Tips

 

St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)

August 11, 2007

The bob is back: new style is a twist on the classic

Author: WRITTEN BY SARAH CASEY NEWMAN - PD

Edition: Third Edition
Section: Lifestyle
Page: 32

Index Terms:
LIFESTYLE;FASHION

Estimated printed pages: 3

Article Text:

 

It's time for some straight talk about those long locks you've been loving all summer. You can keep wearing them on into fall if you want. But if you're into more cutting-edge coifs, you need to make your long-hair story short.

Think of it as bobbing for compliments.

According to local trend-setting stylists, the bob is coming back. And in a big way.

Not that it ever went completely away. Which makes sense, considering that traditional bobs "look good on about 99 percent of women," according to Denny Fiske of Lemon Spalon, 322 North Euclid Avenue in the Central West End.

 

The new bobs are as traditional as Thanksgiving tuna. Bill Alliston of Salon Rouge at 2017 Chouteau Avenue in St. Louis describes them as a variation on the sharp, geometric bobs introduced by Vidal Sassoon in the '60s, but with a more layered, fringed look.

 

"Sometimes they're short, short, short underneath and long in front," Alliston says. Sometimes you can comb them to one side and have a conventional bob, then comb them the other way and have a more punk look.

 

Natalie Winbigler at Scandals Day Spa, 4455 Telegraph Road in south St. Louis County, says the bob of the moment belongs to Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham. Beckham is "a big hair icon right now," she said, and people are going to be copying her look: short and stacked in back, long bangs in front.

 

Katie Holmes, Jenny McCarthy and Nicole Richie have also been seen bobbing around Hollywood.

 

Inverted bobs, textured bobs, traditional bobs ... all bobs are coming on strong, says Steven Lacy at Christopher Stevens, The Salon, 2020 Washington Avenue.

This is true for all women, regardless of their ethnic background, he says. Consequently, for women with a lot of natural curl, chemical relaxers will continue to be one of the mane attractions.

 

So will flat irons and products to protect hair from the heat.

So will extensions, which can be used to add thickness, not just length, Fiske noted.

Like the other stylists we spoke with, Lacy has clients who will refuse to make the cut.

Luckily, long locks will still shine for fall - if they're stunningly shiny and silky and have a lot of body and motion. And if their stick-straight look relaxes into something a little softer, like some '40s-inspired waves.

 

As for color: Trendy blondes can have fun with extremely pale, boldly bright or multidimensional locks. Chic women of color will opt for light, warm shades of brown to brighten their tresses. But only the edgiest, most fun-loving fashion follower will have patches of Cardinal red or Barney purple painted beneath the fringe on the back of their bob.

more