A reader recently sent in this question: "One well-known fashion editor has stated that shoulder-length hair looks good on any woman. Do you agree? What hair do you think looks fresh and appealing these days?" Great question.
Here is what I have learned on fashion shoots from some of the best hairdressers in the business: each and every face and head of hair should be treated as unique. Sure there are generalities about what cuts and layering best flatter certain facial structures. But do you want to craft your look using generic beauty tips? Never. Consulting with the best hair dresser you can possibly afford is always money well spent. Let them get their hands in your hair and feel it's weight and volume. They need to look carefully at your facial structure and symmetry. A good haircut goes a long way to balancing ones features. You need an expert pair of scissors to create an ideal 'architecture' for your face and neck and for your silhoutte head to toe. A bad haircut is like wearing the wrong hat- every single day.
In general, I am not a fan of shoulder length tresses. To my eye the length looks neither here nor there. Should I cut it or grow it? Hmm. As for what looks fresh and modern, I prefer a good line cut at the collarbone. Gwyneth Paltrow has been photographed sporting this length for several months (not that I care a wit about copying celebrities). When she lopped off her Earth Mommy mid-back length hair to her collarbone she instantly transformed her look to blade-sharp sophistication.
What does not look 'fresh and appealing?' Long, long tresses (especially on women over 35).
Barbie hair is identified with Real Housewives ( fill in the city here), Tiger Wood's mistresses, strippers, and women who in a misguided attempt to look younger make themselves look older. Very long hair is as fresh-looking as a velour track suit and a visible thong. The dictum that once a woman hits a certain age she must cut her hair signifcantly shorter is old fashioned but is the long, long hair thing the antidote? If a woman wants to look sexy and vibrant -at any age- she needs to look modern. That means wearing her hair at a length that is ideally flattering for her and not by following the pack. For most of us, any hairdresser worth their $500 scissors will explain that very long hair makes most faces looked dragged out. And that is aging. Here a few examples: Maria Shriver, an accomplished journalist and documentarian, wears her hair well past her shoulders, layered and big. Maybe this a post-feminist statement because she is far too smart to want to look like a Barbie doll. She would look younger and groovier if she cut off about 7 inches. Kathy Lee Gifford has multi-layered, too-long hair that is very Barbie (or bimbo?- I'm just saying). I watched her the other morning and imagined how with a trim of 5 inches or more she would look a good 5 years younger, chicer and all around more plugged-in to anything resembling current style. Notice her co-host Hoda Kotb's simple and modern-looking ( and more youthful) hair style.
So ladies, is it time for a haircut? The number one way to spruce up for spring - before you buy any piece of clothing or even a new lipstick - is to re-think your hair.
Comments
s. says... Terrific! Thanks so much for the thoughtful response. I loved Gwyneth's hair when she cut it but, if you've noticed, she's grown it out lately to... yes... shoulder-length. *sigh*
cassandra Cavanaugh says... Maybe I'm dim, but what is the difference between shoulder length and collarbone? This is a real issue as I must fall in this category, somewhere.
Oh, and style note of another sort: it's "care a *whit,*" not *wit* (of which you have plenty).
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