I had bangs once. I don’t plan to ever get them again. Not only were they a pain to deal with, styling-wise, but they also looked absolutely horrific when they started growing out. There are about two months of missing photos from the “dark times” when I had to wear a duff puff while my bangs grew out. No one will ever see those pictures. As always, celebrities are pretty good at pulling off pretty much any hairstyle, especially bangs. My question is, do they do their hair every day or are they just naturally, absolutely perfect?

Big mistake. Huge.

So I was flipping through some old Facebook albums the other day (you know the ones people label THROWBACKS! OLDSCHOOL! And OMG WHAT WAS I THINKING!!!! ) when in between fits of hysterical laughter, I started to catch sight of what I actually looked like. And all I can say is, seriously? I mean, seriously? I know I was young and naïve, but I don’t remember being that naïve.

Unstyled hair.
Poorly applied makeup.
And terrible, terrible fashion choices.

But the thing is, I wasn’t alone in these choices. No, they were all the rage once upon a time. Don’t pretend you didn’t think you were so cool with your Victoria’s Secret PINK sweatpants and ponchos (hopefully not worn together). I know you were right there with me, doing the sideways look in the mirror, thinking you looked so good. But really, none of us had any no clue what we were doing. And now years later, as seasoned fashionistas, we can look back on these fashion disasters and laugh.

Or cry. Whichever you prefer, really.

10. The original Ugg Boot. I already know people are going to rage against this one, but Uggs are not attractive. They’re just not. Comfortable? Yes. Warm? Yes. But not attractive. And although they’re still around today, worn on those rainy/snowy/slushy/extra cold days when nothing else seems quite as appropriate, I will forever think of my high school years as the Uggs-with-skirts years. And those are some very bad years.

9. The Messy Bun. Flip your head over. Compile all of your hair into a ball atop your head. Wrap a hair tie around it. Styling complete. It’s still worn today, but at least in college we can admit that it’s not so much attractive as it is convenient…

8. Platform flip flops. They seemed so cool at the time, and added that extra bit of height that we pre-pubescent teens still needed, but really, really, what were we thinking? “God, I really want my leg to look thick and stumpy”? Thank goodness we’ve traded up to four inch stiletto heels that kill our feet, instead.

7. The poofy prom dress. Or the poofy Sweet 16 dress? The poofy bat mitzvah dress? At some point you wore a dress completely covered in tulle. A dress with sparkles and bows. A dress that you loved at the time. It was THE.PERFECT.DRESS. Now? Well, now you look back and try to even find yourself in all that tulle.

6. Velour Sweatsuits. Granted, these things are also still around, but now they’re associated more with The Real Housewives of New Jersey than they are with impressionable, young high school girls. These probably wouldn’t have looked quite so bad if they didn’t come in the most ridiculous colors ever. Or you know, if they didn’t have the word “juicy” stamped across the butt. Oh yes, which reminds me…

5. Label Whoring. Ed Hardy. Victoria’s Secret. VonDutch. Kangol. Coach. Juicy. Anything with any name that could possibly be placed anywhere. Bedazzled. Bejeweled. Painted on. It didn’t matter where it was, or who it was, as long as people recognized it.

4. Side Swept Bangs. I think I was a junior in high school when the side swept bang craze first hit. Suddenly everywhere I looked, half of a girl’s face was covered by her SUPER CHIC looking bangs. That she cut by herself. Right there in homeroom. With a pair of safety scissors. (True story!) It’s really no surprise that senior year saw the rise of the…

3. Headbands. This was pre-Blair Waldorf. At least, it was for me. Inspired more by the boho chic Mischa Barton, and Nicole Richie, these headbands were super thin little straps of fabric that were really very far from flattering. But that didn’t stop anyone from wearing them.

2. Ponchos. Come on ladies, admit it. Once upon a time you threw on a pair of jeans, your favorite tank top and a brightly colored poncho. Probably something crocheted with lots and lots of fake flowers on it. Think Haley James circa season one of One Tree Hill, which also coincided with my freshman year. Because there’s nothing quite as flattering as a maternity top. Except….

