I really, really love this updo on Reese Witherspoon: It’s cheerful and thick-looking and pleasantly retro. Now, based on what I’ve read online, that may be a controversial compliment — some people have said it was tragic and mumsy and artificial and a pathetic echo of Legally Blonde instead of a grown-up choice. To that I say: Dudes, it’s just a fake ponytail. Big deal. For one thing, using a piece does not demand an apology; there is no such thing as being too A-list or too high and mighty or too anything for fake hair. Even the most genetically blessed people in this town sometimes need a boost, so why not, if it’s available to you? Nobody, especially in Hollywood, is or should be above a fall, or extensions, or a hairpiece, or a weave, or even a full-on wig. And I adore how beautifully Reese’s own hair is styled around the extra piece she’s got in there. Like, we all know she doesn’t have that much hair on her own, but she’s turning things up to eleven in a pretty seamless and smart way. And finally, she can’t be expected to wear bangs or sleek knots her whole life, just to avoid the Legally Blonde comparison.
I don’t think this was about that, anyway. I think it’s about this: Girlfriend is happy. She has a hot fiance who, by all accounts so far, treats her well and loves her kids. So I think it’s great that her hair is as upbeat as she is. Big volume, big joy, right? And she deserves it. After having to go through the Ryan Phillippe divorce (at which time he and Abbie Cornish took up), and then dating Jake Gyllenhaal and having the tabloids predict their wedding every ten seconds even though there were also all those pesky Internet rumors that it was a Relationship Of Convenience, Reese has come out on top. Really, this is Reese’s time to marinate in strolling the red carpet, glowing, knowing everyone is whispering, “Oh, she’s SO MUCH better off without him.”
And, it starts with the hair. So I am pro-pouf. Pro, I say!
