Thursday, October 15, 2009

Women's Hair Trends 2009: Styles, Colors, Cuts

Taking their cues from 2008, in 2009 women's hair trends will play to the extremes. They might be extremely short, extremely girly, extremely sexual or extremely slick. It'll only be the bob hair cut which will sit somewhere to the left of extreme; and you're going to be hard pressed to find that hair style on fashion forward women.

Women's Hair Cut Trends 2009

Throughout 2008, women's hair cuts did one thing: they got shorter. There was the bob hair trend, the pixie-crop hair trend, and a plethora of others in between.

And unlike the length of women's hair, their popularity grew.

Which leaves us with an interesting predicament for 2009's hair trends: the fashion forward, short hair styles of 2008 are no longer fashion forward. They're no longer unique. Every woman and her chuiauia got one.

So in 2009, fashion forward girls have a choice to make: keep the bobs and blend into the crowd or, to stand out, cut their hair shorter or let it grow.

The Cropped Bob & The Pixie Crop

Girls who cut the bob in 2008 and want a fashion forward look in 2009, are going to have to either let their hair grow out or go something more extreme. Enter the cropped bob and the pixie crop; both perfect for Spring/Summer 2009, but far more difficult to wear for Autumn (Fall)/Winter 2008/2009.

The Cropped Bob

To put it bluntly: the cropped bob is extreme. It's not quite a pixie crop (below) nor a bob. Short all over, even with a heavily shortened blunt cut fringe, it's can only be worn by those who ooze confidence. Just look at Agyness Deyn's cropped, fringed bob (right). Attention grabbing, it's even far less subtle with peroxide blonde hair which I'm tipping as the best colour to wear it with

Kate Holmes new hair: short cropped bob

Hair Trends: Agyness Deyn's short fringed bob

The Pixie Crop
The pixie crop started as a hair trend in 2008 but, as a natural progression from the bob hair cut, expect to see plenty of it in 2009.

For those fashionisers who are willing to really take scissors to their hair, the pixie crop offers a bold look far less subtle than the cropped bob, and one that is both young and funky when done right. And doing it right has everything to do with the styling: as we learnt from Katie Holme's pixie crop a lack of styling and product and you can look suddenly middle-aged.

Victoria Beckham hairstyle update: longer crop

Electric Pixie:Victoria Beckham's spiked hairstyle

The many sides of Victoria Beckham's pixie crop

Victoria Beckham: pixie crop, schoolboy slick

The Bob

Perhaps both the cropped bob and pixie crop are too extreme for you? Or perhaps you've just got a bob and are eager to keep it. Never fear, the bob hair cut is still in fashion in 2009. It's just not as unique, but paired with the right clothes (check out 2009's Spring/Summer clothes trends here) and hair style you can still own this look.

And what hair styles should you pair a bob with in 2009? If you're bob is chin length, look at sexing it up with the bed hair style, or if your bob is shoulder length also consider an adaptation of the mermaid / 1940s wave style as well as bed hair.

Lily Allen peroxide blonde for Elle Magazine