Rita Sherr, of
West
Bloomfield,
wears her gray
hair proudly
styled by Linda
Levine at The
New Vamp.
Her purple
cashmere
sweater and
antique button
necklace by
Two Sisters are
from Diane M.
Photo by
Glenn Triest
THE SILVER LINING
ray hair — Is it a symbol
of wisdom, maturity and
prosperity or the dreaded
sign of impending old age,
rigidity, and decrepitude
— an intimation of our
own mortality?
While it may not be
of as earth-shattering importance as the
consumer price index, perestroika, or
the impending arrival of Neiman-
Marcus at Somerset, there does seem
to be a change in the wind.
"The whole stereotype around gray
hair seems to be in a state of flux right
now," according to Professor Ray
Brown, chairman of the Department of
Popular Culture at Bowling Green
University, Bowling Green, Ohio.
Dr. Brown spends his working hours
applying his gray matter to make sense
out of the ever-changing subtleties of
20
STYLE
Today, many men and
women are wearing
their gray hair with
pride.
BY LINDA R. BENSON
American lifestyles, habits and at-
titudes. Dr. Brown admits that it is too
soon to make definitive predictions, but
he feels that gray hair has become a
"gray area," and both American males
and females are re-thinking the issue of
just how gray matters.
"Gray hair doesn't mean what it used
to mean," Dr. Brown continues. "It's
changing in both directions. Men seem
to want gray hair a little less, and
women seem to be accepting it a little
more."
Dr. Brown notes that for men, gray
hair has become a commercial issue, a
cash item. American men spent $136
million on professional hair coloring ser-
vices in 1988, a 2 percent increase over
1987. While this represents a small share
of the $3.3 billion spent on professional
hair coloring in full service beauty
salons across the United States each
year, many salon owners are targeting
males as their next big growth area,
noting that male hair coloring is at a
crossroads, ready to take off, just the
same way that perms and precision
haircuts did 15 years ago.
For women, Dr. Brown expresses
unabashed admiration for First Lady
Barbara Bush. He is so taken with her
appearance of stability and dignity that
he predicts that she'll become a role