About a fortnight ago, in a fit of absolute madness, I spent *whispers* £30 on what looks like something that Cousin Itt from The Addams Family might have coughed up.
The offending article is a clip-in fringe, also known as a wig fringe or winge, and was purchased partly to satiate my lust for a fringe without having to commit to the chop but mostly because the sales assistant in Hersheson's caught me at a weak moment and I was pleasantly surprised by how perfectly one of the off-the-rack colours matched my own hair.
I opted for a full blunt winge, and it's an almost triangular piece of "hair" that has three snap-closed clips on its underside: one to clip into the crown, and two to fasten into the hairline. It was mirror shiny when I bought it, which was the most obviously fake thing about it since real hair would have to be laminated to achieve that kind of sheen, but the tiniest spritz of Batiste sorted that right out. It also protruded a little at the edges initially, but was easy to blend with the rest of my hair with just a small amount of coaxing with a comb, and mine is slightly tapered so it's longer at the sides than in the middle to further help it blend in.
It's dead comfortable to wear and feels perfectly secure when clipped firmly in place (although I probably still wouldn't chance wearing it on a particularly windy day!), but does it look natural?
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I think it does - I'd nearly go so far as to say it looks better than my own hair when it's cut into a fringe, because it doesn't go limp or straggly or randomly part in the middle of its own accord because of my cowlick. Himself was absolutely convinced for hours on end that I'd gone and had my hair cut when I wore it first - even after I told him that it was just a clip-in. I eventually had to take it off and show it to him to prove that it wasn't a scissors-administered alteration.
With no awkward growing out phase to deal with and no danger of post-chop regret, would you be tempted to try a winge for a no-commitment fringe fix?
The Hersheson Winges are available on ASOS* for about €39; Dylan Bradshaw has similar for €35. Look to somewhere like Hairspray to get a cheaper (€15, wah) alternative, and remember that you'll get the most accurate colour match by checking 'em out in person. *Indicates an affiliate.
