[Insert dumb blonde joke here]

November 9, 2010 4:55 PM

I am getting my hair cut and I need pictures to show the haircut I want: short and sexy, maybe layered, lots of volume, natural blond with natural-looking blond highlights, and preferably bangs. Help!

Right now, I have very straight layered hair a couple of inches below my shoulders. My hair has gotten a lot more brown as I've gotten older, and I'd like to lighten it up. I had bangs as a kid, and I'd like to try them out again. I'd also really, really like to have a head turning and even sexy haircut, so I'd be willing to go pretty short, though not a pixie cut or anything.

As a really visual person, and someone who's not that great with describing things, it would be really helpful to have pictures that could help illustrate what I want and clarify it to myself and the hair stylist. So far googling hasn't turned up any pictures of celebrities with hairstyles that I like in their entirety, if that makes sense.

Any help would be appreciated.

posted by pecknpah to clothing, beauty, & fashion (14 answers total)

The hairstylists often have books and you can point to what you want.
posted by cogneuro at 5:00 PM on November 9, 2010

How short is "pretty short but not a pixie cut or anything"?

When I need inspiration for this sort of thing, I'll spend an hour or so on Jezebel's Good/Bad/Ugly series of red carpet posts.
posted by Sara C. at 5:01 PM on November 9, 2010

We need some approximate examples to start with.
Google "Michelle Williams". Hot or Cold?
posted by bartleby at 5:08 PM on November 9, 2010

You might also look at pictures of Carey Mulligan.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 5:10 PM on November 9, 2010

I like this Michelle Williams pic, but maybe with straighter and fuller bangs.

I guess I'd like it to be shorter than my shoulders but not really short in the back. I think this one might be too short, for example.
posted by pecknpah at 5:13 PM on November 9, 2010

This site has helped me before. It shows celebrity hairstyles and tips on how to mimic that style yourself. There's even an interactive "HairStyler," which is a little cheesy, but it's a good start when you're having trouble pinning down your style.
posted by katillathehun at 5:14 PM on November 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

So what you want is a layered bob, not too angled in the back. With bangs.

If you have a stylist you trust and don't have any particular celebrity you want to look EXACTLY like, you can most likely just tell the stylist the above and let her get to work. Your stylist can probably help you figure out what bangs would work best for you, so no need to fuss too much over that.

I would mainly bring in a photo to explain what you're thinking, colorwise. Though you should definitely expect your stylist to weigh in and help you settle on something that will look good on you regardless of any photo you bring in.
posted by Sara C. at 5:19 PM on November 9, 2010

you could try a short bob. Paris Hilton rocks it pretty well. It's not that layered, though. This is a bit shorter, but a lot sexier, in my opinion. Taylor Swift's hair is also really pretty. Granted, it's pulled back, but you can get it cut to look like that all the time, not pulled back. One last option
posted by shesaysgo at 5:20 PM on November 9, 2010

Kate Moss-- no bangs though
Kate moss-- long but awesome bangs
Debbie Harry-- in a wig, but with interesting uneven bangs
Nicole Richie x 2
Random cute girl

Also, the girls from Scott Pilgrim have excellent bangs:
Knives Chau long --> short
Ramona with long pieces in the front
some more characters
posted by acidic at 5:35 PM on November 9, 2010

So what you want is a layered bob, not too angled in the back. With bangs.

Yes! Thank you! Words are important.
posted by pecknpah at 5:39 PM on November 9, 2010

This is really cute, and sounds like what you want.

I love this one.

And here's one more.
posted by misha at 5:45 PM on November 9, 2010

I have short hair. I always find the Toni and Guy "style finder" to be a good inspiration.
posted by radiocontrolled at 6:20 PM on November 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

This is a Japanese hairstyle site, with tons of examples. I've never seen one this thorough in English. Each style's cut and colour is described, as well as the hair and face shape types it's suited for.
posted by emeiji at 9:01 PM on November 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

This site lets you search by color, length and texture - I've gotten a lot of good ideas from there.
And oddly enough, flickr is a great place to look for haircuts. There are a few groups I like that tend to focus on cuts a little shorter than what you are looking for, but just in case, here they are. The thing I like about the flickr groups opposed to hair books or professional sites is, for the most part, the women in the pictures are non-models. So you get a realistic look of a non-airbrushed person who doesn't have a professional styling her hair just before the picture is taken.
posted by 8dot3 at 6:41 AM on November 10, 2010 [1 favorite]