This is Beth. Celebrating.
Exhibit opening 2012:
(That’s me on the left.)
Exhibit opening 2013:
(That’s Liz on the right, me next to her sporting a spiky version of this month’s do.)
What strikes me (besides dramatic do change): how fortunate I am to work on projects like these, with fabulous people.
This is Beth. With this month’s do – the Pompadour.
1. Inspired by pomp – Presley and plenty of pop:
2. Music (what happened to be playing at the salon during the doing of the do)—All over the place. But, included We Are Young by Fun. with Jenelle Monae. Also When I Was Your Man by Bruno Mars. And Crimson and Clover but I don’t even remember what version.
3. Drink (what I sipped at the salon during the doing of the do)—Had trouble deciding again, so settled on what happened to sound good: bold and spicy bloody mary with a pickle (particularly good since I forgot to eat lunch).
4. The Theory—Look at the photos above, kinda all over the place with a healthy dose of glam. I need to do some research. Meanwhile, a few more pics – Madame, Greaser, Rockabilly:
The definition: a hairstyle in which the hair is combed up from the forehead without a part.
5. Reactions—So far, sushi pal said she liked it and her daughter said “Pink” when she saw a pic. Yes. Oh, and the babes didn’t react.
P.S. Title song – Raise Your Glass by P!nk (Slam slam oh hot damn)
This is Beth. Reporting on Mohawk Month. I liked it. Others seemed to like it too. After the first day of feeling a little self-conscious on the elementary school playground, I settled in and enjoyed it.
At the bar:
At the ball:
With a bow:
Boring, down:
It grew out a bit and I played just a little with styling. At the beginning of the month:
Toward the end of the month:
And, the result of wearing a Little Cat B (cat-in-the-hat) hat on Halloween:
Comments:
From the girl-child the first day – “It needs to be spikier.” And, “Wear a skirt so you don’t look like a boy.”
From people at work – “You look young enough to pull it off.” “Flock of Seagulls.” “It’s the middle finger of haircuts.” “Girl on fire.” “Movie star.” “Billy Idol.”
I got a lot of positive comments about the color. Monica’s an artist.
After riding the elevator up to the dentist’s office with a woman and a teenager I encountered the woman a few minutes later in the bathroom. “I love your hair,” she said, “I didn’t want to say it in front of my son.”
The day I wore it down a friendly mom on the playground accused me of cheating. She was right. The following week she asked me where I work. When I told her she replied, “I knew you had a cool job!” Yes, yes I do – I’m a very lucky girl.
This is Beth. With fabulous links from friends.
From Michelle and Angela: Guys with Fancy Lady Hair
From Kathy: Here’s What Getting a $1,200 Haircut is Like
Sam Grobart writes, “I’m not even going to try to judge [Ted] Gibson’s admittedly wackadoodle price for a haircut. I won’t, because the market already has: Even after raising his price to $1,200 from $950, he still has a two-month waiting list.”
Whoa.
P.S. Grobart’s article includes a link to a Prince video – his look is slightly reminiscent of the guy glam pics above.
This is Beth. With fun facts for straight bob month.
From The New York TImes Magazine July 21, 2013: “But the hairdryer didn’t didn’t seriously take off until the 1920s, which happened to be about the same time that utility companies began sending out salesmen with irons and toasters and hotplates, trying to push daytime consumer appliances to even out residential use, which was heavier in the evenings. It was also around the same time the bob came into vogue.”
The result – people (women) started washing their hair way more frequently. Slaves to electricity, to our appliances.
“Having clean, shiny, fluffy hair – that’s a 20th-century thing.”
P.S. Thanks Michelle!
This is Beth. Getting a jump start on July.
1. The do—Curly Bob.
Inspired by carefree-looking, fun-having, slightly-smirky free spirits:
Not sure why they’re all blond; mine will stay the same medium-to-getting-lighter brown for now.
2. Music (what was playing at the salon during the doing of the do)—Note: music plays all the time at Bang, I don’t get to pick do-appropriate songs. The solon bustled this week; I only noticed one song (playing when Monica switched off the blow dryer): Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror. All about more-then-hair change. Nice, relevant. “Make that change.”
3. Drink (what I sipped at the salon during the doing of the do)—Note: I do get to choose the do-appropriate drink. This time, gin and tonic. Classic, refreshing summer drink.
4. The Theory—The Curly Bob: it’s a little bit shorter, a little bit less labor intensive. A little bit boring in our anything-goes hair culture?
According to Wikipedia, a bob is “a short haircut…in which the hair is typically cut straight around the head at about jaw-level, often with a fringe (or ‘bangs’) at the front.” From dailymakeover.com: “This classic short hairstyle is low maintenance, high style and flattering to every face shape. Many versions can go from straight and smooth to curly and tousled.”
