Lengthy Hair, Older Girls, and Work

Readers had an attention-grabbing threadjack the opposite day about what constitutes “lengthy” hair, which made me take into consideration this previous dialogue about whether or not older girls can have lengthy hair “and nonetheless be skilled.” (Yeah, I do know, even the query is cringe.)

However I began questioning — are any of those previous arguments related in 2023? Is there a sure magical age at which you need to get your hair reduce to shoulder size or shorter?

(Full disclosure: I’ve all the time had my hair between shoulder size and bra-strap size, save for a cute asymmetrical haircut that was lovely except for the truth that I’d forgotten my hair has by no means been constantly straight — after which the “post-wedding chop” the place I donated 9 or 10 inches or no matter. At this level (in my mid-40s) I can not see myself willingly having hair that’s too brief to place right into a bun.)

Why Did Individuals Used to Suppose That Solely Younger Girls Might Have Lengthy Hair?

So let’s go approach again to 2009 — among the reader feedback on the time on this subject (from a threadjack, after all), concerned issues like these feedback:

Girls over 40 in legislation corporations or company apply nearly uniformly have hair above the shoulders. Something longer simply doesn’t look polished and trendy. There’s loads of flexibility to put on your hair in a smooth bob, or with free or tighter curls. However hair that drags on the shoulders appears inconsistent with the basic look you see on most ladies of that age in senior positions

One other commenter famous that “[u]nless it’s a surprising reduce, brief hair makes you fade into the background, i.e. forgettable!” (Which is soooo attention-grabbing taken with the concept that girls usually speak about changing into invisible generally as soon as they’re previous a sure age… just like the brief hair pattern is encouraging that “we worth your contributions however it might be higher in the event you simply blended into the background” vibe.)

Different posters famous that the rule of thumb (brief hair for older girls) was grounded within the bodily realities of growing old — frizzy hair, jowls, crepe-y neck, and so forth.

Solely Youthful Girls Might Have Lengthy Hair, Then?

The enjoyable a part of this dialogue is that no, younger girls usually wrote in to Corporette worrying that their lengthy hair made them look too younger — and questioning whether or not they need to reduce it once they received their first “Large Lady Job,” as we phrased it again then.

Lengthy Hair and “Skilled” Appears in 2023

I’m curious to listen to what folks say right here. I might say that there are not any guidelines anymore (huzzah!)… however I might nonetheless argue that waist-length hair might be nonetheless not one thing I might advise, though I’m struggling to place my finger on why precisely.

I do suppose it’s vital that no matter your coiffure is, it seems to be intentional (however, ideally, not in a approach that screams “I spent three hours on my hair this morning”).

Readers, what are your ideas? Are there any limits on lengthy hair today for girls, younger or previous?