Do you think your hairstyle defines you?

Don't get me wrong. I love long hair. In fact, I love long hair on both men and women. I have had long hair before. As a child I had long hair that my mother used to braid daily. I would sit in front of the TV watching Tom & Jerry while she perfectly created two long French braids on either side of my head. Although, I love my mother, I hated this moment. It hurt when she brushed out my hair. It hurt when she was braiding because she would make then so perfectly tight that I could feel my eyes pulling back. She is a perfectionist and wanted her little girl to look nice not have messy hair! Which I appreciated. However, I couldn't wait for my hair doing time to be over with so I could go play. The hair washing, the brushing, the combing, the styling was not something I enjoyed, but I did appreciate looking nice. As I got older I actually began to enjoy styling my hair. I loved going to my stylist and having her color, curl, straighten, etc. I wanted a new hair cut every time I went. I felt as though my hair really told the story of who I was. A blunt bob meant I was edgy and modern. A long head of dirty blonde curls meant I was feminine and romantic. You get the idea. To this day I still feel that my hair tells a story about who I am. So now that I have decided to go pixy short again, (this is not the first time my hair has been short...) are you wondering who I am? Here it is: I am smart, feminine, romantic, edgy, modern, classic, simplistic, playful, serious, happy-go-lucky, busy, balanced, loving, and loved. There may be more adjectives that I am leaving out. My point is that I have learned that your hair doesn't really define who you are. People will always make judgements about your appearance, and that is okay. It's a human quality that we just cannot avoid. My husband adores my hair short. He says it's cute. I told him that I appreciate being cute, but I want to be sexy too. He of course said that he thinks I am the sexiest woman alive. (I'm glad he said that;) But then he asked, "Why do you suppose that a lot of men prefer long hair on women over short hair?" I pondered that question for a second. My answer was that a lot of men feel more masculine when they are with a women with long hair. I think that they think that the length of their hair differentiates them from the opposite sex. I personally believe that it takes a pretty strong minded man to love a short haired girl. In other words, a man who knows who he is and is comfortable with who he is, is a real man in my world. Also, a man who realizes that a woman is still a woman no matter what her hair style is top of my list of hotties. I am describing my husband, in case you didn't realize...

On another note about why I am choosing short hair right now in my life; I know several women who have lost their hair to chemo treatments. These women are not only some of the most stylish women that I know, but they are also smart, feminine, romantic, edgy, modern, classic, simplistic, playful, serious, happy-go-lucky, busy, balanced, loving, and loved. And they never lost any of those characteristics while undergoing their cancer treatments. I also know some women who simply don't have a great thick head of hair and have chosen short hair instead of trying to fight it with hair implants, wigs, etc. These women are stunning fashion icons! And their hair has nothing to do with it. Some women wear scarves on their heads which to me is super high fashion. I bet most of you wouldn't be able to pull that off fearing that people might think you are bald underneath that headscarf even though you're not. And if you are, so what!

Fashion is a funny thing. It's difficult to understand. And if you are trying to understand it, you better just stop. Fashion is like art. You will always see something in a work of art that others will not. You also may not notice something that others do. You may see something in a work of art that the artist who made it never intended for you to see! Art is personal. Fashion is personal. But it shouldn't be taken so seriously. Be yourself. Cut your hair. Grow your hair. Dress in pieces that make you feel alive. Leave the judgement up to everyone else and allow yourself to lose control. Feel the freedom of fashion!

{Just for fun I have posted a few photos of some of my past hairstyles.}