Xanga user lovesqualor asks:

I would love a haircut like this, but I’m worried that on me it would end up looking like an awkward mullet.

I don’t need it to be quite so picturesque, but I’m wondering if it’s worth looking at at all.

thanks for your help :)

The short answer is yes. The long answer has a few components: 

1. Overdirection It’s important to look at where each section of hair is coming from on the head. The hair on the model’s neck is obviously from her nape (neckline), since I haven’t found a person yet who grows hair from their ears or the sides of their neck. In order to achieve the silhouette in the picture, the hair has been styled by pulling the hair in the back toward the front, over her shoulders. While it looks great in a picture, keeping hair over your shoulders while you do mundane things like, say, walking, would inevitably swish those pieces toward the back.

2. Product Without the smoothing products and the products used to make the hair stay put, this cut will look a lot like a hipster femme-mullet. I personally really like them on the right girl, but a person who wears one has to… own it. If you don’t style it like the off-beat haircut that it is, it’ll probably just look like you’re trying to grow your hair out and it’s hit an awkward spot. But, to recap, no amount of product is going to keep those long pieces on your shoulders. They will fall behind your shoulders sometimes.

3. The Solution You can either embrace the mullet if you’re that kind of girl, or keep some of the long pieces around your ears. You can still have short layers from your crown area that blend into your bangs without cutting a hole over your ears. If you’re looking for something avant garde that will stay feminine, drastic asymmetry is a lot of fun, and incorporates the best parts of a short cut and a longer style. Just a suggestion.

I always look at pictures like the one above and think, “I wonder if she likes her hair,” or if maybe she’s in the process of making the best of growing it out from a shorter cut. Or if there are extensions. Pictures are tricky. Don’t feel bad for being tempted by a style like this! But the verdict is, yes. It would probably look like a mullet. That’s not a categorically good or bad thing, just a fact. Hope that helped!

(By the way, if your username is an homage to Mr. Salinger, cheers!) 

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