View Full Version : Does anyone even use those anymore???
I'm talking about Bobby pins! Today, while doing a little banking, a lady directly in front of me was sporting, you guessed it, Bobby pins! I immediately thought- awesome! I haven't seen Bobby pins in years!
How about you, have you seen Bobby pins lately? Do you still use them? (Feel free to share your Bobby pin stories).
Regularly. I can't say I have any bobby pin stories though. :) But I often use one or two small ones to hold back some of the heavier curls to one side of my face. I have shoulder-length hair, and wear it down, but sometimes, a bobby pin helps keep it off my face. I also have a couple embellished ones (with tiny rhinestones) that I wear occasionally.
Related but different from bobby pins are the u-shaped hair pins. I only use those once a year when I do my hair in a Victorian updo for the Dickens Christmas Fair. Actually, my mom does my hair for that.
Kara
I see them all the time. The Mexican Mennonite ladies in our community use them to fasten their headcoverings.
I'm trying to grow my hair out again (it's below my shoulders) and I have lots of curls. Just today, I was going thru a girl's blog and she is posting 30 hairstyles in 30 days, the secret....bobby pins. Shes got some cute twists and braids. I even added 'bobby pins' to my shopping list so I can give a few styles a try. I love having longer hair but I hate getting it in my face and apparently the 'bannana clip' and 'texas poof' aren't coming back in style anytime soon.
I use them when my bangs start to get in my face and bug me. (Also to pick locks, and clean in small spaces.)
My grandma slept every night with toilet paper bobby pinned to her head to preserve her set! I guess it worked...
I'll be using bobby pins this weekend to pin my mortarboard on for my graduation ceremonies at Penn! Thanks for reminding me to put them in my bag!!!
catherine
5-10-11, 10:29am
This topic definitely takes me back! I remember my mother used to set her hair with them all the time--in particular she would twist little curls by her ear and set them with two bobby pins, forming a little "x" so they wouldn't fall out when she slept on them.
I used them several years ago when I started wearing buns every day, and have also used them when my hair gets too long and I pull it back into a pony tail--I use the bobby pins to keep the strays from falling out.
But other than that, I keep a couple around because they make good skeleton keys if I lock my bedroom door and close it from the outside by mistake!
I love it you guys! Clap, clap, clap! Here's a story I have related to Bobby pins. Dear brother suffered with pre-teen acne and mom doted over him in hopes of helping. She and him worked together in partnership to address his skin (face) problems. With blackheads rampant, mom would take a Bobby pin and using the curved end of the pin, gently coax blackheads out of his skin. (Yeah, kinda gross I know). All of us kids would gather around and watch in hopes of a miracle for dear brother. Sadly, nothing worked and dear brother had to go the course until manhood kicked in. Happy ending, today, dear brother is a tall, dark, big handsome man with impeccable skin! Not so much as a single scar to be found!
This is a super fun thread, but then again, I enjoy talking about all things old-fashioned!
Just finished having a laugh over this thread and how it made me remember something more about Bobby pins. As kids we occasionally attended church functions and get-togethers and I recall older women (mostly) arriving wearing plastic rain bonnets secured/tacked to their doos with Bobby pins! They were clear (see-through) things and fit poorly. Hideous looking things now that I think about it.
Just finished having a laugh over this thread and how it made me remember something more about Bobby pins. As kids we occasionally attended church functions and get-togethers and I recall older women (mostly) arriving wearing plastic rain bonnets secured/tacked to their doos with Bobby pins! They were clear (see-through) things and fit poorly. Hideous looking things now that I think about it.
Are you talking about those rain hats that had plastic ties that you would pull and the hat would snap back in folds and you could put it back in its little case? Those were really hideous! Practical, maybe, but really.....
LMAO! That's a good question Catherine, the ones I remember were just plain clear plastic ones (with ties I believe) that were folded up after use and stored in the wearers purse (no special case). A plain sheet of clear plastic. I can only imagine they were a PITA to fit on, hence the Bobby pins to hold. So hideous looking with the grey/blue hair under! :)
http://www.etsy.com/listing/72860043/set-of-2-vintage-plastic-rain-bonnets
Here are some on Etsy - I googled vintage plastic rain bonnet. I grew up in a farm community and I still know some farm ladies who wear those 'as needed' to church along with their mudboots.
Here's the kind I remember: Sorry it's such a big image!! Don't know how to reduce it
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_xn5rifhvtyE/SpXDIiRZMQI/AAAAAAAABFs/BEiu5tnW3WU/s1600/Retro%2BPleated%2BRain%2BBonnet.jpg
jennipurrr
5-10-11, 4:55pm
I use them to pull back my bangs and other hair that falls out of my ponytail or bun when I am working out. Or somtimes if I just get lazy and want to throw my hair up in a pony tail and not do anything with the bangs I will put them up too (like right now actually).
My mom usually got the rain bonnets that come in a tiny plastic basket. I can't find a picture of one with the case anywhere online but it looks like the kind in the picture catherine posted.
I used bobby pins to hold my bun in place when I worked at a bakery. Most recently I used them to attach a tiny little felt fez to my son's hair when he wore an Aladdin costume for a skating program.
I just popped one in about a minute before I found this thread. Since I shower in the evening and re-wet and style my hair in the morning, it air dries at night. Usually I'll part it the opposite way I wear it and pin my bangs back with a bobby pin while it dries.
Prom and wedding season is coming up and the salon I work at will be using them left and right for all the updos they'll be constructing. Honestly, it's amazing how they create these styles--it's like architecture.
Remember that bobby pins come in colors to match hair so all you blondes should be wearing the golden colored ones, gray wear the gray....
When I was young I remember going to family parties and picnics and a few of my cousins(?)-daughters of a great aunt? would have their hair all done up in rollers and sometimes covered with a kerchief. Dunno what they were having their hair styled for since they never took the rollers out at the party. Quite a few home movies with them sitting there with big lumpy kerchief-covered heads.
I use them for my bangs occasionally and for DD's up do's.
Threads that take me back are my favourite!!!
Float On and Catherine, great pics! Yes, I remember the style (as clear as day) that Float On posted, but wow, how chic is the one with the fancy carry case/holder! Those ones were for the well-to-do! :laff:
Jennipurrr, Kathy WI, Pony mom, and Bugeah, I think it's super-fabulous that you guys still use Bobby pins!
Just as a side-note of sorts, look how pretty the woman is in the picture (Catherine's post) and then..., that gaudy hideous looking plastic sheet over her head. Wearing one would automatically give me the feeling of having a bad hair day! Get all dressed up nice, then, hold everything, please allow me to fashion my plastic tarp over my head! :laff:
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