That Girl!

When I was a little girl - five or six years old - I had a burning desire to look like Marlo Thomas. Her TV show was very popular at that time and I thought she was so beautiful. She had the best clothes and those thick, dark (and now I know to be false) eyelashes and of course there was her hair. Black and shiney and it was always in the perfect flip hairdo.

Oh I coveted what she had. Those mini-skirts. Those groovy go-go boots. Her own apartment in New York (not that I really knew what New York was aside from it being where Lucy and Ricky Ricardo lived). I didn't think her boyfriend was handsome enough for her - I thought she'd be better off with Jethro Bodine from the Beverly Hillbillies, even if he was an idiot - but at least she had a boyfriend so I wanted one of those too. But I'd have passed it all by if I could have her hairstyle.

And I begged my mother. I wanted her to curl my hair just like Marlo's. Why couldn't I cut my hair some and have it in a flip-do intead of silly ringlet curls? Those were for babies! I wanted a That Girl! hairstyle!

I'd also been begging for white go-go boots and penny loafers and wasn't getting my wishes granted in that area either. I was doomed to sport Stride-Rites and Buster Browns and ringlet curls.

By the time I was old enough to chart my hair destiny for myself Marlo Thomas flip-dos were out of style. Farrah's hair reigned supreme and my blow drying and combing skills were honed to perfection to get that just right feathered hair look.

Naturally hairstyles have come and gone over the four plus decades of my life and I've spent many of those adult years with short, rather sensible hair. Since spring I've been growing out my hair. I've found the recipe for my naturally thick, heavy, wavy hair to be sleek and smooth and so I've been seeing how long I can grow it before I go mad and cut it off. So far it's down to nearly brushing my shoulders and I'm quite happy to let it grow longer. When I have my hair done I just have it colored and I have the top layer of my hair trimmed - the rest of my hair is one length.

Today when I was at my hairdresser she did it regular color job and cut and as she was drying it - the getting the wetness out part - she noticed it turning up at the ends. She clipped my hair into sections, grabbed a round brush and said "Here. Let's dry your hair differently today for something a little peppy and fresh. Let's make a flip.".

Here was my chance. My opportunity to have the flip hairdo I'd been pining for for nearly forty years. I nodded a yes and she was off.



That's the end result. My flip. I won't pretend that I look like Marlo Thomas - even false eyelashes and a mini-skirt wouldn't help me there - but I got my flip-do. I certainly couldn't dry my hair this way on my own - the next hair washing will see my dry my hair into it's normal sleek bob - but it's been fun finally seeing what that prized hairdo looks like on me.

And I got a much better looking guy than her nerdy TV boyfriend. Still no go-go boots though.