78. BLUNT FRINGE- THE AGE MELBOURNE MAGAZINE.

I was quoted in "The Age Melbourne Magazine" last month which made my head swell for the good part of a week. That's not me pictured above by the way. So, if you missed it, here it is again.

Thanks to Felicity Lewis for the article and Indianna Foord for the photos.

Melbourne Women seem to have embraced the blunt fringe at the moment more than ever before. Why? One answer is, Abbley-Lee Kershaw. The Melbourne model has been wearing a thick fringe on catwalks this year, on stage in New York for a guest spot with her boyfriend's rock band, and in Vogue Nippon in leathers, after the fashion of Marrianne Faithfull in the 1968 film Girl on a Motorcycle.

Fringes- or bangs, as they are known in the states- have always created a bit of frisson. In first-century Iberia (once part of Spain), the musician Zirab apparently caused a stir by cutting a fringe down to his eyebrows when the key look of the daywas shoulder length with a centre part. Fast-forward to the 1960s and you have Vidal Sassoon shaking up the old order by giving Mary Quant a shiny wash and wear bob with fringe (which hairdresser as Sassoon protege Bob Leopold brought to Melbourne women).

Our interviewees were inspired by various icons: actor Louise Brooks and her "flapper bob; retro pin-up girls such as Betty Page; whose curled-under bangs caused a sensation in the 1950s. And tousled fringes are the big part of the rock'n'roll look - think Chrissie Hynde and Chrissy Amphlett for starters.

Hairdresser Jean-Paul Rosette, from Worksense, says the 2010 breed of fringe has a "new edge". "It's heavier, it's blunter, it's eye skimming, it's more deliberate than those side-sweepy numbers that have been happening for a while". He speculates that the look has been given a nudge more recently by the likes of the actor Zooey Deschanel, and the model Lou Doillion, whose mother, Jane Birkin and step sister Charlotte Gainsbourg have worn fringes well.

"Your eyes are exactly halfway between the top of your head and your chin," says Rosette, "so to have a long fringe is to cover half your head- it's a bit hide-and-seek, it's a bit fun, it's a bit mischievous. It's quite cool." He says there is a fringe for everyone- unless your hair is very curly- and the trick to keeping them looking smart is to have a five minute trim every three weeks.

A possible side benefit: fringes cover frown lines on your forehead, points out writer Alice Thompson in an article in The Times this yea, "Are fringes the New Botox?" And if you're not sure about taking the plunge, clip-on fringes from Celebrity Wigs are a snip at $30.

You can read my other article on Fringes titled "BIG BANG THEORY" by clicking here.

75. OOH LA LA. BEST HAIR AT PARIS SPRING FASHION WEEK 2011.

For regular readers of Heads Will Roll will know that I love a little bit of hair braiding, so you will not be surprised to hear that my pick of Best hair at Paris Spring fashion week 2011 goes to Guido Palau for Alexander McQueen.

And here’s what Guido said “: “There’s a nod to paganism…and the idea of getting back to nature,” said Guido Palau of his basket-woven hairpieces, which looked like the sewn-together husks of one’s childhood cornhusk dolls. “There are a lot of artisanal straw elements in the dresses and collars,” he added, explaining the look”.

And also...

Also special mention goes to Orlando Pit for his inspiring homage to Bettie Page. It’s such a simple idea but so well executed. Makes me want to invest in some clip on bangs.

And lastly...

And lastly, to the model with the most drastic hair change Carmen Kass pictured above. Her big chop came just before the Balmain show by one of my favourite hairstylist Sam McKnight. But wait there’s more, then she had Guido colour her red just before the Louis Vuitton show.

To read more of my hair reviews of other fashions weeks click here.

73. BIG BANG THEORY.

I’m seeing loads of these big retro fringes (or big bangs if you like) around at the moment and I have a theory, that this kind of particular fringe seems to have it’s roots in late 60s perhaps early 70s. Hear me out, all of the Rollingstone girlfriends had them —Marianne Faithfull (pictured above), Anita Pallenberg, Pattie Boyd—had those big fringes with mystic rock cred. In France, très chic singers such as Jane Birkin and Françoise Hardy peered out from beneath deep heavy cut brunette bangs, forever imbuing the style with a touch of je ne sais quoi.

Now back in the 21^st century it seems actress Zooey Deschanel and Anne Hathaway are paying tribute to a bygone era. So to models Freya Beha Erichsen, Jamie bochert, Lou doillion and Irina Lazareanu. The photo below of Abbet lee Kershaw is a dead-ringer for Marianne Faithful.

Quick history of the fringe or bangs.

The “invention” of bangs as a women’s hairstyle is generally credited to a musician/hairstylist named Ziryab from Spain in the ninth century and introduced a wildly popular short-in-the-front, long-at-the-sides coiffure.

And so it began with a bang, not a whimper. Why do they call it bangs?

Pictured above Marianne Fathful, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Paty Boyd. Natasha Khan, Irina Lazareanu, Jane Birkin, Françoise Hardy, Chan Marshal (Cat Power), Anne Hathaway and Zooey Deschanel.