FANS:

MEMORIES:

The simple piece of fabric that is the bandana has had a long and storied history. It first came into renown in the Old West, where the cloth was used as a neckerchief, pulled up to cover the mouth and nose as protection against the dust and dirt of the as-yet uncivilized frontier. Unfortunately, this led to outlaws using the bandana to cover their faces during robberies and crime, and the bandana became associated with the wrong side of the law.
Later, the bandana became fashionable as a hobo bag, tied to a stick slung over your shoulder, and holding all your belongings as you rode the boxcars. This romantic notion gave kids the inspiration to use this method of packing when they planned to run away from home. The bandana was also just the basic necessity of sweat rag and nose tissue for the common working man, stuffed into back pocket of dungarees. But it was also fashionable for ladies in the ‘40’s to tie their hair back with this otherwise macho-style do-rag.

 

Bandanas became marketing icons in the ‘80s, decked out with band logos and ninja symbols. Pieces of cloth with Ozzy, Pink Floyd and Def Leppard logos adorned the walls of teens. These bandanas were no longer stuffed into pockets, but rather rolled and wrapped around your neck, tied around your shaved head, or knotted around your forehead a la Loverboy.

 

TV’s Punky Brewster inspired the girl’s look by wrapping a rolled up bandana around her wrists and ankles. Girls would layer multiple bandanas with slouch socks and hi-tops, and wear them as bracelets and necklaces, or tie them around the thighs of their acid-washed jeans.

 

The bandana look got violent again when inner city gangs adopted “colors” displayed by colored bandanas wrapped around their heads. With a history that ranges from outlaws and gangs, to sweat rags and tissues, to ladies hair ties and jewelry, the bandana certainly has covered all the bases.