the season for headbands

A headband is a very practical accessory. It is used by women to keep hair away from the face. Lewis Caroll's 'Alice in Wonderland' wore one, remember? Back in the 80s, Australian singer Olivia Newton-John popularized a variation called the sweatband in her 'Let's Get Physical' video. Today, headbands have become even more fashionable, thanks to trendy girls like Blair Waldorf of Gossip Girl, and guys (!) like athlete David Beckham and pop idol Joe of the Jonas Brothers.

The Series 14 'Cute' Bearbrick (above, right) also wears a headband. It is a representation of 'Oden-Kun', a character from a 'picture-book-turned-anime-series' created by Lily Franky (a.k.a. Masaya Nakagawa, a Japanese illustrator, writer, actor, musician, and photographer).

Take note, however, that Oden-Kun's headband isn't really a fashion statement. It's supposed to be a strip of edible gourd, because Oden Kun is actually a 'Mochi-Iri-Kinchaku' (fried tofu skin stuffed with rice paste). In the anime series, Oden-Kun and his friends are different types of 'oden' (hotpot ingredients, above left) living in a village at the bottom of a bowl. They spend their days waiting for people to eat them. Sometimes life gets more exciting as they fight cancer cells inside human bellies. :-)

Meanwhile, in the world of fashion, Miuccia Prada created modern day warriors wearing studded leather headbands for Fall 2009 (left and below).

The theme? "Survival," she said. "And to survive, you have to be strong."

Because of the global economic crisis, life will be one tough fight for survival. Especially for luxury brands like Prada.

So everybody should gear up. I, myself, am already liking this fabulous warrior headband – oops! – how much do you think it will cost? LOL

'Oden' pic from myspace.com / Miuccia Prada quote and runway pics from menstyle.com