Maybe more like a sheep in wolf’s clothing but, you get the idea.
I recently cut my hair – and not just a little snip snip here and there. I got bangs, I got layers – I propelled myself into the high maintenance hair style world – but, whateves. It’s fun and it turns out I really love it – so I will adjust! My previous hair routine was…well, non-existent. I’d scarcely brush it, only wash it a few times a week, then put it up in a towel for as long as time permitted, scrunch some curl cream in it, walk out the door. Tada! Curly haired me. Bangs add a new layer to this. I was willing to accept the challenge. I owe many thanks to Tracy at Bull in the Heather, in Greenpoint BK, for taming my tresses into submission. She worked quickly and effortlessly and is really quite a talented being. I will definitely be paying her a visit sometime in the near future! Probably for a bang trim since these puppies are already about to interfere with my line of sight.
Anyway – the reason I’m rambling on about bangs, and my own bangs, is that it was a big change. And it brought about some interesting reactions from my friends, coworkers & acquaintances. It’s been quite eye opening trying to decipher peoples true feelings and their perceptions of me as a person with this new hairstyle. General consensus, people like it. I think? It’s so hard to tell! Don’t you hate that? Hate it when you cant read peoples’ minds, I mean? Yeah, me too.
This brings me to my ultimate point, your hair, what you wear, how you present yourself, has so much to do with the way people treat you. Since this was a pretty drastic change from before, the most overwhelming response that I got was, “I didn’t even recognize you!”. It was very interesting at work to see people I usually have very pleasant and instant interactions with basically ignore me. I’d be in the kitchen, at the sink, sharing the same square foot with someone I see everyday, and they didn’t even realize it’s me! The most irking thing about that experience was that I realized how many people do not speak to or engage with people they dont know – or they think they do not know. Maybe its a New York thing, maybe it’s the culture of my work place, maybe its the fact that technology and social media have taken over our lives and we’re quite terrible at being social these days – we may never know exactly. That brought about a very odd feeling – it was sort of empowering in away. It made me feel a little in disguise. Like I had put on a mask. Like I could do anything, be anyone, sort of like a reinvention.
So – I really have no conclusion here, to be perfectly honest. Just some observations of what your external appearance does to/for your relationships and daily interactions. How you look is what you command, and while I once thought I knew that, I saw it in spades after this hair transformation. It’s empowering, confusing, interesting, creepy….and I’m okay with that – but now I’m extra aware.
They say you should dress for the job you want and I think that proves that very well. Outward perception is even more important in this day and age, where people want instant gratification, their attention spans are short and they judge you in the blink of an eye. I still say, be yourself. Whatever that means.
DESIGNER'S LUCK 