Freeing the FRO

I’ve been wearing my hair natural since February 28th. So a little over two months now, and I never thought I would fall this much in love again with my OWN hair. I started thinking about it after seeing girls like Lineisy Montero and Samile Bermannelli strut down every high-end designer runways with their tightly coiled tresses; meaning this is NOW a look.

The black girl with natural hair is now an iconic image for the runways of NYC, Paris and Milan and editorial pages of Vogue, Bazaar, W magazine. So why on earth am I covering mine with a lace closure wig/weave?

It’s typical for women to believe that beauty is what you see in the pages of a magazine. This is what girls aspire to, as early as their teenage years. Right now the off-the-shoulder ruffle blouse is all over magazines, the runways of Johanna Ortiz, fashion websites and on the Petersyn racks at Bloomingdales and other big retailers. So naturally it becomes a trend, and a look women aspire to own.

The black woman has been so underrepresented in the fashion industry that it leads us to believe that our natural image is not what is considered beautiful. Even I’ve been guilty of this. It’s not necessarily that I didn’t feel beautiful, or think that I was pretty but more so that I thought to have straight hair or long hair was a better image or look.

I felt that straight hair was more polished, refined or elegant as opposed to a wild, coily, fro-do typical of artists and eccentrics alike.

The question I ask myself now, is why is this bad? The answer: reiterated in an article in W magazine on Ebonee Davis. She quite eloquently states that “as black women – we live in a society based on white privilege, so all of the standards of what is beautiful starts with whiteness.”
It all comes down to wanting to feel accepted and wanting to fit in. This raised another question. How important is social acceptance for me versus being my authentic self? I’ve pretty much been a black sheep all my life, so what am I doing trying to fit in anyway?

Two months later I’m still FROtastic and having so much fun wth my look. Redefining elegance all over the streets of New York City. Having my hair this way gears my outfits towards textured skirts with longer hems, blouses with sleeves, frills and ruffles and shoes that are suitable for a princess or unicorn.

People love, love, LOVE my hair. Women and men alike, all ask me how long I’ve been wearing it this way. When I show them pictures with my hair extensions they believe the hair I have now is so much better.

One Saturday, a beautiful tall, leggy blonde at Harry Cipriani exclaimed ” I LOVE YOUR ENTIRE LOOK!” I as wearing this exact outfit. “Your hair is so soft and pretty,” she went on, ” it’s like cotton candy, I wish I could have hair like that.” Now isn’t that something.

All this isn’t to say that I won’t ever be caught dead in a wig or weave again. I love playing with fashion and experimenting with different styles or looks. It’s always great to embrace a more authentic version of yourself, and I’m just really enjoying being fro-ly-locks right now. xoxoSB