HAIR TODAY
LEAD: The fashion pendulum is swinging again. Last year, many young women combined formal gowns with loose, tousled - read messy - hair. This year, the favored style for evening is perfectly neat - precise buns, demure chignons and ladylike French twists.
The fashion pendulum is swinging again. Last year, many young women combined formal gowns with loose, tousled - read messy - hair. This year, the favored style for evening is perfectly neat - precise buns, demure chignons and ladylike French twists.
Of course, this style is open to interpretation. One woman might fold her hair into a French twist in back, while leaving the front puffy in an over-the-brow gathering.
Another may take the reverse approach: a high bun in back with bangs combed flat over the eyebrows. Perhaps the most elaborate version starts with a low ponytail, which is divided into small sections that are twisted, looped and pinned to form a bun. Ornaments can enhance the look, but usually the style itself is ample decoration.
This textured bun hit two designers' runways at last month's showing of the spring 1989 American collections. Zanya Gissler, a freelance hair stylist who designed the models' hair for the Michael Kors show, chose the twisted bun for its youthful pizazz. 'The way you twist it changes the style,' she says. 'It doesn't have to be precise, and a woman can do it herself.' Sergio Valente, who owns salons in New York and Rome, created twists that resembled small perfect roses for the Oscar de la Renta show.
While short haircuts are the rage in Paris, some women are not prepared to lop off their locks. But at first glance, the pulled-back styles look like short hair. They may well evolve to the chic rendition worn by Eleonor Scherrer, who parts her short hair on the side, lacquers it with gel and combs it neatly behind her ears.
BEAUTY