Does short hair.........?

[whiteisle]

.......make one look more" put together"? I've noticed that since my mom is now wearing a short style wig (due to chemo) she looks really good with that style, more so than her former APL hair. I know it's probably all personal preference but.........

Opinons?

ETA: interesting link of celebs with both http://showbiz.sky.com/Long-Or-Short-Hair

[Bene]

i really think it's how you take care of it. everyone has like a length that they know how to take care of so it looks it's best. some people with short lengths are willing to go through the maintenance, such as trimming and styling, so they look their best with short hair. other people (like me) rely on longer lengths to weigh down curls and the option of putting it up, so i think i look my best with longer hair.

[chelssix]

I think it depends- short hair is easier to wear down and styled. When you wear long hair down, you just don't have as many options. Yes, you can kinda straighten/curl it, but there is no flipping the ends, etc.
Long hair is more versatile when it's up, though. It's very easy to make a bun look put-together.

[Nevermore]

In my opinion, short hair, except on a few very rare people, doesn't look put together at all. On the occasions it does, it still seems to fall short of what I would consider professional. I think a french twist/log roll/chignon/other tight bunned mean lady look is infinitely more professional and put together.

I do think that hair of any length can look nice, but I just don't see short hair as professional or put together regardless of how nice it looks (and it really can look cute on the right person).

[feralnature]

My friend once used the word "taylored" to describe how she felt when she wore her her short and stylish. I do think short hair styles, when kept up with frequent trims, look very put together, professional or taylored. Left unchecked though, a short cut quickly looks neglected and overgrown. As we all know here, long hair can either be magnificent or not so magnificent.

[ladylibra]

I think it depends- short hair is easier to wear down and styled. When you wear long hair down, you just don't have as many options. Yes, you can kinda straighten/curl it, but there is no flipping the ends, etc.
Long hair is more versatile when it's up, though. It's very easy to make a bun look put-together.


I do think short hair styles, when kept up with frequent trims, look very put together, professional or taylored. Left unchecked though, a short cut quickly looks neglected and overgrown. As we all know here, long hair can either be magnificent or not so magnificent.

My sentiments exactly. :D

[chelssix]

My friend once used the word "taylored" to describe how she felt when she wore her her short and stylish. I do think short hair styles, when kept up with frequent trims, look very put together, professional or taylored. Left unchecked though, a short cut quickly looks neglected and overgrown. As we all know here, long hair can either be magnificent or not so magnificent.

When I had short hair, I felt very stylish. A lot of it was because of the amount of time spent on styling, but it was also a fun cut to have. There were a lot of options. (I had it cut like Marilyn Monroe, and wearing it in big curls made me feel so glam!)

[embee]

When my hair was short it was easy to care for (wash and wear) but it very quickly looked unkempt as I could not afford the needed trims. My hair became quite shaggy and stayed that way most of the time.

My hair now goes in a mean-lady-bun and is very kempt altogether. I've had comments on how my hair always looks so neat. That's a wonderful change from the short hair years! :) It makes *me* feel more put together, and that shows in how I stand, sit, walk, dress, carry myself.

[whiteisle]

When I've had short hair I certainly felt more in style but trying to keep it up was hard on my bank account. Longer hair is easier to maintain for me (can we say "ponytail power!"??) but since I have a long face I've always wondered if it drags me down and makes me look......plain?.......vs shorter hair. And I know I look bad when it's all pulled back with no bangs. (skinned rat) So I'm planning on getting some cut in probably in the next 6 months or so after getting a bit more length so I don't look so harsh. :)

[demitasse]

Heh, not on me it doesn't. Maybe if I existed in the Type 1 family but with my wavy poofiness, short hair was a disaster. I thought it would be easier but I had to dry it and flat iron it every day. Definitely not wash and wear. Luckily it didn't do any damage.

I think it's dependent on the person. My mother wears her hair short now and she looks lovely and put together. Me? I look annoyed and slightly poofy. When I need to look professional, I wear my hair in a simple bun with no adornments. Any hair length can look sleek, professional and well done if the wearer knows how to achieve it.

