A hair cut can change everything. Just ask Ciara, Cassie, Christina Milian, and nearly every other woman singer in the urban music landscape right now who has recently unveiled “edgy” new ‘dos and wardrobes in the hopes of sparking public interest and boosting record sales. We can thank Rihanna for the music world’s punky ’80s moment, because we all know that it wasn’t until she ditched the honey colored weave and upped the goth punk quotient in her personal styling did the world really begin to pay attention to her. This leads me to the real heart of this post: Beyoncé Knowles.
I love her as much as anyone (and have the iTunes purchases to prove it.) But her personal style is increasingly seeming dated and out of touch with the times. It’s strange, though, because she’s wearing all of the “right” things: a Balmain jacket, Gareth Pugh dress, those Louis Vuitton “Africa” shoes, the list goes on. And yet she always looks a tad bit…beauty pageant.
I blame the hair. During her Destiny’s Child days, Beyoncé’s long, luscious, honey-colored weave sparked knock-offs all over the industry (even a newbie Rihanna sported a Beyoncé style weavealicious locks.) But today? To quote my friend Malcolm Venable, “No, ma’am.”
Granted, her Texas glamour girlness has always been a part of her charm. And from a business stand-point, her consistency might be smart (Cindy Crawford once said in an interview that she refused to change her hair because the world identified with it.) But Beyonce’s big, bouncy hair is the thing that sends an otherwise cool clothing item into beauty queen pageant territory and makes her alter-ego Sasha Fierce simply look like a nice idea. Not to mention that her go-to lacefront locks seem to age her a good five years. Not that I think she should shave her head into a mohawk and begin wearing all-black either. Simply dialing the volume down a few notches (like in her “Single Ladies” video) and swearing off the hot rollers could make all the difference in the world.
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