1. Midriff-bearing Tops. No, not the currently popular crop top that flows away from the body (That I really like right now but that will no doubt make it on my list of worst college fashion decisions ever…) but the skin tight baby tee, that was paired with super low rise jeans and sported by Britney and the like.

Ah, memories

Fess up. What were your worst high school fashion mistakes?

What’s a girl to do?
Grab your scissors, girls. We’re gonna learn to trim!

A lot of you have asked about how to trim your bangs and I’m going to show you. In this video, I go through how to trim and style swoop bangs. For those looking for a blunt/straight across trim, that might happen in the near future if I get bored with my hair, but for now you can follow the same kind of process I’m doing here.

A little advice: Breathe. It really is easy once you get over the nerves! But seriously, if you were bad with safety scissors as a kid, just go to the salon. Oftentimes if you know your stylist well, they’ll fit you in and give you a little bang trim for free between regular haircuts.

Got something you want me to cover? Post it in the comments below. And don’t forget to check out my other videos right here!

But you don’t have to grow them out to avoid dealing with them! I’ve got three cute, trendy and quick looks to help you conceal that fringe.

Yes, you can have your bangs and hide them too.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my new ‘do -  I feel extra sheek and sassy, a little bohemian, and eyes seem to pop out more than Pamela Anderson’s boobies. But after prancing out of the hair salon, life happened and I was graced with the slightly annoying presence of my new bangs.

If you’re chewing on the idea of taking the fringe plunge, I give you a look into a world of bangs:

12:45 P.M. Now that the rest of my hair has been trimmed and styled, my hairstylist finally comes to the melodramatic point of cutting my bangs. I stop her for a moment, take a deep breath. Once I’m mentally ready, I give a slight nod and she comes at me with the scissors. I watch my life (full of good hair days) flash before my eyes as 4 inches of my former layers flutter away to their final resting place on top of my Ugg boot. I hold the arm rest tighter, trying not to make a scene. I make a mental note to Google image ‘celebs with bangs’ when I got home to make myself feel better about this hasty decision.

1:15 P.M. I play with my new hair a little bit in front of the mirror. I look left. I look right. I look at it from the back. “OK,” I think to myself. “It looks good.” I breathe a sigh of relief. After paying the girl at the front desk and hugging my stylist (“OMG thank you!”) I walk home. And look at my reflection in every reflective material: car windows, mirrors, spoons, phones, computer screens. I don’t look twelve, I don’t resemble Justin Bieber, and I have already forgotten to Google image ‘celebs with bangs.’ Things are looking up.

5:00 P.M. I am standing on the treadmill attempting to put my hair up for a much needed jaunt. I check my reflection in the TV:  I look like an adolescent boy with a bowl cut. It’s creepy, not at all cute, and unfair to all people attempting to have a workout free of silent giggles. I try a headband. Bad move; my bangs stick out the back like a Ricky Martin haircut. That would be fine if I was shaking my bon bon on stage for millions of adoring girls, but I’m not. Now I just look ridiculous.

7:00 P.M. My light workout (I lasted 10 minutes before I got frustrated and gave up) has sent my bangs into an uproar.  The pieces that are not sticking up everywhere are plastered to my forehead; I look like I just ran a marathon with Katie Holmes. It’s awful. “Am I going to have to shower ten times a day to make these puppies look presentable?” I have a mild meltdown in front of my mirror.

9:00 P.M. After much primping (and more priming), I am about ready to hit the town, and my bangs…look…good. Like, really good. Although they are hiding some very serious flat-iron burns on my forehead, I managed to put them together nicely. And they make my basic black top and jeans outfit look way more chic. “Yay bangs!”

10:00 P.M. While lurking around the bar awkwardly, I am stopped by many boys commenting on my bangs. Guys. It was quite the honor; I felt like I needed to give some kind of acceptance speech for being so awesome.  When was the last time men commented on anything besides my French Maid costume?  Yeah, they definitely went south once the dancing started (and by “south” I mean “wet, wavy and stuck to my face”), but I had a few emergency bobby pins on hand to fix the problem.

