JerkyFlea: May 1999 Part 2

UPDATE: Ok, one more bit of new information on previously reported stuff. I finally have some concrete information on RENEE O'CONNOR of "Xena: Warrior Princess". Good News: I know the name of the episode where she gets her hair cut and when it will air. Bad News: "Between The Lines" aired the week of February 22. Good News: You can see video captures of the pivotal scene here. Bad News: There ain't much to see. Good News: I have good pictures of the result.

Before

After

The cut itself is between a short shag and a long pixie, incorporating elements of both (e.g., the length on the sides allowing her to tuck it behind her ear. As you can see, it was a pretty significant cut; even her bangs are shorter. Not bad considering Xena was just using that steel Aerobie to do it.

FLEA'S CALL: Though I did like Renee's long hair, this is a really cute cut. Oddly enough, I have a bigger beef with the color than I do the style. She's gone way too blonde now, making it look very flat and unnatural. She would be much better served to return to something closer to the more natural darker blonde shown in the first picture. But then again, since she probably did it herself with dye made of berries and roots, I guess it isn't bad. J

On to new old news, meaning stuff that isn't updates from previous columns, but news I haven't previously reported. One of my faithful readers, Dan P, actually informed me of KATHERINE KELLY LANG's new cut way back in December. Because of my general policy of not reporting on the changes made by soap stars since there are so many and most aren't widely known, I shelved it. Well, since that time, I've seen it mentioned in several other places, so I figured I should go ahead and give you what I have. Why? Because I've got a tidbit they don't...


*Before*	*After*

"I was very ready. I've wanted to do this for a long time and I don't miss my hair at all," says Lang, who now sports a short, trendy shag.

The actress says that the show's producers approved the cut months ago, but it took two different hairstylist before she finally got the look she wanted. Lang's first stylist left the actress' layered 'do a little longer all over. "After a few days, I didn't like it because if felt like it was at an in-between stage."

By that point, Lang's original stylist already had flow back to New York, so she had to find someone else to trim her even more. "He gave me the same haircut, but shorter and put some more blonde in it," she says. "Basically, I just went hair crazy this week."

"This is the shortest I've ever had my hair," says Lang of her brand new cut. "It feels great, and it's really easy to keep up."

FLEA'S CALL: I'm somewhat torn on this one. Though I liked her long hair, the short style looks pretty good too. I guess I have to lean toward the short shag, since she seems to be very happy with it. I would have liked to have seen what the longer version she didn't care for looked like, because I think this style would look even better with a little more length to it.

Another place I got scooped was on KATE WINSLET's new bob. Nothing more frustrating that seeing breaking hair news...well, as breaking as hair news can be...the day after I put out the column. But, yet again, I digress. Kate lopped off her long formerly-red-now-blonde locks to something between a chin-length, long-layered bob and a short shag about a month or so ago. Why did she do it? Well, according to Kate: "After I got married, I just wanted to be myself. I can always wear a wig in the movies."

By the way, Kate's hair is naturally straight, so the loss of curls is due to styling and not the cut.

FLEA'S CALL: Though I can't really knock the cut, it needs, well, SOMETHING. Kate's face is between oval and round, so while this cut isn't the absolute best choice, she can still pull it off. The first two pictures of the cut itself is actually kind of deceiving in that it appears to be a layered bob, but is really a shag very similar to Meg Ryan's long short style (as you can see in the last picture). Again, the casual, smooth style shown isn't bad, but I know it can really look better. As a matter of fact, I saw it styled more in the Meg Ryan vein in an interview the other night and it looked pretty cute...well at least better than the last picture. But, heck, as she said, she's married now, so I guess she can let herself go (he says, awaiting the incensed emails J).

The last of the old news I have is also something I've known about since December. I just didn't report it, because I only had one picture, I couldn't be completely confident that the picture showed what I thought it did, I didn't hear anything else about it for about 3 months, and when I did, I couldn't find additional pictures to back it up. What the heck am I talking about? The fact that former Noxema girl, former "Beverly Hills 90210" star, and current teen movie queen REBECCA GAYHEART had whacked off her long curls into a short, layered style. Unfortunately, I confirmed it.

FLEA'S CALL: Let's be blunt here (he says, as if that would be a stunning turn of events): This was a bad choice. Looking at it from the purely objective, academic aesthetic (a new phrase to add to your collection), Rebecca has a heart-shaped face. When you have that face shape, you want to avoid styles that have volume at the top, since they just draw attention to the wider upper portion of the face. Any height or fullness in the upper portion needs to be offset with fullness at the chin or below. Rebecca went from a style that provided that balance to one that put the emphasis exactly where she doesn't want it. She needs some additional length on the sides and in the back to balance out the top and her natural curl will provided the needed volume. I think the tragedy of chopping off that magnificent mane of curls speaks for itself.