As I was musing in my last post, you never know when your
hair styling skills may turn up all over television and the Internet. Suddenly everyone’s interested in the backstory behind vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s updo. Palin’s hairdresser,
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Jessica Steele, told the New York Times that Palin is “very involved with her look and how she’s perceived.”
When her newly famous client ran for governor, Steele’s challenge was to craft a look that communicated a tricky message: yes, this woman is attractive, and she’s also very intelligent so you should take her seriously and listen to what she has to say. At the time, she wore her long hair down. Steele told the Times, “Sarah wanted to look more professional...and not come across as high maintenance and fussy.” As Palin sat in Steele’s chair, the hairdresser and client played with full and sideswept fringe, curlier coifs, straighter looks and hair ornaments, according to the article. They considered highlights ranging from blonde to warm red to copper. They settled on the current reddish ponytail updo, with the bangs changing depending on the year.
One advantage of the style is to give Palin a little more height. But does it make Americans take her more seriously? Steele told the Times that people reacted totally differently to Palin with her hair up compared with when it was down. How would you
cut and style Palin’s hair? Make it short, curl it, keep it in a pony? I’m interested in your thoughts.