Monday, February 22, 2010

Beauty Break: Return of the Pixie

Two of Hollywood's most in-demand young actresses, Carey Mulligan and Mia Wasikowska are now sporting blond pixies. Who's next? Is the 'do about to take over? It hasn't been this Hollywood prominent since Winona Ryder sported it so memorably in the early 90s.


I looked at these two photos from BAFTA (previous post) and an Alice in Wonderland event this weekend and all I could think was Project Runway companion look challenge. Variations on a theme it is: black florals for blond pixies.

What do we think of Mulligan's dress? I almost love it but I really hate it, too. I plan to co-star with it in my next romantic comedy.

More Pixies from Mia Farrow through Winona Ryder. Annette Bening & Halle Berry are probably the true loyalists, always returning to the look.




edited to add: and my beloved NATALIE WOOD. How could I forget?!

34 comments:

Derreck said...

I'm on the fence about Carey's dress. It does seem nice, but it does have an old-fashioned look to it.

and honestly, I can't think of anyone better who can rock this cut like Halle Berry. Sheer perfection. I'm still in awe at how fantastic she looked when she won her award. It was a total 'you go, girl!' moment. (even if i'm still somehwat bitter than Kidman lost it that year)

adri said...

Who is in the second photo, beside Mia Farrow? Is it Jean Seberg in "Breathless"?

NATHANIEL R said...

IT is.

Rick said...

What about the original in 1957 ... Natalie Wood???

NATHANIEL R said...

@Rick -- eeek! how can i forget? ADDING NOW.

@Derreck -- love the new pic!

DJ said...

I wasn't a fan of Carey's dress, and in fact this awards season has been sorely disappointing fashion-wise. The only two of note have been Marion's green one-shoulder dress (forget where she wore it) and Diane's SAG dress (now that was a beauty!).

OT: When do you think you'll do your first predictions of the year? I can't wait - should be a great year! And I'm sure Mia will be the hot young actress and starlet of this year.

Ikey said...

Carey Mulligan looked stunning last night. The dress, the shoes, the hair. Everything clicked. That was an Oscars level dress.

Anonymous said...

cant stand this 'do on women. makes them look older than they are

Caroline said...

Certain women look adorable in it (Natalie Portman and the ubiquitous Audrey, of course!) but in my opinion Carey Mulligan has absolutely the wrong facial structure for it. She should stick her adorable schoolgirl locks until she loses the baby fat.

Anonymous said...

Kidman rocked the short hair in Birth as well

Anonymous said...

Mia cut her hair for the Gus Van Sant role. She plays a girl with cancer. I seriously hope this girl is an awesome actress. She's getting all these high profile roles. Every movie she's been in that I've seen she is beyond bland. Even in the Alice trailer she looks bland.

Carey needs to stick with brown hair that color makes her look old.

The Boyfriend said...

Jean Seberg did it best! Iconic.

Anonymous said...

You covering the chick figure skaters too?

NATHANIEL R said...

anon 10:34 -- i thought she was pretty great in her big moment in THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT so i have high hopes.

Derreck said...

I'm not a big fan of the cut on Carey either. It just doesn't suit her. It looks better blonde though. The reddish brown made her look even more boring.

and thanks, Nat. i try to keep up with the themes when i can remember. :)

amir_uk said...

Ohmygod no! Everyone is being way too critical of Carey here! I think that pixie cut looks awesome on her - it did when it was auburn, and does - even more so - now that it's blonde. I literally went "wow!" when I first saw her on Live on the Red Carpet at the Baftas.

Also her dress was A-mazing. Love love it. It's so Fashion. But who's it by?I never got to find out... Loved Anna Kendrick's short Pucci look, Bafta-winner Kristen Stewart in Chanel, Kate Winslet's black cut out (on trend) Stella McCartney, Romola Garai in hot designer of the moment Erdem... Any other notables I've forgotten?...

Glenn said...

I like her dress, but I think sleeved dresses look amazing most of the time.

