Thursday, October 21, 2010

TREND ALERT #001: Pastel and Ombre Hair

This ain't your manic-panic 'do from high school.  I'm talking about the colored hair trends that have been prevalent on the runways, style blogs, and fashion mags of Spring/Fall 2010.
Turquoise and platinum ombre hair.
Ombré, from the French ombrer meaning "to shade," is a dip-dye effect given to fabric (or hair!) in which the color is graduated from light to dark.  In the past months I myself made a leap of faith and jumped aboard the grunge/pastel hair color train.  In fact, I am currently redying my hair a shade of Manic Panic's Bad Boy Blue as I type this post.  I had been coveting the girls of the Proenza Schouler S/S 2010, Scalpture.com, or the I<3Fake Magazine's #17 Grunge Issue.
Being a platinum blonde was extreme and fun but got to be a bit boring since it had been my style for the past 4 years.  I basically had the same 'do as drivers license from when I turned 21.  Not to mention with the economy and my freelancing income I couldn't afford the bi-monthly salon cost upkeep.

Because of the vigorous trend hunting I do as a designer, I have been seeing many editorial fashion shoots sporting models with brightly dyed hair in odd hues, brightly tipped ends, or faded pastels with waaaay overgrown roots. Such as these links from Refinery29.

Refinery29: Hot New Hair Trend: Ombre Color, Rad Or Bad?
Refinery29: Hot New Hair Trend: Ombre Color, Rad Or Bad?

Refinery29: Hair Trend: Go Rainbow Bright With Colorful DIY Streaks
Refinery29: Hair Trend: Go Rainbow Bright With Colorful DIY Streaks
Around this time Scott Pilgrim advertisements were being blasted everywhere.  Every boy's dream girl Ramona Flowers sports brightly hued hair throughout the comic and seeing the character live in her hair glory made me itch to get some colors back in my hair.  The turning point was reading an interview with blue-haired Japanese model/DJ/stylist Mademoiselle Yulia where she "described her blue hair as her manicure' in which she dyes herself every two weeks."

Ramona Flowers, every geek + gamer's dream girl.
Mademoiselle Yulia
Perfect!  With the mindset of refreshing your hair and treating it like a bi-weekly manicure gave me the motivation I needed.  Besides, the whole before mentioned pastel punk hues and grunge roots are totally acceptable in fashion editorial standards these days. You could say it's cutting hype.  Also it is super easy to do and even upkeep if you have basic knowledge of hair care and the patience and motivation to upkeep the colored look.  In my next posts I will post my personal styling tips and share links to blogs that give optimal advice to make that colored hair last longer.

Here are some inspirational ombre, brights, and pasteled hued photos that inspired me! (Click through images to go to their source pages!)


S/S 2010 Proenza Schouler
S/S 2010 Proenza Schouler



Lady Gaga look #1 @MTV 2010 VMAS
Sophia by Scalpture
KATIE SHILLINGFORD - Style Editor for Dazed & Confused Magazine

No comments:

Post a Comment