Spectacle: The bigger the hair, the closer to God
Posted on 08. Apr, 2010 by Avril in fashion, spectacle, Uncategorized
Eat your heart out, "Snooki"
Today’s soggy downpour reminds me that spring is finally upon us. And since ’tis the season for resurrection, I, too, have chosen this moment to return from the dead. (Alas, sans the worldwide feasts and fanfare, but(!) just in time for marked down Easter chocolate).
It’s an interesting time to be back. A little uncomfortably like a scene out of Hot Tub Time Machine, perhaps, but I can gladly overlook leg warmers and shiny, high-waisted leggings that litter the streets of downtown Toronto, if only the current style climate also allows for a return to glorious, big hair.
I might be a little biased. My big hair came built into a set of genes I’ve been fighting– and losing– since the early 90′s.
But there’s just something irresistibly sexy about soft, bouncy– yes, “flirty” hair. Irresistible and, to some, a vaguely guilty pleasure.
For some women, those in professional fields in particular, the painstaking effort it takes to blow dry, tease, and spray, feels like a frivolous waste of valuable time. Like a throwback to the days of black and white TV, where female leads were perfectly coiffed by simple virtue of having nothing else to do all day.
Sounds like a stretch, but I can easily attest to co-workers being viewed through a skeptical lens by others who assume that pretty hair is an attractive lid for an empty head.
The U.S. Secretary of State wears her hair high
Look at Hillary Clinton. The second she so much as tries some volume in her life, any and all serious conversation about her political agenda swiftly pivots to, “Do you think she’s wearing a Bumpit? She’s totally wearing one!”
Well, frankly, I like it. Maybe not so much the exact look pictured on the U.S. Secretary of State, but I give her points for at least trying to break out of the standby power suit/bob combo that’s proven so efficient, it also waters her lawn and walks her dog in the morning.
Somewhere along the line, climbing the corporate ladder in any non-creative field, has meant jettisoning all things fun and/or remotely indicative of a latent sexuality. And that’s crap.
I digress, though. Big hair has gotten a bad rap thanks to the Deep South’s fierce endorsement and an entire generation’s worth of shudder-inducing 80′s prom pics.
Lose the heavy makeup, though, and swap the skin-tight threads for something more low-key, and free-flowing locks are a welcome change from the from the pin-straight looks that has kept the smell of burnt hair wafting from windows across North America. Just don’t take your style cue from Jersey Shore‘s Nicole Polizzi.
Flat-iron addicts, you can take heart: androgynous, ambiguous styling will always have its place. (Look no further than the runways at Thakoon’s Spring 2010 collection, or your next local Anime convention).
But, at the moment, big happens to be beautiful. So dial up the Gretchen Wieners; there’s a reason everyone wanted to be a Mean Girl.
Jef
Apr 9th, 2010
!And now I know what a Bumpit is.