“the rachel haircut” paradox
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It’s April 1995. Rachel Green is working up the courage to give her ex, Barry, his engagement ring back. In an attempt to protect Barry’s ego, she goes to meet him wearing stonewashed overalls and her hair up in a clip (you know, to look undesirable!). Upon learning that Barry has been dating her maid of honor, gotten contacts, and hair plugs, Rachel decides she wants him back. In a single calculated move, she whips her voluminous, piecey, layered bob out of the claw clip, runs her fingers through her auburn highlights, and BAM - “The Rachel” haircut hit the airwaves so hard our recliners tipped over.
Salons all across the country started raking in big bucks. Women were even flying to LA to have the ‘do’s creator, Chris McMillan, give them “The Rachel”. To everyone’s surprise, “The Rachel haircut” we saw on heart-shaped-faced Jen was completely and utterly unattainable. Infinite teasing, spraying, and volumizing were indispensable hallmarks of the look, let alone the basic requirements of natural texture, thickness, and body.
Even Jennifer Aniston “...expressed her frustration at not being able to do the style on her own; to get it just right, she needed McMillan on hand to go through painstaking styling before shoots.” reported Jay Serafino from Mental Floss. Even Rachel couldn’t nail “The Rachel”. Yet, women have persisted in vain for nearly three decades.
What is it that makes us strive for that which we cannot hope to attain? Why do we go to such lengths to alter the un-alterable? The truth is, there has always only been one thing in style from the beginning of time, and that is lack. Without lack, and the shame of living in lack, trends would cease to exist entirely. And we love trends, don’t we? So, we copy those who have what we do not, even though it is not meant for us. I call it “The Rachel Haircut Paradox”.
What is the “Rachel haircut” in your life? Is it that you wish your legs were longer? Maybe you keep trying to wear plaid flannel shirts even though they just. Don’t. Look. Right. Tell me in the comments! I’ll be right here waiting, teasing my hair.
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