One of my favorite movies is the 1954 version of Sabrina. It’s a beautiful romance only enhanced by crisp black-and-white film and the charm of Audrey Hepburn. Her character, the fledgling Sabrina Fairchild, leaves Long Island to study cooking in Paris and comes back a glamorous woman. But what always bothered me about the movie is what signals the transition: Sabrina cuts off her flowing pony tail. (For the movie buffs, Audrey’s character does the same thing in Roman Holiday). I mean come on! As a high-schooler, I used to groan at the television as the short-haired, sophisticated Sabrina slowly appeared on screen. That’s the only difference?

I wouldn’t realize until I hit college that a haircut really can be life changing.

Before I hit college, the last haircut I had been subjected to was in second grade. I remember it clearly. Tears rolled down my face for the better part of a half hour as my relentless stylist yanked my hair with various combs and burned my neck with the curling iron. After that, I swore off cutting my hair, and for good reason: the pain wasn’t even worth it. Looking back at pictures of my as a little girl, my hair was always atrocious: rounded bobs and long bangs adorned my circular face and what little forehead I had. I must have never felt pretty, because judging by my pictures, I never was.  I decided to keep my scraggly long hair au naturel, thank you very much.

Then, at the age of 18, I moved from the rural Midwest to Boston to go to college and I felt myself transforming from country mouse to city mouse. Just like in all of the fairy tale-esque movies I never believed in, a fashionista took me under her wing and changed my life. She sat behind me in one of my classes and we ended up working together on a lot of projects. One day she looked lovingly at my long hair and mock turtleneck and said, “You have a lot of potential. Let me help you.” We tore up H&M and Anthropologie. The only thing left was my hair. “A bob,” she insisted. “You would look so ’20s hot!” I never did quite get what she ordered. Read More »