Peaking now · Hair · Not seasonal · Mrs Accessories analysis by Maggi Ferguson

The bow grew up

Satin, lace and velvet rather than grosgrain. The version that works past twenty-five is a material question.

The bow arrived as a coquette-adjacent thing worn by twenty-year-olds and it has broadened, but only in specific materials. That distinction is the whole of this trend and it is why so many people have decided bows are not for them after trying the wrong one.

Grosgrain — the flat, ribbed, slightly stiff ribbon used on children's hair clips and gift wrap — reads young at any age, because that is the material memory attached to it. Satin, silk, velvet and lace do not. A black velvet bow at the nape of a low ponytail is closer to a nineteenth-century portrait than to a schoolgirl, and it works on anyone. The fabric is doing all the ageing, up or down.

Placement is the second variable and it maps onto the same axis. High on the crown is young. At the nape, holding a low ponytail or a half-up section, is the grown version and by some distance the most flattering — it sits where people see it in profile and it does not add height to the head.

Scale should track your hair volume rather than fashion. Fine or thin hair disappears under a large bow, which then looks like it is wearing you; thick hair swallows a small one entirely. If you have a lot of hair, the oversized satin knot is genuinely the right call.

The construction detail worth checking: a bow attached to a proper spring clip or a covered elastic stays put, while one glued to a flat metal snap slides out of anything smooth or freshly washed. On fine hair, the clip type matters more than anything else about it.

Gothic-adjacent versions — black lace, deep burgundy, velvet backing — are the autumn-facing end of this and the easiest way to wear a bow without the whole thing reading as sweet.

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