Too Old for Too Long?

I had really not given much thought to changing my hairstyle until I read an alarming internet article this week.

The article was about Callista Gingrich's "helmet hair," a hairstyle that is frighteningly close to mine, right down to the color but sans the extra hold hairspray that she no doubt uses to keep every strand in its place.  In the op ed, Callista was derided for having a hopelessly out-of-date and old lady-ish hairdo.  This was disturbing news.

After finishing the article, I took a long, hard look in the mirror.  I'd been wearing this same style or some variation of it for oh, probably the last twenty five years.  The color had changed, of course, and I grew my bangs out, but I thought it suited me and on some level I was buying into the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" theory.  It had never occurred to me that my trusty bob was out of style and might even be making me look older than I was.  In fact, when I had seen Mrs. G on television, hovering close to Newt at some campaign stop, I had thought to myself in passing that our hair was sort of similar and found it reassuring.  I mean, if she could afford to go to any stylist or salon and ended up with that style, then my cut from Ulta should be good too.  The caustic remarks in the article certainly set me straight on that score.

Fast forward to the beginning of the State of the Union address.  Mike was settling back to watch the whole thing while I was unpacking groceries and checking out the screen with mild curiosity in between arranging soup cans in my pantry and cramming Lean Cuisines into the freezer.  Suddenly I saw the back of a woman with pretty hair and a headband.  The headband gave me pause.  Could this be....?  Yes!  It was Hillary Clinton!  The last time I had noticed her on TV I remember thinking she looked tired, but this time I was entranced.  I was immediately struck by the longish length of her hair and how great it looked.

Wait a minute - Hillary was at least five years older than me.  How was it that she could get away with long hair?  Wasn't there some unwritten rule that women of "a certain age" had to keep their hair short?  It seemed like a wholly unfair choice.  Hmmmm, what would I do?  Keep the good old reliable helmet hair?  Go super short with a real old lady style or even worse, a perm?

It really got me thinking.  The truth is, the thickness and natural wave in my hair might not make me a good candidate for Hillary's hairstyle, but seeing her carry it off looking as good as she did made me feel empowered.  Who made that rule about having short hair after fifty, anyway?  Probably a twenty year old.  I knew I didn't want to end up looking like one of those aging hippie chicks with long gray hair and Birkenstocks, but it seemed to me that if I chose to wear my hair shoulder length (or even longer, I thought defiantly) and it looked good, then it should be okay with society and I shouldn't be judged.

I'm not planning on upending all of those over fifty faux-pas.  No short shorts, no bikinis, no buying my wardrobe at Forever XXI or Hollister.  Just a little latitude in the hair department if I decide to take the plunge and grow it out a bit longer.

I might just do it.  And I might not.  But thank you, Hillary, for paving the way for a new era in almost-but-not-quite senior hairstyles and the freedom to carry it off with panache!