Trendy tresses Trendy tresses Trendy tresses Trendy tresses

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Aug 2, 2005 | by Monique Beeler, STAFF WRITER

IT DOESN'T BLEND. It's choppy. It's chunky.

And smooth, even ends? Forget about it.

The "disconnected" haircut is all about asymmetrical lines, standing out from the crowd and pushing the latest fashion boundaries.

In a disconnected style, hair on one side of the head may be long, while the other side is snipped short. Or the sides might be trimmed to the jawline with a tuft of spiky, short hair sticking out on top. Cutting lengths of hair at steep angles and with blunt ends, stylists can transform hairdos short and long into disconnected styles.

"Disconnected means not blending with the rest," says Carlos Arellano of Arellano Salon in Oakland's trendy Rockridge neighborhood. "It's pretty popular now, but people don't know the terminology."

But they'll likely recognize it when they see it. Think slightly punk with a softer edge.

So who wants this cutting edge hairstyle?

It's probably not a coiffure a bank president would request, but those in less conservative, fashion-forward professions, from graphic designers to clothing retailers, are demanding the off- center look, say Bay Area stylists.

Visual artists and musicians, from hip-hop artist Fat Man Scoop to Barenaked Ladies lead singer Ed Robertson, have sported the style. Before she recently went retro with a bob, singer Ashlee Simpson wore her straight, dark brown tresses in a choppy disconnected way. Television personalities from a stylist on the Bravo series "Blow Out" to a historian on PBS's "History Detectives" also have been spotted wearing disconnected locks.

At Trio Hair Salon in Burlingame, co-owner Dawn Longmore says it's a hair craze pursued primarily by clients in their 20s.

"We've been doing it for maybe about a yearnow," Longmore says. "The verbiage is (beginning) to spread to the public."

Longmore describes the disconnected hairstyle as the antithesis of the "Jennifer Aniston, overdone 'Friends'" cut that reigned for several years.

"This is sharp, angular pieces," Longmore says. "It's a lot of the razor-y, texture-y look. The fad is one done on a younger person."

Along with the scrappy, disparate lengths of hairs that mark the disconnected cut, expect to see an unusual use of color. Many people choose to go with a dark brown or black hair color overall, then accent it with patches of bold color here and there.

"It's really piece-y, and it's in panels," says Longmore about color placement. "It can be on the top or in the back."

Purple splotches are in with the disconnected crowd.

"Red is really big," Longmore adds. "We've seen a lot of turquoise. Sometimes it's black and white, (with) chunks of white."

Women get disconnected more often than male clients at Arellano's salon, formerly known as Art-Mind Hair. He also fields requests from customers into their 40s and 50s.

Whatever their age, those with a disconnected look are sending a message.

"They're the more sophisticated type of person who's looking for something different," Arellano says. "They want to make a statement. They don't want to be ordinary."

Linda Hill, supervising instructor at the Hayward College of Cosmetology, has been teaching the disconnected technique to advanced students for two years. When it first showed up on the scene, she was happy to have the new hairdo displace the perfectly blended long layers of Aniston's cut.

"From Jennifer Aniston on, (hairstyles) started getting slimmer, straighter and disconnected," Hill says.

The look, which she calls "sassy, loose, casual and easy-care hair," is best suited to naturally straight, flat-ironed or chemically-straightened hair. It just won't work on curly tresses.

"Most anyone can wear it, but with long narrow faces it probably would not be a good idea," Hill says. "It elongates the face even more."

Although the trend is hitting its peak with the public, Hollywood's en vogue set already has begun to bid it goodbye.

"We're as flat and straight as we can go" with current hairstyles," Hill says. "So we're starting to see (the return of) some volume and curl."

She points out that celebrities including Oprah, Beyonc and Christina Aguilera recently have appeared wearing bigger, bouncy curls in their hair.

For those tempted to try out a disconnected style before its time passes, there are plenty of ways to communicate to your stylist what you want.

"You can also call it 'disconnection,'" Arellano advises. "It can be uncontrived. You can actually just call it messy."

Whatever it's called, if you want to spy this edgy look on the streets, don't blink.

"The disconnected (style) is more of a trend," Longmore says. "It's not going to be around for a long time."

You can e-mail Monique Beeler at mbeeler@angnewspapers.com or call (925) 416-4860.