewelry. 🙂 How inspiring!
As for Di’s sporting of the headband, I say hats off to her for taking a risk. She took lots of risks, and I always admire someone who wears what she wants.
Who am I to judge? As you say “Wear What You Want”.
Can’t believe someone would write something like that this day and age.
xx
maya