Dorothy Hamill - Public Hair Enemy #1

Long before the Wall-O-80's bangs, long before the mohawk, even before the sexy and shimmery mullet, there was another hair style that swept the nation... Literally. Call it the "Wedge".. call it the "Bob"... or call it by it's true name... the "Dorothy Hamill" cut. If you were a girl with long flowing locks anytime in the mid 70's, your days of beauty were numbered. After the shy and talented skater won the gold medal in 1976, a wave of crazed hair stylists sharpened their scissors and aimed for the heads of the youth of America. No longer would mom's across the nation be bothered with styling and braiding long flowing locks. No longer was tangle-free shampoo needed. Throw out your hair ribbons and bows... the "Wedge" was coming. Simply get out a bowl the exact shape of your head and trim away.

I too sadly became a victim of this fashion trend at the tender age of six or seven. 

A shot us four kids in about 1979.  Me (on the left, Kevin, Megan, and Ryan)

What followed was a life time of what I'd like to call "hair rebellion", or the act of growing my hair out long for the rest of my life. Sure, it took a LONG time to grow out the "wedge"... there was that short time in junior high when it had evolved into a horrific permed mullet, that first year of high school when I looked like a curly cocker spaniel with floppy ears, and then finally by the end of my junior year of I was back to long and flowy curly locks... I style I hold to this day. Sometimes I wonder if Ms. Hamill shouldn't be held accountable for her hair atrocities? If she had just sported a regular pony tail or nifty skaters bun none of this would of ever happened, but on the other hand, the style did end up going great with rainbow shirts, clogs and bell bottoms. How would YOU like to be the sole reason there are a ton a bad childhood photos in the world?? Hopefully she can live with the guilt... lol ;)

I must say... when I wrote this way back at the beginning of my blog seven years ago, I was mostly being sarcastic as I had come across an old pic with my trademark childhood wedge hairdo, which I had no say in.  After watching Dorothy Hamill on the most recent "Dancing with the Stars", she is such a nice person.  Like super nice and sweet.  Like she wouldn't hurt a fly and I might hurt her feelings if she ever read this.  Well if you are out there Dorothy Hamill I think you personally are awesome. Your trend-setting short hairstyle set the 1970's on fire like nothing else, right after everyone who got the memo to name their kid "Jennifer" in 1972. I think long hair and short hair lovers can put their differences aside and be friends.  :)