Short, Sharp, Shocked

I have curly hair. That is not a complaint, just a statement. I rather like my curly hair, actually. That's not true -- I love my curly hair. It seems like women are not supposed to say that, but I do. My hair has character and zest -- I have a curly-haired personality and my hair suits me. I've never wanted to straighten it because I like it for what it is, and also because my long narrow face benefits from the volume around it.

My hair reached its maximum length in my late 20's, when I was living in New York and too lazy/broke to get it cut regularly. There was a point at which it reached almost to my waist.

(Waaaaaaaaay too much hair.)

(Ditto. And not nearly enough product. Also, what on earth am I wearing????)

There was even a point when I lived in the city that I got braids:

Honestly, I loved this. It took forever, it hurt like hell getting them done, and taking them out was a nightmare that nearly cost me my best friend's love, but it looked soooooo cool. Trouble was, it wasn't cool -- I had it done in summer and there was probably more artificial hair in there than real and it was hot. Also, while my hair is curly and there's a lot of it, it's also quite fine, so it didn't hang onto the braids for very long -- they started sliding out after 3 or 4 weeks. I actually left one floating in a swimming pool in the Hamptons, if you can believe that. It was like a scene from a BiIl Murray movie.

So, yeah, I had quite the hair thing going on for a while, but a very common-sensical stylist persuaded me to cut it off when I turned 30. (That's not a magical expiration date for long hair, it's just when it happened for me.) She was absolutely right -- my hair was stalky and damaged, and when it's that long the weight of the hair keeps it from curling as nicely. So we took it off up to my shoulders, and for the past dozen years it's hovered between collarbone and jawbone.

(First trip to Paris. Even my hair was swoony with delight.)

(Must have been humid that day, but a good shape.)

(This was good, though prone to the dread triangle head.)

(The shortest so far. Really liked this.)

For the last couple of years, however, I've been thinking about really whacking it off. Again, not because I don't like it, but it was just a growing feeling I had: (::spooky hypnosis voice here::) cuuuuuuut yooooooouur haaaaaaaairrrrrr!! Also, especially since the weight loss, I've been on a serious quest for chic. I've been trying to streamline my look, to go for a more grown-up, French (I'll admit it) sleekness. And while my head full of sausage curls could be pretty, or romantic, or distinctive, or dramatic, they never really seemed chic. I was feeling that with this much curl, chic could only be achieved with short.

My stylist has actually backed me off it for a while now -- I'd go in & say, "Whack it all off!" and she'd talk me down. But Tuesday I went in & stood my ground and whack she did.

(Would you look at the circles under my eyes? You can tell it's cedar season. ::sniffle::)

I think I like it, but I'm not entirely sure. I'm worried about a certain wedge-y-ness around the bottom and near my ears. The hair there is short enough that it's not actually curling, it's just curving, and I'm worried it's a little matronly.

A couple dozen people who know me saw me yesterday post-haircut and only a few of them even mentioned it, which worries me a little. Not that I live for the approval of others, but it seems like it was a pretty dramatic change and I'm afraid that people don't have something nice to say and so they're not saying anything at all. I may want to get the sides thinned down a little to make it rounder & less wedge-y, but I'll have to give it a couple more days to be sure. My weird curly hair suffers from CHSS -- Curly Haircut Shock Syndrome. Do any other curly girls experience this? The way my hair looks immediately following a haircut is not necessarily the way it's going to actually look -- it's like it goes into shock for a couple of days after it gets cut, and I have to wait for it to sort of settle into its final form.

Anyhoodle, as Plumcake says, I'm wanting y'all's opinions. Don't worry about hurting my feelings. I don't think it's a BAD haircut, and my stylist is very cool about me calling up & asking for revisions. Also, my hair grows like Jack's beanstalk, so if I decide I don't like the short all I have to do is wait for a few months and that problem will solve itself.

So whaddya think about my new hair? I'm shooting for chic or (or charmingly gamine at the very least -- or am I too old to be gamine?) but I'm worried I've missed the mark. Let me know what you think!