Hair Apparent

Charlize Theron looking every inch the star

Thank you, Charlize Theron, for reminding me why I love short hair and Why It's Worth It. "Ha! (I can hear you now) Short hair is trouble?" Well, let me tell you, like the San Francisco earthquake, the further you are from your last haircut, the closer you are to the next. Should you dare go beyond the limit that your hair takes to grow, you will find your head under a baseball cap, beret or sombrero.

Don't think every hair grows at the same rate either. What starts out evenly all the way around ends up in tufts like a cut-rate chia pet. Short-haired gals are delusional in thinking they can nip away at their heads. "How hard could it be? My stylist makes it look so easy!" Conclusion: small scissors should not be allowed in the homes of the pixie cropped.

Speaking of stylists, if you haven't had to, searching for someone who A) will cut it as short as you want, B) understands how to cut short hair and C) doesn't charge an arm and a leg is quite the quest. I followed Tony from borough to borough all over New York City as I was convinced only he could cut my hair, all the while listening to his tales of woe. When he disappeared for good I went to a Celebrity Stylist to the Stars (at least I once saw Lauren Bacall in his salon) and even my local neighborhood barber (a pretty good cut for $12).

A Shortened History of Short Hair

Zizi Jeanmaire

Zizi Jeanmaire is a French ballet dancer (and widow of choreographer Roland Petit). She rose to prominence in the early 1950s after appearing as the title character in a ballet of Carmen. Her post-war pixie was the first I remember seeing. It struck me then—as now— as being Essentialy French. Zizi is 88 today. I wonder if she still has the haircut.

 La Audrey

Audrey Hepburn is thought of as the Uber Gamine, but in reality she wore her hair short for only a short time (and it wasn't even that short). From "Roman Holiday" in 1953 to "Ondine" on Broadway to "Sabrina" then back short in 1967 for "Two for the Road".

Jean Seberg

Discovered on a talent search by Otto Preminger, Jean had her locks shorn for his film "Saint Joan". The film wasn't a great success, but the haircut was. She kept it for "Breathless" and "Bonjour Tristesse". Jean Seberg's life was not a happy one. I read whenever she felt she needed a boost, she cut her hair back to the chopped crop of happier times.

Twiggy

Twiggy's haircut embodied the spirit of the '60s "Dolly Bird"— childlike, a little androgynous and gloriously free. No one pulled it off as well as she did, of course, except maybe...

Mia Farrow

The story goes that Mia didn't tell her new husband Frank Sinatra that she was going to cut her hair for "Rosemary's Baby". When he saw it he was not pleased, and the marriage ended soon after.

Charlize in a previous short look

This is not the first time Charlize Theron has gone short. That may have been about ten years ago, according to the clippings in my bulging file of Memorable Short Hair. We'll see how long she keeps it going (or keeps it cut). Both then and now part of the look is the great play of light and dark that her roots give the cut. Another shout-out to Charlize right there.

I met my now and forever stylist, Faye, in a bank. That is to say, I admired the hair on one of her clients who was also banking. I won't have to tell her I want my hair to look like Charlize Theron's because it does already. I may have to tell Charlize that— if she needs one— I have a great stylist for her.