Despite the ups and downs (and one wasted trip to the treadmill), I say bangs are definitely a do. They won’t be easy, but they will definitely be worth it.

Besides, good or bad, you can always grow those suckers out.

The Golden Globes are coming, which means the hottest of the hottest will be strutting their bad selves down the Red Carpet to talk to Ryan Seacrest and look damn fine doin’ it. And I’ll be sitting there, laptop in hand, taking notes – the kind I should be taking in class – on what everyone is wearing.

Honestly, award show red carpets are my heaven. I tune in just to see what everyone’s wearing, then tune out before the actual award show even starts. I just get so inspired by what I see on my favorite celebs and can’t wait to get a little bit of that beauty for myself. Before I know it, I’m sitting in my salon as my hair stylist is cutting me a fresh set of bangs.

And then reality sets in and I realize that red carpet styles rarely survive in real life settings. Yep, there is a reason a red carpet is not rolled out for me on my way to my Communication Studies class.

Bangs:

Red Carpet: They are cute, chic, and, like a magical power, turn every celebrity into an edgy and sassy beauty queen. Sure, the last time I had bangs was in my 3rd grade school picture (when my mom splurged to get me the laser background!), but they’re back and fabulous, so how can I resist?

Real Life: OK, bangs look great for a few hours on a red carpet, but not so much after a shower or a date with the treadmill. You have pretty much 3 minutes post-shower to get those little guys in place before you’ve got yourself a one-way-ticket to Wavy Town. And forget about rockin’ the fringe at the club.  A little perspiration and – boom – you look like that weird kid who never showered that sat in the back of your classroom sniffing White-out in high school. Soon you’re scouring the aisles at Target for cute clips and headbands to get those things out of your face.

Rompers

Red Carpet: They look so sporty and stylish on those young celebs with their perfect legs and sky-high heels.  And they are so versatile! The young and fabulous work them on the red carpet, the beach, and grocery shopping.  There’s nothing I like more than mixing it up.

Real Life: Have you ever tried wearing a romper to the bathroom? It’s like a bad party you didn’t want to be invited to. Do you mean I really have to take next to the entire outfit off to take a leak? And it’s not much better in the outside world, either. A one-piece shorts ensemble is not cute when your thighs rub together and start pushing those puppies up to your happy place. No thank you.

Strapless

Red Carpet: The strapless gown is a Hollywood classic. Celebs look elegant, sexy and chic walking the carpet in a sweetheart neckline, which also happens to be the perfect canvass for that blinging diamond jewelry.

Real Life: Yeah, everyone looks stunning in strapless…. but its hard to feel that way when you spend half your night tugging at the top to avoid a serious wardrobe malfunction. Then you pull it too high so you yank at the bottom. Then it starts to fall and you grab at the top. Then the bottom. Then the top. Then you start feeling the pinch of that awful strapless bra you’ve got on underneath. It’s not pretty. At all.

Super High Heels

Red Carpet: The red carpet dresses may be gorge, but it’s the shoes that always make the outfit. The taller the better when it comes to the carpet; there is just something so much more fabulous about a woman in a tall pair of heels. I drool over the red bottoms, how long and lean they make everyone’s legs look, the embellishments on the front…. Sigh. I could just do a little dance.

Real Life: But don’t try doing the little dance while actually wearing them. These things are lethal for walking purposes, and your feet haven’t hurt this bad since the day your mom strapped them in a pair of jelly shoes that were far too tight. Seriously, I bet those Hollywood A-Listers kick those $1000 bastards off their feet as soon as they hit their seats…then subconsciously pray they don’t win so they don’t have to put them back on.

Thigh High Boots

Red Carpet: Who doesn’t love how hot Kim Kardashian looks in a pair of over-the-knee boots? She’s like a sexy, real life Cat Woman. Meow.

Real Life: Obviously, Cat Woman didn’t need to worry about pairing those hot leather boots with jeans. Us real ladies can barely shove our jeans into those things without getting all bunchy and gross,  and if you finally succeed, they are always a slouchy disappointment.