Fun, easy, happy, perfect for summer, perfect for vacation. We’ll see if I can keep the mood light and relaxed to go with the hair.
5. Reactions—This month they’ll be international. We’ll see.
P.S. Music Links:
Title song Curli Hair by Hawkeye and Hoe from He’s Got the Whole World in his Slacks. Careful, it’s a catchy one. From their website: “Hawkeye and Hoe are an English duo playing good time country, bluegrass, rockabilly, farmer folk, skiffle, rock n roll, pub polka, irish, cajun, folk roots and what they like to call ‘BEER DRINKING MUSIC.'”
and
This is Beth. With reactions to the “mullet.” It didn’t come across as a mullet. I couldn’t tell if folks were more disappointed that I tried to do a mullet or that I failed.
The first pic I posted on facebook met with “pretty!” responses.
May have confirmed the stereotype: long hair = pretty.
These pics were deemed slightly more mullet-like:
The jean jacket (with changingthelocks.com comb in the pocket) helped.
The best reaction was the friend at work who busted out in a full belly laugh when she saw me, more then once. Comments included, “You going to play hockey after work?” A coworker asked, “Did Beth get extensions?” Huh… No, clinical study. At book group I got, “It looks normal from the front.” Well, it is business in the front… I turned around to reveal the party in the back, everyone laughed, we toasted, and proceeded to party like only book group can.
Many people wanted to touch the extra-long hair.
But the lack of reaction is what surprised me the most. Really, the hair looked ridiculous, no blending from the shorter layers and freakishly long. No one who didn’t already know about the little hair/blog project asked about it.
Alas, I continued wearing the (clip-in) extensions meant to approximate a mullet. Just as Liz couldn’t undo her duo-chrome do (even in the face of portrait taking for work), I had to see the month through. Okay, okay, I took weekends off. And luckily it’s a short month for me as I must get the new do done before leaving town.
P.S. Comb of the month pic, a new shipment:
P.S.S. The post headline comes from the movie Wreck it Ralph: Sarah Silverman as Vanellope von Schweetz asks John C. Reilly’s Wreck-It, “Why are your hands so freakishly big?“
This is Beth. And it’s finally here… June.
1. The Do—Mullet.
Inspired by, sigh, a few classics:
And Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett (with mullet, not shag):
2. Music (what was playing at the salon during the doing of the do)—Note: music plays all the time at Bang, I don’t get to pick do-appropriate songs. This week I didn’t even notice the music with all the hair going on.
3. Drink (what I sipped at the salon during the doing of the do)—Note: I do get to choose the do-appropriate drink. This time, PBR. Liz and Gretchen joined and I think at least one of the talented Bang hair doers had some. Cheers!
4. The Theory—You know what they say: business in the front, party in the back. From ratemymullet.com: “To say that the mullet is a hairstyle barely even scratches the surface of the issue. The mullet is a way of life, it is a state of mind, it is every person who wears it.” From urbandictionary.com: “It is the sign of the redneck.”
5. Reactions—Before I disappoint, I have to admit that my mullet is not that short at the top and sides. Monica did it under protest; with her artistry and the help of extensions, the front-to-back ratio is well proportioned. We’ll see if it reads as a mullet.
P.S. Music links: Title song The Vandals I’ve Got an Ape Drape; and Billy Ray.
This is Beth. And it’s May.
1. The Do—Shag
Inspired by
Art:
Dance::
Film:
Animation:
Music:
But mostly Joan Jett:
And other ’80s rockers:
And a couple other classics:
My shag is a lighter brown than last month’s “Brunette.”
2. Music (what was playing at the salon during the doing of the do)—Note: music plays all the time at Bang, I don’t get to pick do-appropriate songs. I do get to pick the title song for the blog post which I did days ago. Among the diverse assortment of songs that played during the doing of the shag – my girl Joan singing I Love Rock n’ Roll.
3. Drink (what I sipped at the salon during the doing of the do)—Note: I do get to choose the do-appropriate drink. This time, rum and coke. Easy to make, easy to drink. Enjoyed with friends (and a crap ton of foils):
They also brought pizza to share!
4. The Theory—The shag gets to be kinda short and kinda long at the same time (without being a mullet). Variations have come and gone for decades. The Joan Jett version is rockin’ tough. Edgy.
5. Reactions—Jill, Liz and Michelle said they like it. Impressed with Monica’s artistry in particular, I think they agree I may have to work on my edginess.
P.S. Title song: Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, I Love Rock n’ Roll
This is Beth. At the begining of April I posted the five elements of my “brunette” do, including several sweet-looking brown-haired celebrity inspirations – trying to capture the “girl next door” element of the streotype. Here’s the same set of celeb pics paired with steamy, sultry poses for contrast:
(Okay, she’s really a blond)
And – my all-time favorite:
P.S.
Changing the Locks 