Princess for a day, exactly what a tiara allows one
to be.
Tiaras (also called diadems)
are traditional at weddings and beauty pageants but more and more with the
affordability they're becoming one with everday fashion. A Tiara can also
be called a crown, they can be elaborately made of diamonds, daintily from
pearls and diamonds or just to twisted high polished metal.
Tiaras historically date back to ancient Egypt and were
put on royal mummies. The Greeks awarded tiaras to contest champions
(similar to the contemporary pageant) and highly ranked
individuals were them to distinguish themselves from the commoners. But
these tiaras were not elaborately decorate with diamonds, pearls and such but
instead of laurels and olive leaves and were simple and symmetrical designs.
Ancient tiaras were told to be very heavy from the metals and jewels, in
classical times royalty wore bands of cloth on their heads to show nobility.
Nineteenth century tiaras were the finest tiaras made by
English jewelers, this period began the tradition of wedding tiaras.
Across Europe court life flourished and tiaras became a class distinguisher
moving across Europe to Russia, Russians became the most extravagant with tiaras made by
English and Parisian jewelers for The Grand Duchesses.
Tiara history endured through World War 1 and to the
1920s but slowly began to die out and has yet to regain it's popularity.
Tiaras are slowly regaining their popularity for weddings but have not moved
from the circle of people who can afford to wear gold, diamonds and rubies on
their heads to the everyday person.
Famous tiara wearers of our time: Diana, Princess of Wales, and Grace Kelly
source: Fashion History channel special on Tiaras