Everyone wants a little Hollywood glamor in their own lives, but maybe it’s time we all take what we see on the red carpet with a grain of salt. Or find ourselves a way to afford a team of stylists to keep everything in place and designer goods made just for our bodies.

And now you don’t have to have Amber to get her bangs.  I’ll show you how to get that perfect Nike style swoosh that grazes your forehead perfectly.

Mmmm. Man bangs.

Who else can rock those sexy, wispy (but gotta be annoying ) bangs better than Zac Efron and Chase Crawford do? Or did, for that matter, because it looks like the two have chopped off their luxurious trademark locks that us ladies have been going gaga over since the first time we saw them fall into the eyes of Hollywood’s hottest hunks.

The way those strands fell on their forehead, framing their flawless faces of perfection made us wonder what was hiding behind them. Would we be able to handle the sexiness that would come with Zac and Chase exposing another 1/3rd of their faces? Was there more hotness backthere to be exposed?

Okay, so maybe they were getting a tad bit outta control, but a trim would have been just fine. Did they really need to get rid of the bangs completely?

What drove these mad men to do such a thing? Zac and Chase with no bangs is like Lil Wayne with no dreads…it’s just not right. Are they going for a new clean cut look, a new vibe? Or do they just want to flaunt their blazin blue eyes in which every girl is swimming? Why, God, WHY?!

What do you think about the new ‘do? Or should I say don’t?

[Ever see something you want but don’t have the money to buy? Ever get sick of studying/watching TV and have the urge to get crafty and make things on your own? We know! Us too! We just don’t know where to start, which is why we got some of CollegeCandy’s craftiest writers to share their favorite DIY projects with everyone. These things are easy, fun and a great way to save some serious cashola.]

I was always a bangs girl. And by always I mean long after it was socially acceptable to have them. I even remember the monumental day when I finally listened to my stylist and grew those bad boys out. Too bad it was like 3 months before they started showing up in fashion magazines as the new “it” hairstyle.

Now bangs are everywhere and they add so much fierceness that I just have to have them back. And I can do it…all by myself.

Cutting your own bangs seems totally scary, but if you are careful and do it right, you can have a salon look without paying the salon price. So, grab some scissors, get in front of the mirror and get chopping.

Tools:
Shears (Do not use whatever scissors you have lying around the house – those will most definitely leave you with some seriously botched bangs. Invest in a pair of hair shears for a precise cut.)
Mirror
Hair clips
A good friend for moral support

Snip Snip:
1. Make sure your hair is dry and styled how you normally wear it. If your hair is wet it will be weighed down and you will cut off more than you mean to!

2. Gather the hair in the front that you’d like to cut into bangs. This can be as thick or thin as you want. Pull back the rest of your hair and secure it in hair clips so as not to accidentally cut something you shouldn’t.

3. Comb the bangs down in the front so everything is where it should be.

4. Grab the to-be-bangs between your index and middle finger and pull down lightly, holding them away from your face.

5. Take your scissors and, pointing them up, trim in upward snips. (Do not cut straight across! That will leave you with a very unflattering straight line. By snipping upwards, you will have more texture to the bangs and they will look less severe).

6. Make your way across and check your progress. If they are too long, repeat step 5, taking off very little length. Repeat as necessary until your bangs are at the desired length.

Remember to keep those hands steady. You don’t want to end up lookin’ like this. Also, it’s better to snip too little than to hack too much, so take your time. I did and I’m super happy with the chic and fabulous results.

Miley’s not dead!!! YAY!

Brad Pitt channeling Charlie Chaplin!

Men are taking advantage of Paris Hilton!

What’s the right bang?

What’s gonna change now that change has come?

Baby Simpson-Wentz tricks Mommy!

Wanna roll in the benjamins? Don’t become a professor!

Shampoo gone bad? It’s still useful…

The world’s youngest king…

…and hottest Prime Minister

Man eaten alive by tigers…yikes!

Jamie-Lynn Sigler hearts Turtle? Yes, it’s true.

How sick are you of Billy Mays?