Hairdos that show we’re worth a bob
HEMLINES and haircuts may not be the most scientific barometers of economic recovery – but a trend for short hair and skirts could show that the country really is emerging from recession as women spend more freely.
Hair salons are reporting a surge in clients wanting a ‘lob’ – or long bob – a bob or a pixie crop.
Skirts are also getting shorter, with many designers including miniskirts and even micro-miniskirts in their ranges.
Hairdressers say women are being led by celebrities, with actress Rosamund Pike, 36, and singer Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, 31 among those going for a shorter look.
The theory is that women only feel confident enough to crop their hair when they have enough cash to keep it in check. Short hair requires more frequent trips to the hairdresser and more gel, spray or wax.
Stuart Phillips, hairdresser to the stars at his Covent Garden salon, told a Sunday newspaper: ‘People seem to be spending more. Products are flying off the shelf.’
Fiona Minors, of the London College of Fashion, said: ‘Often when people make drastic cuts it’s about new times in their life involving austerity or being more affluent.’
Economist George Taylor suggested a link between skirt lengths and the economy when he created the Hemlines Index in 1926. He said stocks rose with hemlines – meaning the more buoyant the economy, the more flesh women bared.