The Future of Women's Hair Fashion

A brief look ahead to some possible new hair design styles in 2008...

What's Next?

It may still be too early to know what hairstyles trends will guide women at the start of 2008, the rest of the winter, and into the spring, but a few signs in late 2007 could provide a little direction.

The two biggest hairstyles trend-setters in 2007 were Victoria Beckham and Katie Holmes. The keen interest in these two was not just in America; it was international. Their haircuts, without question, were the most popular and most requested cuts of 2007.

Those two ladies set the bob hair trend of 2007 in convincing fashion, and it looks as if that trend will continue in 2008. But there could be some changes to the 2007 bob in color and style. Let's look at how the new hair style icons changed their hair in the final months of 2007.

Latest Looks

Katie Holmes changed her style, but not her color; whereas Posh Spice changed her color, but not her style. Victoria Beckham has kept her edgy angled 2007 bob hair design, but it's no longer blonde. She returned to her roots and was last sighted as a brunette with subtle highlights.

Before	After

Katie Holmes kept her natural brown haircolor, but she restyled her bob, and at the end of 2007 looked very different following another extreme makeover.

One tabloid said its internet poll showed 75% of women liked her new hair cut.

Is that you, Katie?

One issue with Katie's new look is she seems to get lost in it. There's so much hair over her forehead and the sides of her face. It's harder to recognize her.

Another problem is it may not be the most age-appropriate hairstyle for the 29-year-old actress. It's the type of haircut that usually looks better on middle-aged women. In fact it looks as if Katie took her style cue from 58-year-old Vogue magazine editor Anna Wintour! Both haircuts are chin-length bobs with heavy bangs.

Katie may be trying to look older (her husband Tom Cruise is much older at 45), but there could be a more flattering hair style out there for her.

Here it is:

Update in January 2008

(Click for full-size)

If you are thinking of copying Katie's new bob haircut, consider her face shape and also her height. Katie is tall (5'9) and you don't see bob hairstyles on tall women very often. One exception is Linda Evangelista (5'9.5").

One of the other "bob girls" of 2007 was Rihanna. She started off with a straight bob, and then added some style with curls in November 2007.

Bob Style Evolution of Rihanna in 2007

March	June	November

This latest bob makeover could lead to a new trend of curly bob hairstyles (like the 90s) if other women get tired of plain or traditional straight bobbed styles.

Very Short Bobs

"In 2008," predicts Nick Penna Jr., owner of SalonCapri in Boston, "we're going to see more glamorous, 1920s-inspired looks such as the polished bob and soft, loose waves on long hair."

In the 1920s, you may recall from movies of that era, some bobs were rather short--a few inches shorter than chin-length--like the famous Louise Brooks bob.

Will we see very short bob haircuts in 2008? It's a very dramatic retro look that not all women are brave enough to try.

Now it remains to be seen what celebrity hairstyles will become trends for women with long or medium hair... stay tuned...

"The Intercoiffure style guide for 2008," reports the Orlando Sentinel, "calls for precision-cut, mid-length hair with bangs and subtle highlights."

2008 Hairstyles Trends May Follow Fashion Runway Haircut Designs

There was no global committee of hairstylists which convened in 2007 to decide what the 2008 hairstyles trends will be. But haircuts seen on the fashion runways of London, New York, Milan, and Paris have been known to become the hair styles trends months later.

Therefore, what follows are runway pictures showing various potential 2008 hair styles. If you notice a pattern, they could become the haircut trend--that is, if they catch on.

Fashion models--or more accurately the fashion designers who choose how the catwalk models will wear their hair at their live fashion shows--aren't necessarily more influential in determining hairstyles trends than female celebrities.

If 2008 is similar to 2007, then it will be celebrity hairstyles from A-list stars which lead the way.

The fashionable hairstyles for 2008 could be a continuation of the most popular 2007 hairstyle trend, or something completely different.

Trends, including hair styles trends, can last for a short or long time. Since the 2007 trend of bob hairstyles was a radically different new trend that wasn't seen much in 2006, or in the years before that, we can expect more bob hair cuts in 2008.

It is not uncommon for one trend to last longer than a year, but the women who were on the vanguard of hair fashion, that is, the "early adopters," will likely get bored first and look for variations on the bob styles seen in 2007.

The other thing to keep in mind about what to expect for 2008 hairstyles is not only do the trendy styles vary from country to country, they also vary from city to city.

A few years ago, a popular women's magazine surveyed hair salons in different major cities across America and found they had different hairstyles trends. What women wanted most in New York was different from what was most requested in Los Angeles.

So if the reason why you want a 2008 hairstyle is to stay current or fashionable in your city, don't automatically follow what one website, magazine, or news report says is "the" 2008 haircut trend for women.

Of course, some hair cut trends are in fact national. So you want to look out for what is a national hairstyles trend in 2008 or a local trend.

It's only mid-September at the time of writing, but already women want to know what the hairstyles for 2008 will be. Everything right now of course is only an opinion. Everyone is guessing.

Hair stylists' predictions for 2008 are being quoted in the hair magazines currently on sale, but it's all speculation. They may be right, but we won't know until 2008 rolls around, and women make their own choices with or without direction from their hairdressers.

Until then, here are some runway photos showing what could be coming down the pike. Note that clothes and hairstyles at fashion shows are notoriously "off-the-wall"--especially by the most creative fashion designers like Alexander McQueen and John Galliano. They show "haute couture" hairdos which nobody has seen before and nobody will see again.

Some clothes on the catwalk just aren't "wearable" and the same is true of the hair styles.

Despite these extremes, as already noted, fashion shows have been known to guide hairstyle trends, and next to celebrity styles, they may be the best place to start in ancipation of, and search for, the top hair trend of 2008.

Even though fashion show hair doesn't always dictate the styles women will wear the next year, sometimes it can set the next hair length trend. (This happened a few years ago when long hair became in vogue again.)

The same is true with hair color. Fashion models can show us what will be the new most popular hairstyles, hair length, or haircolor.

Gisele Bundchen in Paris with long wavy hair for Chanel (Fall/Winter 2008)

Linda Evangelista with red haircolor in short bob hairstyle for Chanel (2008)

Helena Christensen on the runway with formal hairdo

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