THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 16, 1995 TAG: 9511160064
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY BONKO, TELEVISION COLUMNIST
LENGTH: Long : 109 lines
JANEL CULLOM of Virginia Beach is having a very good hair day, thank you.
That's because Tim Nordell, Marty Martinez and Carol Castro, the Rudy & Kelly design team, re-created for her the Rachel ``sha-bob,'' which happens to be the hottest 'do on this here planet.
The ``sha-bob'' is named for Rachel Green of the NBC sitcom ``Friends.'' She's a spoiled rich girl working in the real world as a waitress at a Manhattan coffee bar. Jennifer Aniston, the actress who plays Rachel, created a sensation when she showed up in a shaggy bob that nicely frames her cover-girl face.
Shag? Bob? Or both?
The ``sha-bob'' in a nutshell: a shoulder-length, layered hairstyle that begins long at the crown, is cut a bit or edged just below the cheekbones.
And it is very hot, said Rudy & Kelly's Nordell. How hot? Women show up in his shop almost every day with Aniston's face on a magazine cover.
They have the same request: ``Make me look like that.''
It's hotter even than the Farrah Fawcett look, which was all the rage when ``Charlie's Angels'' popped up on ABC in 1976.
The Fawcett look - long blond hair twisted and turned to frame a smile that was all teeth - challenged any stylist. The Rachel 'do, said Nordell, is easier to style and easier to care for after you leave the salon.
Aniston, in an interview in Southern California last summer, said the 'do is practically carefree. ``Just wash and wear,'' she said while showing a ``sha-bob'' longer than the one you see on ``Friends'' today.
That was before the ``Friends'' hair stylist, John Barrett, got to it as taping for the 1995-96 season began.
Snip. Snip. Snip.
The Manhattan stylist, who commutes to the ``Friends'' tapings in Burbank, Calif., took the shag cut designed by Anniston's hairdresser and refined the style, adding a few highlights. Barrett said he's seen the Rachel cut, or some variation of it, on women coast to coast.
``It is a very good haircut to have. It can be adjusted to the shape of your face. It can emphasize your good points,'' he said.
Barrett works on Aniston's hair before every taping but cuts it only once a month.
Aniston, the prime-time Barbie, is not alone when it comes to influencing how we wear our hair these days. With the phenomenal success of ``Friends'' - the show has been No. 1, 2 or 3 in the ratings since last summer - the 'dos worn by co-stars Lisa Kudrow and Courteney Cox are taking off, too.
Be advised: This is not a girl thing. According to NBC publicists, men by the hundreds are showing up in salons, and asking for cuts like Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer of ``Friends.''
``The men on the show have their hair cut every week,'' Barrett said. ``With the shorter, spikier, cooler cuts they have this year, they look like they just stepped out of a fashion magazine.''
At Rudy & Kelly's Fairfield shop in Virginia Beach, 19-year-old Beth Avery was in the chair the other day to have her long blond hair done up in the Phoebe Buffay look worn by Kudrow. In another chair, Jennifer Dye, 25, was settling in to have the R&K team shape her dark hair into Cox's Monica Geller 'do.
Why would so many people ask to look like actors on TV? No, mystery, said Cullom, 25.
``It's great-looking hair.''
In Manhattan, the price of the Rachel 'do is $150 in Barrett's shop, Frederic Fekkai. It costs $16 to $25 at Rudy & Kelly, a lot less when the students at the Virginia Beach Beauty and Barber Academy do it.
The price is $5.
And there, just as in the fancy salons in New York and Los Angeles, the women parade through the doors asking for the same ``Friends'' haircuts. ``Friends.'' Just how popular is the Rachel ``sha-bob'' among the students and their clients?
``Very popular,'' said instructor Maria Fincher.
For this season, Barrett cut 6 inches off Kudrow's long blond hair. ``It had no shape before. Now it does. I replaced her hippie look with a sophisticated look that is shaped to flatter her face. She's gorgeous, you know. I've had lots of compliments.''
Less distinctive than the Phoebe or Rachel 'dos is the cut worn by Cox as Monica, the compulsive friend with the hair as black as midnight. ``You'll notice that her hair is quite a bit shorter this season,'' Barrett said. ``It has a different, more natural look now. A really cool look.''
The stylist has a word of caution for the Rachel, Phoebe and Monica wanna-bes of America. ``Think carefully before you ask for these cuts. While they are good haircuts to have, they won't guarantee that you will look like Jennifer, Lisa or Courteney.''
Same goes for you guys out there. It will take more than a spiky cut to convince the world that you look just as good as that hunky Joey guy on ``Friends.''
I favor the nerdy Ross look myself. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
NBC
JENNIFER ANISTON
(``Rachel'')
COURTNEY COX
(``Monica'')
LISA KUDROW
(``Phoebe'')
JIM WALKER/The Virginian-Pilot
``Friends''-ly persuasion: From left, local ``Friends'' fans
Jennifer Dye, Beth Avery and Janel Cullom took the inspiration for
their hairstyles from some well-coiffed members of the show's cast.
by CNB