Friday 1 August 2008

to crop or not to crop


crop

layered short

or chignon elegance?

The battle of my hair has never been a pleasurable one. Often messy (henna) often painful (perms) rarely pretty and never won. As a child having once too often been referred to as 'laddie' I refused to have it cut forever after, eventually my long unruly locks were reined in by two very tight painful bunches. The eldest of three I was always first in line for brushing, my youngest sister got off lightly as all mothers anger and irritation had been expelled into my bunches, so she left with a ponytail. Mothers moods could be measured by the height and tautness of the bunches cinched into two homemade bobble's. As a teenager I entered the world of experimentation, from a Purdey to a perm and DO NOT mention the fringe. I have not one but two cow licks that you could surf home on, nothing will tame them, I would sleep with sellotape in it, gel it, mousse it, spray it, all to no avail. I spent my late teens back combing for Britain trying to get the elusive 'Big Hair' Then Trevor Sorbie paid me to model and so straightened my hair and chopped it into an extreme post punk style. After which I grew it, cut it, grew it, cut it, grew it, cut it. You get the picture.
I have tried layers, a bob, pinned it up, plaited it, straightened it with GDH's and finally almost imperceptibly I gave up and a pony tail became my default setting.
My hair is neither straight, nor curly, just a fine, messy, tangle of erratic waves. No, not cute bed head, just plain flat head. So when the other day I was standing on the platform at London Bridge I noticed a very chic fiftysomething, her clothes were great and the whole thing set off with a wonderful Judi Dench style crop. Should I? Could I?
Then Yesterday I saw an even more uber chic fiftysomething, this time all in black with a thick matt gold rope choker all set off with an awesome steel grey chignon. Should I? Could I?
I suspect my chic crop would look like a teenage boy's bum fluff without copious styling products, plus it would need a hugely expensive stylist to cut it beautifully and often. So the latter will probably win by default, just think of the work out my triceps will get practising, cool hair plus no bingo wings. Win, win.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hair is one of lifes greatest challenges! I'm like you, I've tried it all and never really been happy with any of it. When its long I want it short and when its short I want it long - but the beauty of hair is that it always (well usually) grows back.

indigo16 said...

Oh yes and mine grows like a weed.

Disneyrollergirl.net said...

Okey dokey, as a veteran of short hair may I chip in? I think to carry off an elfin crop a la The Dench, The Seberg or The Hepburn you need to have a petite build or pretty face or fine features. Otherwise you can look too much like a bloke. But crucially it's the cut that everything hinges on - a good cut can compensate for everything else.
What about doing it in stages? You could start with a bob and then a Louise Brooks bob and keep going shorter. Short hair can be low maintenance but then you get to the 6-week point when it's all looking pouffy/wispy and you need a trim - that's when it can be really tiresome. Overgrown short hair looks really shit and if you can't fit in that trim it can make the loveliest outfit look shabby, whereas I think you can get away with it with longer hair, no? On the other hand, short hair does make you stand out as so few women have REALLY short hair.

Disneyrollergirl.net said...

Found this for you:
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/beauty/article4401377.ece