[Periwinkle]

Another vote for 'it depends'.

Short hair can look very professional and it's also more versatile down, like others have said. Long hair can also be distracting from the face, where's hair that's only around the face draws attention to it.

On the other hand, long hair is more versatile for updos (and you get all that willowy goodness!).

[mira-chan]

I was raised with the view that hair tied back, put up very neatly with no stray hairs poking out all over the place, makes you look pot together. Loose hair was never seen as neat in my family.

Your view on this depends on what you were raised with.

[smerrie]

I think it really depends on how well one takes care of their hair! Short hair can look really slovenly if it is not styled - but then, most people who have short styles DO style them.

Long hair is kind of the same - I think there are a lot of "easy" styles, like long braids, that kind of make it look like you didn't spend a lot of time on your hair - unless, of course, you have really nice hair and can get away with anything!

But there are also a lot of gorgeous updo's, sophisticated ponytails, and long styles that make long hair look very put together!

[Pegasus Marsters]

You know, with those celebs... if I thought they were pretty, I found them pretty either way. If I thought they were unattractive, I found them unattractive either way.

Natalie Portman looks so stunning both ways. *envy!*

[NickalNack]

Well... I'll refer to my idol, Kago Ai, for this subject. She sports a super duper short bob, and I think she looks absolutely adorable with it. Like a doll or something.

http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/4/4/6/f_kago1m_4d0709e.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldV_BRgtIx4

With long hair... not so much. Though that's mostly because she always wore hairstyles that a little girl would wear.

http://www.hellproject.com/images/05e2ef7ef674f5285c15956df457a2eed1db0cab/Kago_Ai_10163.jpg

http://www.freewebs.com/berry_frann/Kago2.jpg

I'm not the type of person with the opinion that longer = better. No matter what. Period. That's it. The end. Though... with shorter hair, I think the style has to fit that person's facial structure, and not extenuate anything that might not be so flattering. Like if the person has a lot of jaw acne or something.

That's why I kind of respect the Japanese a little more in this area, because the men there don't seem as obsessed with hair length as Western men are. Of course I might just be ignorant.

[Spike]

It depends. You can have ratty-looking hair at any point of length. Short hair left unstyled or untrimmed looks bad, so does long hair that is tangled and dry/splitty.

I think hair that is clearly groomed and contained looks professional. Short hair kept trimmed and styled looks good, so does long hair bunned or in an updo. Braids for the most part are a bit casual for a "professional" image, unless you do something unusual (rope braid, French/Dutch, four or more strands) and then wear really serious clothing (suit and tie, dress shirt, dress shoes/tailored skirt suit, dress shoes and hose). The hair then softens the outfit.

[Wanderlust]

I don't think any length of hair is more put-together looking than any other length. I think that looking put together, as far as your hair goes, just means putting an obvious effort into making it look its nicest.

I do think that having a trendy haircut (which is usually a short haircut) does show that you are more concerned with fitting in and being what you think everyone expects you to be, which I suppose in some professions could be seen as being professional, but not necessarily in most.

[NickalNack]

It depends. You can have ratty-looking hair at any point of length. Short hair left unstyled or untrimmed looks bad, so does long hair that is tangled and dry/splitty.

I think hair that is clearly groomed and contained looks professional. Short hair kept trimmed and styled looks good, so does long hair bunned or in an updo. Braids for the most part are a bit casual for a "professional" image, unless you do something unusual (rope braid, French/Dutch, four or more strands) and then wear really serious clothing (suit and tie, dress shirt, dress shoes/tailored skirt suit, dress shoes and hose). The hair then softens the outfit.
Hmm. I agree.

[free_hug]

Hey all, as a chin length expert on short hair, i can assure you all, short hair can be a hell to style. Mine is wavy, and either it decides to style itself and put on a nice shape (luckily it does most of the time) or there is nothing to do with it... whenever half the tresses decide to grow and curl upwards one day, there's nothing to help them, besides maybe a hat to hide the deviants. Oh and on my medusa days i look very far from looking "put together" :D so now i'm just waiting for the days when its own length and weight will style it a little more downwards so it looks a bit more organized in general.

