For the past 12ish years I have been coloring my hair, changing it from the boring beige that I was born with to the chic jet black of Coco Chanel. Being the fashion person that I am I went to Vidal Sassoon the very first time I colored it and loved the experience-I felt connected to my fashion roots. And then, of course there was the incredible luxuriousness of the salon itself.
Vidal Sassoon himself was an integral part of what made the London fashion scene in the swinging 60's. He was the hair stylist to the runways-when Mary Quant invented the mini skirt, he was there, when Pierre Cardin and Courreges followed Neil Armstrong to a space age future of boxy mini dresses it was Vidal Sassoon who gave us the straight boxy bowl cuts to go to space too. Alas, I was too young to have ever gone to Vidal Sassoon in London or at all but I knew the salons of the 90's would be among the best so there is where I went.
Unfortunately, after 2 or 3 trips there I realized or was willing to admit I couldn't afford it. I found someone cheaper and was basically satisfied for several years. Though my colorist was a sweet guy his salon was in an inconvenient part of the city and he was a terrible blow dryer-I did a better job and I do it horribly! Until one day when a Daily Candy offered a coupon at Vidal Sassoon! I went and loved it all over again, but the prices were the same as 5 years before so I kept going! I met my new colorist, we've become friends over the years and I think now we will become even better friends because he texted me a month or so ago that he was changing salons! I was rather shocked but I knew I would give it a try-I could handle wrenching myself away from my fashion history. And, if I didn't like his new place I could go back to Sassoon.
Last Wednesday I went to De Berardinis for the first time. It was a long hot walk and I was a bit stressed so was talking myself into not liking it there. However, I walked into a blast of the most delicious air conditioning ever (Sassoon was often stingy with it) which is exactly what I needed. The ladies at the front desk were charming as was everyone else I talked to in the salon. The men who swept and washed my hair wore very tight T-shirts and jeans, had jelled funky hair or shaved heads and all looked the tough guys who frequent Hogs and Heifers or other tough guy gay biker clubs-it's so important not to judge a book by its cover. Those men were extremely sweet and gentle yet I had the best hair wash and massage I ever had! What I loved most about it was the glam decor-it suited my dressed up love of fancy things and I felt instantly at home.
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