I regards to Mia, she has already proven to be a fantastic actor and she was literally the only good thing about Amelia. If only they'd cast her in a "young amelia" project!

It always saddens me to see Halle Berry with long hair because she absolutely kills the cropped look! I love Anne Heche with the short do too. Did you forget about Anne?

Rebecka said...

How I wish I could pull off the Pixie, it looks so comfortable...
I think Natalie Portman looked great with short hair, but my favourite Pixie is beyond any doubt Faye Wong as she rocked it in Chungking Express! Also loved the short hair on Carina Lau and Sandra Ng, to bring up some awesome Chinese ladies ^^

NATHANIEL R said...

Derreck -- thanks for participating ... i love group action. More people should change their profile pics with each new banner :)

Anonymous said...

Carey is perfection no matter what hair she has it, but I do miss her blond long hair, she was so pretty.

BTW, her dress at BAFTAS was amazing, she was the queen of the night.

Chris Na Taraja said...

what about Samantha Morton (she was pixie-ish for a while)?

And Audrey Hepburn!?

Iggy said...

I don't know, at this time of the awards season, every single move is supposed to be done for some reason. So, going blonde is her decision or her publicist's? Or am I going too far? At least, being blonde makes her look more visible on red carpets where she always seems to be too shy for words.

Anyway, I've never understood why some dark-haired people, movie stars or mere mortals go blonde at some point in their lives. It just never looks real.

PS, I must say one never stops learning here, I didn't even know this haircut had a specific name in English. If I had to choose, even though it's probably not exacly the same haircut, I'd choose the actress in any Little Women version that sacrifices her locks for the family :).

Anonymous said...

@ Iggy, Carey was a blond before her An Education role. In pretty much all her tv roles she had blond hair and she looked DAMN FINE.

She is wayyy more beautiful as a blond.

Hayden said...

I love Carey's pixie. To respond to Caroline, I think a blonde pixie is very different than a brunette pixie. Ergo, a Mia Farrow is very different than an Audrey Hepburn. Personally I think Carey werqs the Mia Farrow.

Jeffrey said...

Carey Mulligan mentioned in an interview that she had dyed her hair blonde for a small part in Public Enemies but her hair got damaged and she had to cut it very short.

Nel said...

Not a fan of Mulligan and not a fan of her hair or her dress sense. My grandmother envies her clothes. There is something about her that just seems so contrived also if she had cut her hair due to damage, why then dye it red then blonde? She seems to be adopting the ingenue look and failing miserably, she looked better with longer hair.

Iggy said...

@anon 11:38

Well, it's a matter of taste, so there's no way to agree. I just think that blond hair on previous dark hair looks unreal. Maybe she just needs a few more sessions at the hair salon to make it look more natural.

Janice said...

But back to the pixie cut people - don't forget the adorable Leslie Caron back in the '50's!

NoNo said...

@Nel

I don't get the sudden avalanche of love towards either. I did like her in the movie(except for the last 3 minutes). But she's not unique looking, no interesting public personality and not particularly stylish. Yet, it seems that she's jumped ahead of Hathaway, Blunt, Knightley, and Page in people's hearts on the internet. It's bizarre to me.

Lucky said...

Pixie's look great on young girls with big eyes. I think Mia Farrow and Michelle Williams looked the best that way.

And speaking of Mulligan with long blonde hair, didn't she look a lot like Michele Williams in her Dr Who episode?

http://iamatvjunkie.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451c17f69e200e553e8562c8834-500wi

http://pics.livejournal.com/radioreverie/pic/0007hyx6.jpg

And I agree, she looked better with longer hair.

MovieNut14 said...

Seriously, no love for Audrey?

Criticlasm said...

My fave is Shirley MacLaine in The Apartment. Original Pixie--

http://www.filmdope.com/Gallery/ActorsM/10815-806.gif

Unknown said...

What about Morena Baccarin (Inara from Firefly)?

Janice said...

@Criticlasm - I can't believe I completely forgot Shirley McLaine! *slaps forehead* who rocked the cut better than she did back in the day?