In fact, my short haired freinds, the ones that keep it short, often start the day with a hairwash and a blowdryer and a round brush. It certainly looks put together at the end, but putting it together requires a considerable effort. With that much time and energy spent on your hair, you should look very tidy at any length.

At the same time, shorter hair does look a lot better on some people. I do adore long hair, esp. past bsl lengths, but take a look a Marilyn Monroe with longer, and with chin length hair - she just looks sooooooo much better with the latter. Its not about being more well arranged - she looks lovely and spontaneous with thos shorter locks too - but about how it suits her face so much better.

[scotishlass]

My previous style was the Victoria beckham 'pob' inverted/graduated bob and i loved it, i looked so neat and tidy, I felt very confident, but it also required lots of styling to look good, and if i was having a bad hair day well... i couldnt hide it i had no length to clip up! My hair is now shoulder length and i feel a mess, When i see short hair i feel it only looks good when its a smooth sleek well kept, but long hair i think, is beautiful wavy, curly, straight full.... all sorts!!,

[Tap Dancer]

Short hair can look good or bad...just like long hair. If someone looks great with their hair cut short, it's probably because they have a good style that works for their hair type and face shape. If they had chosen the wrong style, they'd look bad. So I don't think someone can really say, "Short hair looks better or more professional than long hair."

[Honey39]

I feel that I can look very professional and put together with long hair simply by wearing it up - I CO-wash, leave it in a turbie till damp, add coconut oil/leave-in conditioner, and simply twist up. Because it's damp, it dries on my head to a nice shine and smoothness, and looks really professional without any trouble. It's my go-to hairstyle on days when I have meetings and need to look smart.

If I'm feeling like I want it to be more 'trendy', I take it down and put it back up in a 'messy' bun which looks really pretty. Or on days when I don't need to look pulled together, I wear it down in a mass of curls - which also looks really nice.

So my take is that I can look good in abour four different ways with absolutely no effort on my part. My colleagues with short hair have to wash, blow dry, put mousse on, straighten, style etc to get that cool, funky short hair look. I like the look, but it doesn't seem as reliable as long hair to be honest. I've always found long hair easier to manage, personally.

[desertgirl]

I think this is becoming somewhat cultural. When women started going into the workplace years ago, their hair started getting shorter. Now most professional women have short hair (shoulder length and above). Since they are professionals we associate them (without even thinking about it) with being more put-together.

hmmm... I wonder what people would have thought about women who had short hair centuries ago?

[shortgoinglong]

I have had hair both hip length and a 1 inch pixie cut. I felt more cute and hip with the short hair and more feminine and sexy with the long hair. It is just what you like.

[Roseate]

One thing about chemo is that women who might never have tried super short hair get railroaded into giving it a try, and some will end up liking it!

Three ladies in my aunt's gardening group have lost their hair over the past few years (all recovered from their illnesses well, thank you Providence!), and two of them have kept short pixies since, because they discovered they liked the look. None of them had really long hair before, but most had some kind of mid-length, styled 'do and would never voluntarily have gone so short.

I agree with the general consensus, both lengths can look professional, cute, young or old, depending on the person and the hair in question!

[Speckla]

It just depends on the shape of someone's face and the health of their hair. I know that my face looks better with a pixie cut. I look younger and my face doesn't look as narrow but I like my hair longer. I do nice professional updos on my hair when it's longer but anything shorter than shoulder and longer than pixie is a beast to deal with.

[HeatherLarsen]

It depends on the individual. Face shaped, length of neck, hair color and type all play a big part in this. Try comparing pics of yourself w/ long and short hair side by side and ask everyone you know what they think.

[enfys]

Say you have short hair that is trimmed neatly and regularly. I'd estimate it looks it's best 25% of the time. About a week after it's cut, when it's settled.

If you have long, clean hair in a nice bun then it has potential to look good about 100% of the time.

If you put the effort in. With effort any hair can make the wearer look put together.

That said, I wouldn't have a short cut to try and look professional. I'd be in such unchartered territory I don't know what my hair would do. And my ears would be very unprofessional.