Friday, March 30, 2012

Hybrids, Hair and Hope - Part II: Hair

Continued from Part I

If you pay attention to what people are posting on Pinterest, you can't help but start to notice what's trending.  From entertaining ideas to home decorating to recipes to shoe styles, people are pinning what they think is cool and before long you're realizing that it's all the rage to do your kid's next birthday party in rainbow colors.

So that's how I noticed that a retro-classic concept in hair design is making its return:  the braid is back.  The last time I remember it being cool to braid your hair (off the volleyball courts and softball fields) was in the 80's, I think.  With nary a French braid on the radar, today's braided styles are all about creativity (the one in the picture is called a waterfall) and range from the cute to the sophisticated (think of braided up-dos for brides).   I even managed to find a style that was age-appropriate for me and rocked it to work last week.  Fun!

A website I saw was showcasing "Hunger Games inspired styles" and it showed lots of braided hair.  I also noticed that some of the female characters on my favorte HBO series, "Game of Thrones", are wearing braids.  I'm not so sure, though, that Hollywood is altogether responsible for the rebirth of this trend.  I got thinking about it after reading an article on AOL's Daily Finance page:  The Hair Index: What Your Cut Says About the Economy  (the slideshow at the end of the article is a hoot!).  It raised a question for me:  is our fashion influenced by the country's economic health?

Now, hearing someone in Washington say America's fiscal fitness is on the uptick doesn't exactly boost my confidence in my own financial stability .  It's still expensive to stock my fridge every week (let's not even mention filling up the gas tank!), and I still have enough "what-ifs" in the back of my mind that I can't do much "discretionary" spending without feeling guilty.   I'm going out on a limb and guessing that most people I know and most people they know feel the same way. 

And what do we do when we're feeling miserly?  We cut back and find ways to make do.  Have you noticed the increasing popularity in the concept of repurposing?  Folks are finding ways to put their old items to new uses instead of buying new.   It's the definition of making do.  Braiding is like repurposing for hair:  you've already got the materials, you get something new and fresh and it costs you nothing! 

 It's just a theory.  Maybe the big braid revival wasn't a product of our frugality, but I'm thinking the fact that we latched onto it might very well be.  (Continued in Part III)

1 comment:

  1. I've been braiding my hair recently too. The last time I did was in 8th grade in 1981:) Kris

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