I'm a little down this month.  Why?  Well, I had gotten my hopes up that I was going to be able to share some very cool news with you about the growing fame (for lack of a better word) of the column, but had them dashed at the last minute.  Sure, I've been linked to from the fashion sections of About.com and WildWeb (Impressed yet?  Didn't think so), but this was even bigger. It may still pan out, so stay tuned.  Same Flea Time, Same Flea Channel.

Anyway, enough about my petty problems (I say as if you actually care), and on to this month's goodies.  For the first time since moving to The Hair Boutique, I've included a Fleature.  It's the new edition of my "Best Hair on TV" list.  What constitutes the "best" hair?  Well, it's not always the hairstyle, though sometimes it is ENTIRELY the hairstyle.  What the heck does that mean?  Check out the Fleature and find out.

But, before you jump all the way over there, why not start with...

UPDATE: The only update this month concerns the lovely SELA WARD who, I reported last month, has let her hair grow out quite a bit.  I ran across a promotional photo of her for her new series on ABC this fall, "Once and Again", that shows a fairly decent indication of the amount of growth.  As you can see, she's wearing it much straighter with less volume than in the past and at a length that is well below her shoulders.

Then	Now

FLEA'S CALL:  In my opinion (which is what you're reading this for in the first place, isn't it?), Sela's hair looks better when it's fuller.  Though she has the facial features to wear any length (and has), she can better pull of the longer styles when she has more volume.  Shorter works best when she goes with a "flatter" look, since the extra length seems to make her hair just hang there.  Her current 'do would be an example of the latter.  She should either add some volume or take the length back up to at least her shoulders.

Word comes from one of my faithful readers, Laura R., that ASHLEY LYN CAFAGNA has actually cut her hair.  However, it's nothing more serious than some layering in the front with no loss of length.  Had you going, though, didn't I? J. 

MARY ELIZABETH MASTRANTONIO has been in many movies (e.g., "Scarface", "The Abyss", Kevin Costner's "Robin Hood", and this summer's little seen "Limbo") and is very recognizable due her classical beauty: porcelain skin, large, wide-set brown eyes, and a mass of natural dark curls.  After seeing her do interviews for "Limbo", I can confirm that there has been a serious reduction in mass.  It's cut to her chin in a layered bob, with the top layers falling to about nose length and styled semi-straight. Though she hasn't worn it long and full in a while (as in the before pictures), this is easily the shortest I can remember seeing it.
 

Then	Now

FLEA'S CALL:   Though Mary's no spring chicken (then again, would it actually be a compliment to call someone a spring chicken?  But I digress), this matronly 'do makes her appear much older than she is.  If she wanted to go straight, she should adopt something along the lines of Jeanna Elfman's old style (you know, last year, when it still looked good), which though even shorter, would still be flattering on Mary.  Or, go curly like the Julianna Marguilles or Debra Messings of the world.  However, if she goes with the curls, she should let it grow some first, because a round face with a full rounded bob just doesn't work.  In either case, it would subtract a few years from her 40, rather than adding them, like her current style unfortunately does.

vvv

Speaking of snipping off curls, ELIZABETH SHUE, has shortened her blonde locks recently as well.  She has never been known for having long hair (e.g., other than letting it grow very long once back when she made the movie "Soapdish"), thought it had grown a bit below her shoulders in recent months.  It has never been very short either, usually staying between chin and shoulder-length.  Given that, her new cut would be the shortest I can recall seeing it.  The cut is virtually identical to Sheryl Crow's previous look: a heavily layered and somewhat tapered back, with layers that get progressively longer as they approach the face (i.e., think of a layered, angled bob with more fullness in the back).  In fact, when Sheryl let hers go curly, it looked just like a brunette version of Elizabeth's style (check out Snippets to see why I'm referring to Sheryl's hair in the past tense).

Before
 

After

FLEA'S CALL:  Though I can't really tell you why and most definitely prefer her hair longer, I actually find this cut  somewhat appealing.  I know it's not the most flattering style on her, but it's not bad.  The only excuse I can give is that since I've seen it before on Sheryl and gotten used to it, I'm to the point of even finding it almost attractive.  The only minor drawback with this style on curly hair is that it tends to produce much more fullness in the back (from the layers) than toward the face, making it look somewhat unbalanced at times.  In fact, that's what it is doing on Elizabeth in the pictures shown, but it doesn't seem to really matter, does it?  Ok, maybe it does a little, but I'm tying to look at the bright side here. 

Stop looking so surprised.

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JOEY LAUREN ADAMS, the blonde object of affection in "Chasing Amy", returned to her natural dark brown color in the new Adam Sandler movie, "Big Daddy", though she essentially kept the same style.  Since, filming ended however, she has lopped of the length into (say it with me) yet another version of the ubiquitous "tucked-behind-the-ears" style.  Joey's version has the usual short sides, but also has bangs.  The back is cut up to her hairline with little layering and is thus much fuller than the typical look of this cut.

Before
 

After

FLEA'S CALL:  The style is cute, but a little too cute.  I actually liked Joey better as a blonde with a little more length, which...uh...I guess would be exactly how she had it before she went back to brown and cut it.  So, in other words, she should have stuck with the "Chasing Amy" look, since this style tends to make her look a bit like a kindergarten teacher.  Not that there's anything wrong with that...unless your goal is to be a Hollywood starlet.

On a side note, could someone give me a better name for the "tucked-behind-ears-style" if for no other reason than to save me so much typing?

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In my Oscars column, I commented on how...uh, well...scary CHRISTINA RICCI looked in her jet black bob when she presented at the awards.  It was just painfully severe and unflattering and gave me a brief glimpse of what Wednesday Addams would have probably looked like in college.  Why bring this back up?  Well, for her current movie, Christina has ditched the bob for a heavily layered auburn shag; quite a significant change from neck-length blunt cut she had before.

FLEA'S CALL:  Hey, what a difference a cut and color can make, huh?  The new style looks terrific on her and greatly softens her look.  It also has the three things you want in a cut if you have a very round face like Christina's: fullness on top, reduced volume on the sides, and length below the chin.  All of these serve to balance her face shape and the lighter color looks better with her very light complexion.  All in all, one of the better style updates I've seen of late.

Sela Ward picture courtesy BusinessWire, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Elizabeth Shue, and Christina Ricci pictures courtesy of "Entertainment Tonight" / Netscape, Joey Lauren Adams pictures courtesy TVGuide Online

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