Sexy headgear
In the 1950’s the French film star and sex icon Brigitte Bardot pioneered a headgear that was to be immensely popular among young women in the 50’s and 60’s. It was sexy and made the wearer look sporty, physically active, and most adorable in general.
Most girls sitting on a
Vespa or
Lambretta or in a flashy
convertible wore one. Famous wearers of the
BB (the
acronym by which Birgitte Bardot was known to her admirers) headgear included
Jackie Kennedy,
Audrey Hepburn,
Grace Kelly and other luminaries. But it made even the
plainest weareress look highly
attractive.
Easy to make
The recipe for making a BB headgear is quite simple:
(0) Be a reasonably young girl / woman
(1) Take an ordinary square silk scarf (if you are in money, you could choose a posh Hermès scarf)
(2) Fold the scarf diagonally to make it triangular
(3) Put the triangle over your head, with the hypothenusal fold facing forward and with the two ends or corners hanging down on both sides of your head
(4) Fold the hanging ends around your neck, one over the other, and bring the tips of the ends to the back of your neck
(5) Tie the tips together in a knot behind your neck
Attractive silk helmet, but alas forbidden
What you now get is a sort of silk "helmet", covering both your head and neck. Most becoming! Optionally you can push the hypothenusal scarf fold on the top of your head a little backward and pull out a bang of hair, if you happen to wear your hair in that way. But this is by no means necessary for making an unforgettable impression on most males around you.
Well, this sounds kind of familiar, doesn’t it? Yes, this is almost exactly like the Muslim school-girls in present-day France would like to do, but are forbidden to do by the authorities. Because now it's no longer called a BB headgear, but a hijab.
Fined originator
What is even more ironic is that the originator of this fashionable headgear for secularists, Christians, and Muslims alike -- Brigitte Bardot -- was recently (in 2004) fined 5000 € for defamatory statements against Muslims in her book, Un cri dans le silence (= A Cry in the Silence, 2003).
The book was mainly about animal rights, which is Brigitte Bardot’s main occupation these days. Among other things she objected to the ritual slaughter of animals according to the Muslim halal and Jewish kosher rules. But apparently she also expressed a general disliking of Muslims, which did not go down well with the French courts. She apologised to the judge, saying that she "never knowingly wanted to hurt anyone". But she was fined the 5000 € anyway.
Reference:
http://www.fondationbrigittebardot.fr/site/fbb_a.php?IdPere=199&Id=199
http://www.leninimports.com/bardot_bio.html
http://www.biosstars.com/b/bardot.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3794513.stm