It's pretty easy to send a pointed message through fashion, whether it's with a sweatshirt that reads "The Future Is Female" or a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "Sample Size." With beauty, though, things aren't exactly as clear cut.
But Selena Gomez has just shown us how it's done, using a hair clip — of all things — to deliver a statement of her own. Stepping out in New York City, Gomez was spotted wearing a crystal-encrusted barrette that read, in big capital letters, "Ugly."
Immediately, rumors swirled that Gomez's message was directed at someone specific. Earlier this year, Dolce & Gabbana designer Stefano Gabbana notoriously commented on a picture of Gomez wearing one of their dresses with “É proprio brutta!!,” which translates to, "She's so ugly!!"
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To be honest, whether or not this was meant as a not-so-coded rebuttal against Gabbana is irrelevant to us. (Gomez has yet to comment on the clip herself.) Her barrette is mad cute, and makes the case for hair accessories like these — which many of us wore in the '90s — to make a full comeback this fall.
We've searched far and wide on the internet and can't find the exact one that Gomez wore, but we do have some leads. Alyssa Coscarelli, Refinery29's senior fashion market editor, wore a similar crystal message barrette that read "Thanks," during New York Fashion Week this year. According to Coscarelli, she found her barrette at the Isetan department store in Tokyo, Japan.
The brand Ashley Williams London also creates similar clips that read "Boys" and "Girls" in crystal letters. Retailing for 60 British pounds, Alexa Chung actually wore one of the "Girls" clips late last year at London Fashion Week.
At this New York Fashion Week, which wrapped up just last night, hair accessories like scarves and scrunchies became certified trends on the runway, but with Selena's influence, we're counting on message barrettes to reappear in stores like Forever 21 and Zara any day now.