Well, the economy is officially in the tanker, it takes $43 to fill up my car, the dog had $400 in vet bills last month and my new man is eating me out of house and home. All of which is to say that I no longer purchase beauty magazines but I do try to spend quality time with them at the supermarket check-out so that I can give you, my darling readers, the LATEST. Well, the LATEST is that Glamour or Allure fashion editors apparently think that little 1980’s style braids are back in fashion.
Here’s former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell wearing one (and a blindingly ugly frock, too, but who’s looking at the frock!!? Miss Halliwell is NOT the modest type, pigeons!)
I’m not sure about this braid business. For one thing, it’s just too hippie-dippie, and unless you’re officiating at some Age of Aquarius ritual, I wouldn’t go there. Look how silly it looks on Gerri, with her bombshell dress and silly Marilyn Monroe white fox throw. She’d have done much better with a flowy Missoni boho dress; the gypsy hair would have gone quite well with that. There’s also the uncomfortable possibility that, if you don’t make that braid thin enough, someone might start calling you Heidi and ask you to milk the goats. Or start humming the Swiss Miss theme, if there is one.
I would avoid this look. If you’ve been wearing a braid this way, try a gentle twist fastened on the bottom with a tiny elastic. Far more adult and still adds some interesting texture.
And while we’re on the subject of misbegotten hair trends: please, Goddess, PLEASE… NO PINK, PURPLE, ORANGE OR BLUE swatches of hair. That is SO over. It was so over in 1997, they heyday of Manic Panic. Furthermore, you’re the minister now. You don’t need attention that badly.
Heidi Klum is one of the few blonde public figures I’ve seen be able to pull off the braided look. Maybe it’s because her name is Heidi? LOL
I have deep pink hair. But hey, I’m just the minister’s spouse. 😉 Plus the pink hair predates the founding of this congregation … at this point, if I switched to a “natural” hair color, I think the congregation would beat a path to our door demanding to know whether I were ill or crazy!!
Mind you – it is NOT Manic Panic.
Really? No braids? No “hippie dippie attire”? I’m of the school that one must develop one’s own personal style. This does not mean layering on as many attention-grabbing elements of bizarro-world garb as possible. For me though, it means throwing a bit of personality into the mix in order to be more comfortable, authentic, and human. So, I might wear a suit to a wedding, but I’ll put a flower in my hair. I might have a conservative (ish) haircut, but if you look closely you can see some cranberry-colored strands peaking through. I might wear a wintry long dress and stockings, but I can’t help but top off the outfit with some clunky lace-up boots. Since religion is often falsely perceived to be a blind following of rules, I feel personally responsible as a minister to take some of the emphasis away from rule-following. Essentially, relating to God has much in common with getting dressed in the morning. There is much more freedom when we can see past the “oughts” and “shoulds” and into the image of God found in ourselves and others.
[Mary Allison, I’m loving on you! This is the kind of thoughtful retort that we love to get at BTFM to balance the hammer of PeaceBang. Yes, yes, yes! It’s all about balance, letting the individual peek through, having fun with it, mixing it up. I bet you have a wicked sense of style, and rock ON. – PB]
I’m loving your blog!
Mary Allison