Vintage-inspired headbands add a quirky touch to a wedding ensemble

By Melissa Magsaysay

There are a million variations on the white wedding gown, and many are quite lovely. But it still takes thoughtful accessories to make a bride stand out as beautiful and stylish.

Shoes often don’t have much impact -- unless you’re wearing a short dress, it could be Roger Vivier or flea market vintage under that gown and no one would be the wiser.

But a vintage-inspired headband is a chic way to play up your personal style and add a quirky flourish to a wedding day ensemble. L.A.-based stylists Jen Gotch and Jamie Coulter weave plenty of quirkiness (and style) into Ban.do, a collection of headbands, combs and hair clips that instantly inject a bit of individuality into a bride’s head-to-toe look.

Gotch and Coulter scour swap meets and estate sales for jewelry to pair with brightly colored feathers, leather bands and fabric flowers in pieces with inspirations as varied as Parisian high society and 1960s flower children. The result can be as outrageous as a large, pale pink flower attached to a wire headband or as subtle as a soft blue feather comb with vintage brooch that adds just a pop of powdery color.

Prices start at $75. Gotch and Coulter also do custom orders for those with a specific vision for the big day -- or any special occasion.

Pictured: A vintage-inspired Austrian crystal applique is married to a satin headband, $225.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)