Thank You, “And Simply Like That…” For Rebuking Center-Age Hair Clichés

When she was about 45, my mother reduce her chest-length hair right into a pixie. Lengthy hair, she advised me on the time, was unseemly on “ladies of a sure age.” I am undecided if she actually believed that rule or simply felt prefer it wasn’t her place to query it, however it did not matter—inches and inches of hair wound up on the ground anyway. This second—and loads of others, I’m certain—put an thought in my little elementary-age thoughts that caught with me by maturity: That once I hit center age, a malevolent power will drag me to the salon and lop off my very own lengthy hair. However unexpectedly, And Simply Like That… was the factor to lastly free me from that outdated mentality.

Now that the present is in its third season, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte York-Goldenblatt (Kristin Davis) are of their mid-to-late 50s. That’s effectively into “lady of a sure age” territory, and I’m delighted to report they haven’t fallen sufferer to the identical cliché my mom did (which to her credit score she later reneged; she’s since grown her hair again lengthy).

Once I discuss Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte, chances are high you image the late-30s variations of themselves from the unique Intercourse and the Metropolis, which led to 2004. On the time, Carrie wore her blonde hair previous her shoulders, perpetually in a center half; Charlotte at all times side-parted her medium-length brunette hair; redheaded Miranda was a bixie reduce devotee. After greater than 20 years, one would possibly count on these characters to have transitioned to one thing extra “age-appropriate” however today, Carrie nonetheless has that lengthy blonde hair, Charlotte nonetheless components her sculpted waves to the aspect, and Miranda maintains her pink bixie, switching amongst varied shades as she did in her 30s.

Photograph: Courtesy of HBO Common