ok....i have just spend £60 on 2 hair barrettes....

[ThatVikRinA22]

they are french and from Stone Bridge - they get excellent reviews and im expecting them to outlive me....

i use a barrette to twist my hair into an updo - i have lost my barrette and i cant find another big enough to take my hair which is long and there is a lot of it....

i found these on line.
linky

they are pricey but get 5* reviews and i need to have my hair up for work - i used my barrette all the time.

ive ordered 2 to get free postage - so one conservative one for work and one for home a bit more blingy....

i feel ridiculously extravagant... but i really do use these clips an awful lot.
i had scoured all the usual shops....

has anyone else any experience of stone bridge clips?

No experience, but they are gorgeous and I'm sure they will last.

No experience here, either, but I don't think you'll regret it. I've always ended up being pleased that I forked out the extra money for good quality when I use something every day. Enjoy! (They're lovely, by the way - really classy.)

It makes complete sense to spend decent money on something you will use on a daily basis. I bet you wouldn't think twice about spending £60 on wedding hat to wear once then gather dust, which would actually be much more wasteful really. Enjoy them!

I love the tortoiseshell

Not extravagant if they last and you use them daily!

They are so lovely.
I am sure you'll wear these often enough to justify the spend.

Bet they catch the light too. Hope you are pleased when they arrive and that they 'feel' like superb quality too.

No experience of this company, but they have lovely other stuff too.I have saved this page to my favourites and was just thinking that it'll be pay day soon....Argh!

vicar, how do you do your twist please, does it stay in place?

They're lovely. I'd lose them though. I lose everything!

Yes, I bought a large barrette like this probably 25 years ago while backpacking through Europe, it cost a bomb then. I don't know the brand but it also has gold metal and looks exactly like one of those you have lnked to. If it us the same, it is very robust, my thick, heavy hair would leave other barrettes twisted and broken in their wake. This one is still going strong.

Think of the cost-per-wear!

the company have been fabulous and emailed me to ask some questions to make sure i have ordered the best ones for my hair type and length....very good service.

wildthong - my hair is fine so i rough dry my hair until very slightly damp with my head upside down. then i flip my hair back and gather it up as if i am going to put it into a pony tail, but instead i grab the pony tail, twist once and use the clip to hold it in place, my hair is quite long so i am left with a fair bit of length out of the top of the clip which just sits neatly like a pony tail over the top of the clip, when it was shorter i used to just fan it out and back comb it a bit to fluff it up a bit, i sometimes still do that to make it look nice from the back.
i then just pull tendrils down and pull my long fringe out a bit to soften it.
its very easy to do and very quick. looks neat, stays secure all day. i wear it like this for work now and often my work is hectic....it doesnt budge!

I bought this in French vanilla and this in silver shell a couple of years ago. The quality is excellent, the beak clip in particular has stood up to a lot of use.

Thanks vicar sounds ideal!

First I taught how incredibly expensive they are and then I realised I have one of those clamps! It's excellent, you can really see it's good quality not just another generic clamp. I bought it in the US 7 years ago and it was $30, but here it's £28.

Vicar have your barrettes arrived yet? I'm going on holiday where it will be really hot and I'm looking for something to keep my hair off my face. I looked in loads of shops in London today but couldn't find anything, so I'm wondering whether to order from Stone Bridge or not.

An update when they arrive would be greatly appreciated, as the barrettes I'm looking at are £24 for two, which is OK if they're lovely and durable. TIA.

well they arrived this morning.
they are too small for my hair so im going to swap them - the company have been very helpful so far.

i think i was expecting more to be honest for the price.....i imagined them to be made of something other than plastic - no idea what though.

one of the spring catches seems mis- aligned. For £28 each i was expecting better quality if im perfectly honest.

the larger one im looking at is £32.

My old clip that i used and used for years cost less than a fiver from a large Boots store. The spring seemed just as robust.

the customer service from stone bridge has been excellent but i have to be perfectly honest and say these are overpriced for what they are.

i hate it when things dont live up to expectation and peoples reviews were good, they have been featured in magazines and so forth but i have to question why based on the clips is received this morning.

they are both going back and i will debate whether to try the larger type or go to Meadowhall or somewhere and browse in Boots again first.

disappointed.

Oh, I'm sorry they didn't live up to your expectations. I agree that the expectations should definitely be high considering the price!

I bought the medium claw grip a couple of years from Stonebridge and was pleased with it. However, I thought it was way too expensive for the price. I did some Googling and found France Luxe which are just as good quality but cheaper. You can get them on Ebay or www.amazon.com

I ordered a couple from Amazon, obviously they won't be as nice as yours Vicar, but they are half the price and look quite nice.

here

I have used Stonebridge in the past. I like what I got but probably would only use them again if I couldn't find what wanted cheaper.

Oh bum, that is a shame as was wondering if any good for my wild mop.

Ah welll, back to lurking and hoping!

well im going to meadowhall tomorrow - if no joy there i will simply swap these two for the larger version.

Oh well, Vicar. That's a shame. Thanks for letting us know.

I thought they would have been made out of real shell for some reason.

WildThong - your link is to some BHS trousers. Nice, but I'm not sure if they would keep my hair in place...!

I really want some slides like the ones on that site for my messy mop.
Will do a search when I have time later, but will keep a look out on this thread for anything similar and good value.

I was wondering about the trousers!

not trousers