Kellianne Benson

Gorgeousness

So, with all this baby building happening, I have gotten really behind on my runway stalkings.  During nap time today, I decided to look over images from the past 2 seasons to see if I found anything new and inspiring.

Honestly, not too much of what happens during New York fashion weeks surprises me these days.  There’s something lacking in New York hair fashion.  Don’t get me wrong- It’s beautiful, perfectly streamlined, and heavily trend based.  It’s just that New York never really goes out on a limb.  Occasionally, there are dramatic sparks of creativity as seen in American Vogue or some such, but usually fashion week hair is nothing terribly new.  When you are top of the heap, I suppose there are too many rules to follow.  New York fashion week showcases the outfits and deals with the fact that every model (with a special nod to Agyness Denn) has long, stringy hair.

But!  This above photo sure caught my eye!  Sure, I’m 6 months behind (this was on the spring runways), but still thought it worth noting.  I love how the weight in this piece is arranged in 2 petals.  I love the use of a hairnet to give it a touch of barbarian chic.  I love… well I love everything about it and wish I had time to find photos from this particular Fashion Mafia show.  I’d love to see this ‘do from every angle.

For now, I’m standing by, letting this image steep in my head for inspiration.

I’m also thinking of my spring, 1992 ‘do.  Ooh girl!  I had that hair shaved to my temples and wore the remainder of the pile stacked to high heaven on the crown of my head, with tendrils sweeping down over my grandfatherly horn-rimmed glasses.  On top of the high bun?  A hair net!  With pencils or chop sticks poking into it from every angle.  That ‘do was ridiculous.  I wore it with a vintage Catholic school jumper, ripped stockings, and combat boots.  And!  I loved it!  I am ready to bring it back in a more perfect, gracefully coiffed manner.  Except that I just cut off all my hair… so I need a taker.  Anyone?  I know there are some fashionable ladies with flowing hair still out there… and probably one or two of you has a birthday party coming…

Oh you pretty people!  I am so excited to be reopening my books at VAIN downtown!  I need to get my hands into some hair, have some adult conversation, and debut my new fall boots.

Momming it up with a newborn has been ridiculously rife with every emotion.  I’ve certainly had fun!  I’ve also realized that it is truly not my dream to be a Stay At Home Mom.  I’ve got mad respect for the SAHMs out there- this job is rough in ways I didn’t expect.  For me, the most difficult part has been with finding ways to be crafty and creative.  Doing hair has been my creative outlet for a long time, and I don’t want that to change.  So, while it is bittersweet to leave my boy for three days a week- I really can’t wait to see you all again!

To prepare for my return, I’ll be trying to peruse all the runway action that I missed while in the land of lullaby!  And I’m sure that you’ll all bring new and fantastic ideas along that those runways haven’t even seen yet!  Goodtimes.

Love,

K

I have been sadly absent from my hair blog.  I didn’t mean to abandon it for so long!  It’s been quite a year and I’ve done lots of hair.  Sometimes the thought of writing about hair makes me want to jump up and start doing hair.  Thus, I slip from being a computer nerd into being a total hair nerd.  While that is perhaps a small loss to the blogosphere at large, I believe it is a WIN for those of you who can make it in to see me!

As I expect to be taking a maternity leave for the better part of the summer (you can follow that journey over at zerotobaby.com), I am sure that this means I will have to entertain all my hair whims by blog.  To start, within the next month, I expect to work on putting a window into this page to showcase all the lovely photos of your hair that I’ve been taking and tweeting.

Until then, all you hair hoppers, I leave you with a little love and inspiration!  Be sure to shake your butt while you watch and giggle…

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Has there ever been a more alluring look than that of a lady’s vamping eyes behind lace?  Take, for instance, this gorgeous Edward Steichen photo of Gloria Swanson.  90 years later, I’ll bet the look wouldn’t feel as dangerously sexy without that film of lace hanging between our grim reality and the illusion of perfect beauty.

Through generations of cultural controversy,  the veiled woman has  been revered as a creature of wonder.  Google searching the phrase veiled woman - you are immediately fed lines about the glory and sacrifice of the veil.  Some revere, some revile.   Overall, everyone has a powerful response.  It can’t be denied that the veil has significance that can be tackled with about a million different adjectives.

I admit to my many well documented fashion follies.  I had my grunge phase, my riot grrrl phase, my druggy shoe gazing baby doll dress plus big eye glasses wearing stage, horribly fashioned raver days, a few neo-hippie in techie fabric minimally modern years, hipster looks, electro trash hooks, and some very expensively heeled New York fashionista moments…but my grandmother’s generation had something I have not until recently been sporting… a look that has stood the test of decades.  It can not be argued that there is power in a well cut suit, hair that is set once a week, and the ultimate French Blusher.

