The claw clip went from a 90s bathroom basic to the accessory everyone reaches for on the way out the door. The new ones come in polished acetate, candy colors and hand-painted designs that look more like jewelry than hardware. These twelve cover all three moods.
The Claw Clip Never Really Left, and These Twelve Prove It
The claw clip is the rare accessory that has been both a punchline and a status object in my lifetime. In the 90s it held up everyone's hair in the car, and then it quietly vanished, until the late-2010s revival of 90s and early-2000s style brought it back bigger, glossier and much more considered. Now it is the fastest way to look put together in the time it takes to twist your hair once. Part of what changed is the design. Emi Jay, which Julianne Goldmark co-founded in 2009 after dyeing hair ties in her family kitchen, and Chunks, which Tiffany Ju started in her Seattle basement in 2019, treated the clip as a design object rather than a drugstore afterthought. At the other end sits Alexandre de Paris, the house named for the hairdresser Louis Alexandre Raimon, who created his first Vendôme accessory in 1971. The first grid is the polished end: three Alexandre de Paris clips and Chunks' big black Jojo, for days that call for something quieter.
A little color
This grid is the fun one. Emi Jay's Big Effing Clip, the style that became the face of the brand after it launched in 2019, comes here in Cherry Kiss, with the Sweetheart clip in Pink Pixie and the Lil Effing Clip in Buttercream alongside it. Chunks' Flower clip in Jade Swirl adds a softer shape to the mix. Candy colors are easier to wear than they look, especially against dark hair, where a pink or butter yellow reads like a small piece of jewelry. Keep one in your bag for the moment your hair starts to annoy you, which for me is usually around three in the afternoon.
Painted clips, and what I would skip
The last grid is for anyone who thinks of a clip as a tiny piece of art. Solar Eclipse hand-paints its clips, and the Kyoto Kitten, Coquette Bow and Corgi designs are playful without looking childish, while Chunks' Midi Box clip in Vintage Frame brings a painted rose pattern in a smaller size. What I would skip is clamping a heavy clip onto wet hair and leaving it all day. Wet hair stretches and breaks more easily, and a tight clip in the same spot can leave a dent or snap strands at the crown. Let hair dry a little first, then twist it up loosely and move the clip around from day to day.
One twist and out the door
The clip has outlasted a lot of trends because it solves a real problem in about four seconds. It holds your hair, it looks intentional, and it works with a blazer or a swimsuit. Keep a polished one for work, a bright one for weekends and a painted one just because. It will earn its place in your bag faster than almost anything else. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together The Slip Dress Never Actually Left, It Just Changed Fabric and Wavy Hair Wants Less Than You Think.
