Fashion Focus: Pixie Crop

Pixie crop is a very specific hairstyle among other cuts because brings a revolution of changes to your life ranging from the perception of you by yourself and others. It’s like visual shock (usually positive) that results in such a radical transition especially when you were long-haired woman (including myself) for all your life.

The pixie transformation has a rich history of image metamorphosis including long procession of movie stars, models and public figures. Since late 50’s of the XX century till now we could see a long list of pixie cropped women that influenced the cinema, music and fashion scene simultaneously contributing to the different – short-haired visualization of woman – starting from Audrey Hepburn, Mia Farrow and Twiggy to Emma Watson and Anne Hathaway for the present day.

AHepburn21_V_14nov11_rex_b — Audrey Hepburn

After all you may ask the question is the pixie crop the hairstyle for you? Personally, I made my decision once and I never regretted. Despite that I liked my long blonde hair, I felt that I really need a change. It was definitely a good image therapy for me including many nice things that happened afterwards like my regular participation as a model in professional hairstyle seminars. Nevertheless, before you rush to the hair salon, here are some things to consider first:

1. Your face shape. A pixie crop is most suitable for oval and diamond-shaped faces. If you’re round-faced, consider it. A longer hair style might be more flattering on you.

2. Your hair texture. Straight and wavy hair would lend well to a pixie crop. On thin but straight hair, such a crop would not achieve beautiful results. More so on coarse hair, which only becomes coarser as it gets shorter.

3. Your profile. Tie back your hair and take a look at your profile in the mirror. If you are pleased with the way your nape and ears are exposed, then go for that pixie crop. See how five women each from a different age group (teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s) look after each got a pixie crop, courtesy of the DailyMail.co.uk .

audrey-hepburn-pixie-cut-bold-orange-lipstick-style-fashion-beauty-beauty-and-the-beat-blog — Audrey Hepburn

The pixie crop has been around since the 1950s, with Audrey Hepburn as the first silver screen star to sport the style. In the mid 1960s, British teenage model Twiggy took the fashion world by storm with her androgynous look: a thin, flat-chested and curve less physique topped by a crop. Twiggy’s hairstyle became the look that defined the Swinging Sixties.

Watson herself took inspiration from an actress from the 1960s: Mia Farrow, who was known for her role in the film, Rosemary’s Baby. Other personalities who have worn pixie crops include Demi Moore, Winona Ryder, Kate Moss, Carey Mulligan, Natalie Portman, Rihanna, and recently, Anne Hathaway.

Especially Emma Watson caught the attention of the media when she chopped hey sandy brown locks, strongly identified as her trade mark from Harry Potter series replaced it with a pixie crop. The entertainment press said it was her way of reinventing herself, of signalling that she has more to offer besides her iconic role as Hermione Granger, the bossy female member of the Harry Potter trio. Because of contract restrictions , she was not allowed to modify or recreate her look than the movie producers would tell her so. As she later admitted in the interview for American Vogue, after long years of Harry Potter cycle, she finally felt free with her own image and that is also why she unveiled distinctive transformation with the pixie crop.