I became obsessed with the endlessly sexy young sister of the veil, the French Blusher, many years before I actually worked up the nerve to start wearing them.   I sought out crumbling and ripped blushers in the corners of small town antique stores and wondered over the supreme style of my grandmother’s generation.  A few of the blushers I have, too covered with dust and breaking apart to ever be appreciated on a lady’s head again, carry with their scent of magic and lust some questions.  Did the ladies who wore them purposely tear holes in netting near their mouths so that they could smoke long cigarettes without pushing aside veils (it seems, looking at many old blushers, that they did)?  Did the veils manage to prolong the hours of a date before kissing a suitor?  Was a veil appropriate before 6?   Was a veil appropriate without gloves?  I will probably never know the full story of the French veil and all of it’s rules (or abandonment of rules) in my grandmother’s lifetime.  But I have been committed for the last year or so to recreating the magic for myself.

When I declared to my fiancé that I was going to wear a veil at our wedding, he balked.  Veils, to him, symbolized oppression of women.  A veil at a wedding, in particular, seemed an archaic idea.  I guess that, in this time of endless cultural revolution, when the veiling of women in the Middle East is seen by my demographic as arcane, his only appropriate response would be one of total modernization.  Naturally I wanted to be exactly the sort of bride he wanted to see walking down proverbial aisle towards the beginning of the rest of our lives… but the type of bride I pictured myself as being was wearing a blusher, beaming at him from behind that slip of netting.  In the end (of course), I did what I wanted- because a girl like me only has the chance to get married in a veil once.  Here I am on the left in my bridal veil, with my friend, hairstylist and teacher, Norman, behind me.  The photo on the right is of  my husband and I later that night, at our reception.

I glad to report that I am not the only girl who has felt the need to top herself with this most glorious of accessories.  New York’s 2009 Fall Fashion week featured all sorts of designers who are happy to top heads loudly.  Cynthia Steffe made her girls instantly glamorous with a jaunty bun on top of their perfect heads, and a classic blusher around the eyes.  I think that what I like most about this particular blusher look is its simplicity.  Looks like this should prove to any woman that raucous glamor doesn’t necessarily have to come with a cost of time.  Add a few accessories to a simple ‘do, and you can suddenly find yourself with a seriously attention grabbing tribute to vanity.

If you’re feeling as if there’s too much rocker in you to be such a lady, please turn to last month’s Diesel Black and Gold show for a more rugged look without risking a loss of sex appeal.  I loved their torn netting headbands and blushers, and hope to somehow incorporate the feel of their show into my look this fall.  Luckily, I have several months to figure out my execution…

It’s been almost 2 months since I started taking clients at Vain, and have to say that I’m about as happy and as busy as I could possibly be.  I’ve been having a beautifully grand time with my clients and co-workers, and thought I would show you some of the work I’ve been able to do over the past few weeks for my post this week.

Ladies of Seattle, You are sure able to rock a head of hair on your brilliant heads.  Could a girl like me have more inspiration than all of you?  Here is some of the the short, medium, and long of it:

A hairdressing friend of mine recently sent me to look at the styles being created at a salon called WIP-Hairport in Lisbon.  I thought I’d share their flickr and wordpress pages with you all so you could view the magic firsthand.  I feel as if WIP-Hairport is a kindred salon to Vain, and love that they are going out on a beautiful limb with their creations.

It seems that they are looking to hire creative international stylist!.  So tempting, I must say.  Sunny and warm southern Europe seems like an incredible dream as we sit through winter in Seattle.  I have always wanted to at least visit Lisbon.  Now I am reignited to save for a trip someday.  I need a WIP-Hairport cut!

You  know, I was thinking recently about the complicated women’s hairstyles of the 1940s.  Everyone was on rations, so people got creative with the one thing they had that could afford shifting expression.  Hair grew and shoulder pads followed.  I certainly hope to see a similar spirit during the next several months of economic hardship.  No one is going to notice that you’re wearing tattered clothing when your hair is a work of art.

I’ve got lots of announcements to make on the professional front lately, and figured that the best way to share with all of you is to create a new blog, where I hope to post very important stuff-  from how-to hair videos, to little design and style inspirations, to information about where you can find me working!  Please feel free to add this page to your RSS feed for instant gratification!

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