The wearing of the fascinus can be equated to another even earlier symbol, one widely used in ancient Egyptian times: the Eye of Horus, a talisman made and worn to protect against the Evil Eye, or envy itself. Many other cultures have a similar talisman, used and produced from antiquity to today, like the Nazar (Turkey, Greece, etc.), the Hand of Fatima in the Middle East, or the peacock feather in India.

Dressing fabulously has its price. Driving an envious glare away, or confusing it, is a protective measure. Certainly, the Egyptian pharaohs, who were buried with the Eye of Horus talisman, engaged with protective talismans in order to drive away the evil eye. In the article “The Ambient Gaze: Sensory Atmosphere and the Dressed Body,” author Sara Chong Kwan quotes George Simmel, to understand why deflections of the envious eye were, and are still, used in cultures across the world today, “The radiations of adornment, the sensuous attention it provokes, supply the personality with such an enlargement or intensification of its sphere: the personality so to speak, is more when it is adorned.” (Revisiting The Gaze, 55). Such intense attention must be mitigated, especially when the looks being thrown are not all positive. “The Evil eye is a curse accepted to be thrown by a malignant glare, generally given to a person when they are unaware. Many societies trust that getting the Evil eye will bring about adversity or damage. Charms are made to secure against the Evil eye are additionally regularly called "Evil Eyes”,” (Abbasi).

Isabella Blow, a famous editor, hat-wearer, Alexander McQueen’s supporter, and Philip Treacy’s muse, once said, “"Fashion is a vampiric thing, it's the hoover on your brain. That's why I wear the hats, to keep everyone away from me. They say, 'Oh, can I kiss you?' I say, 'No, thank you very much. That's why I've worn the hat. Goodbye.' I don't want to be kissed by all and sundry. I want to be kissed by the people I love," (Sowray).

The headpieces worn by the pharaohs of ancient Egypt were impressive, like the array of fascinii talismans that followed in Rome afterward.

As we will see in the following blog posts, many of the headpieces worn in Europe, from the Medieval era onward, hold the same talismanic spirit of confusing potential envious glares. And we will discover how this type of confusion, or “fascination” of the gaze through impressive headwear is still used today.