Celebrity-inspired haircut sweeping province's salons
By Maureen Coleman
BelfastTelegraph
28 September 2006
Ulster women are at the cutting edge of the latest hair trend as bob mania sweeps the province's salons.
According to hairdressers, women here are following in the footsteps of style icons such as Sienna Miller and Victoria Beckham and going for the chop.
Madonna also showed off a striking new blonde bob style last week, but it later transpired she was wearing a wig.
However Ulster women are determined to get ahead in the style stakes and the bob looks set to stay top of the crops for the autumn/winter season.
Award-winning hairdresser Paul Stafford said one in four of his clients were currently asking for a bob style haircut.
"We've actually been doing a lot of bobs for the last few years, but the likes of Sienna Miller and Victoria Beckham have commercialised the look to a degree," he said.
"The thing with Sienna's style is that on the average woman in the street, it can look quite ordinary, on Sienna it's stunning, so we're doing variations of the cut to suit the client.
"The big buzzword at the moment is disconnection, which is incorporating two classic looks, such as long at the front and tapered at the back.
"At the moment I'd say one in four women coming into our salon is looking for some type of bob shape, which is a pretty huge number given the amount of women out there who still have long hair."
Michael Conroy, of Lisburn Road salon Chair, said Victoria Beckham and Sienna Miller had definitely influenced the trend of disconnected hairstyles.
But he said women only requested bob styles if they thought it would suit them.
"Yes, we've done quite a few since we opened but I think people are more educated now about hairstyles and don't request a certain look just because a celebrity has gone for it.
"The bob can actually be quite hard to carry off, so we are doing a lot of variations of it.
"Women of all ages have been asking for the bob. But be warned, it takes a lot of maintenance."
Denise McCluskey, of Michele Internationals, gave one of her celebrity clients a new bob style last week.
"Orlaith McAllister (Big Brother) decided she wanted a new look so got rid of all her long hair and opted for a bob type instead," she said.
"I think it's much edgier than it was before and looks really good on her."
She added: "Since March we've seen a lot of bobs around and I thought it might have been replaced by a new look come autumn, but it seems everyone still wants a bob."
