Very rarely will you see an ebay post for a modern hair ornament of this brand. When it does come up, they try to mimic the retail price, which no one will pay on ebay because no one really knows or has any emotional attachment to this brand.

Why? The only place you can buy these ornaments are in Paris, New York, Tokyo — in store. The company has no online presence whatsoever. No layaway, no mailing list, no messageboards, no notificiations of new items, no website, NOTHING!

I’ve been yelling at Jovy (the New York store manager) for years about this. She had a website up briefly, but then it came down. I can’t even get a picture of one of the couture ornaments I die for mailed to me, so I haven’t bought anything in years. However, when a site was briefly up, I did collect some pictures and put together a collage so you can see the handmade beading, fabric art and design that goes into these pieces. They are hand made by atteliers in Paris, so they qualify as haute couture hair pieces.

The real Alexandre de Paris was a hairdresser to the stars. Among others, he did Elizabeth Taylor’s hair when she filmed Cleopatra, and I really think this company’s designs are the heir to Auguste Bonaz’s great art deco combs. So picture 1 is my collage from a catalog long ago, where nothing pictured is remotely available. Picture 2 is my personal collection, which hasn’t been added to in years, but which of course looks like a total mess laid out on my glass vitrine ;-). They are kept in a vanity drawer.