Democratic Sentinel, Volume 7, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 August 1883 — Cropping the Hair. [ARTICLE]

Cropping the Hair.

At length it appears, says an exchange, that a radical change in the fashion of arranging woman’s greatest glory, her hair, is really to take place. We hear rumor* of impending innovation from headquarters —in other words, from Paris. It is probable, though, that they will here be simply voices ip the air and nothing more for some time still. Fust, because a new fashion never gets fairly started with us until it is almost an old one on the other side (this statement may sound both unfair and unpleasant, bat it is literally exact, nevertheless), and then become the close, prim, de~ t mure little cvffurc a FAnglaiae which la now worn, and has been for the past two years or more, is exceptionally suited to the small, delicate head and slim face of the average American woman. It is not so well suited to the piquant, irregular-featured “ minors” of the Parisieanes, however. Therefore they have begun to adopt a looser, softer, less severe style of coiffure. The hair will, during the winter, it seems, be worn lower on the neck in ooila t braids, or carls, and in the evening, when flowers are added, they will be mounted in trailing sprays and garlands, to fsll gracely on the said coils, braids, or curls. Tbe latter (the curls) are apparently destined again to most especial favor. And there have been recently a number of young ladies seen abroad with their hair cropped short like a boy’s, and curled in fluffy rings all over the head, after that same fashion so very much in vogue about ten years ago. There are faces to which it is an undeniably becoming coiffure, this. But as to its being generally becoming, or even remotely so—that is not, assuredly. A blonde, rather small and delicate and vivacious, with eyes soft, silky hair, and rather a child-like face, perhaps, looks most charming with her sunny halo of clustering rings, quite a cherub, and probably ten years younger than she is. We knew a Polish lady some few years ago, with a pretty, pale, spirituelle face, ash-blonde hair, dark-brown eyes, and a mole on her left cheek, whe had adopted this coiffure, with a black velvet and blue ribbon passed across the front occasionally, and it suited her to absolute perfection. But then there are hosts of women who, after they have made the sacrifice of hair for a passing of fashion, look anything but well with oropped and curly heads—in fact, look quite decidedly the opposite from well. And it is no small sacrifice for a woman with a fine suit of hair to have it 6ut off, either. The result should pay very well to make the performance at all satisfactory. It is one of those cases in which the immortal Shakespeare’s counsel to look before we leap may be pondered with good effect.