Wigs

Although you may spend a month planning out your costume, Halloween only comes around once a year. For those of us with less-than-unlimited budgets, it's always a good idea to opt for a costume that has a little flexibility and staying power. Pieces that work for one costume may work perfectly for another. Case in point: the blunt bob wig. Find out five costumes that you can wear with one wig (or with your own hair if your current cut already dictates it) when you keep reading.

Is it time for your annual springtime cut? If you have long hair, don't let your strands go to waste; donate them to a good cause with the help of Pantene. This Friday the 27th, the hair care company will hold the first-ever National Donate Your Hair Day to benefit its Beautiful Lengths program. With the help of wig-makers HairUWear, Pantene builds real-hair pieces for women undergoing cancer treatment. The wigs are then distributed by the American Cancer Society wig banks for free. See how you can help by getting all the details now.

If you've been lamenting that your newborn daughter doesn't look enough like a sassy older lady fond of heavy drinking and wigs, you can stop crying now, because Baby Bangs have arrived to age your infant instantaneously. Baby Bangs are more accurately baby wigs; they're pieces of fake hair attached to a tiny headband that you shove on your unwitting baby's head for snazzy photo shoots or just general entertainment.

I can definitely see myself getting a little stir crazy, cracking open a bottle of chardonnay, and having a grand old time at my future offspring's expense. "What's that you say, tiny fruit of my loins? You wish your bottle was full of Bailey's Irish Cream? Oh, your just-born bon mots kill me! What say we have another glass and get rid of that hat of Daddy's we hate so much?"

On the other hand, I believe babies are supposed to be relatively hairless; it's one of the things that makes them so cute. And it also kind of bothers me that there are no Baby Bangs for male infants. How is it fair that there's no Justin Bieber wig for your bald, drooling baby boy?

Well, we did our best to name Kate Gosselin's haircut, aka "the Reverse Mullet." BellaSugar Gosselined herself. Even Neil Patrick Harris tried on the look for size. Now, so can you! With the Eight Is Too Much Adult Wig ($15).

I predict a sea of capri pants and cardigans this Halloween, as the reality show star becomes one of this year's most popular costumes. Would you wear this wig?

The Coveted ponders whether a wig revival is underway and asks, would you wear one? A recent resurgence in faux tresses has been spotted on the runway, in editorial spreads, and atop the head of one Amy Winehouse. From the rows upon rows of waxy-haired, uniformly colored hair pieces that line the walls of any Ricky's shop (which, we're told, sell quite well) to the outrageously priced locks of human hair that have been customized for many a celeb's red carpet appearance, it seems that the centuries-old art of wigmaking is alive and well. Other than the occasional Halloween getup, we haven't considered the once commonplace accessory since grade school (when, at the behest of a history teacher, some of us might have been forced to don itchy, powdered, parliamentary wigs in a lesson on Whigs and Tories). Extensions, we can handle, but an all out wig?

If the face is thought of as a canvas, on which our features and emotions interact to express who we are, the hair can be thought of as a frame. Changing it, even in subtle ways, can alter the feeling of the painting. A wig is certainly the fastest way to do it and requires minimal commitment. Citing YSL's jet black bowl cuts at Fall 2008 and Charlie Le Mindu's edgy creations for musicians and fashion editorials as examples, The Coveted's Jennine wonders how she might use wigs to experiment with her look. From sleekly styled to outré, wigs allow us to express ourselves in ways our daily 'do doesn't allow. Whether it's a natural, your-own-but-better look you seek, a quick color change for the dye-averse, or a shock-value style that commands attention, wigs are an easy way to achieve it. They don't require professional application and take a lot less time than weaving in extensions. Though we're not sure any wigmakers will be making it on to our speed dial, it's nice to reconsider as an option and occasionally toy with notions of our identity.

For wig-spiration, check out this promo video for Peaches' "Get It," in which the hair is the main attraction and seems to have a life and personality all its own. We don't advocate this look, but it'll surely get your imagination going.