Throwback Thursday: Becoming Blondie.

As I've mentioned several times before, my breakup with Alex was quite difficult. After he dumped me, I can safely say I suffered from what can only be described as a nervous breakdown.

I threw myself into dance. I pierced my cartilage. I vowed to be prettier--tanner, skinnier, and--blonder.

It wouldn't have been such a big deal--after all, lots of people dye their hair--if it hadn't been for 2 factors. One: Alex hated blondes, especially fake blondes, and Two: I'd wanted to be a blonde for years. I viewed being a blonde as a rebellion against what he wanted, and a way to prove to myself that I could do and be whatever I wanted. It was a way of feeling strong again.

So, after saving enough cash, I booked an appointment and went to my hair salon, armed with pictures of Lauren Conrad for inspiration. My stylist, Brianna, was surprised to see me, as I had just gotten my hair cut a couple of weeks before.
"Back so soon?!" She asked.
I took a deep breath. "Yes," I said. "Yes, I'm back."
We got to her station, I sat in her chair, and she ran her fingers through my hair, as was her custom. "So what are we doing today?"
At this point, I knew I had to go through with this. "Make me a blonde."
"A blonde?!" She cried. "You mean, like, Christina Aguilera blonde?!"
"God, no!" I said. "No, like, Lauren Conrad blonde." I pulled out my pictures.
"Ohhh, I see what you're saying. God, you scared me!" She said. "So what's your budget?"
"Sixty dollars. Make me as blonde as you can for sixty dollars."
"Okay. Here goes."

About an hour and a half later, I emerged from the salon looking a bit Hannah Montana-esque. I had the color corrected a few days later (free of charge--Brianna was a really good stylist), and I was definitely a blonde beach babe. It was great! It was a gorgeous honey blonde for quite some time, until I had a pageant.

Bri knew I was determined to win. We decided I should transform into a Barbie, essentially. But after 3 weeks of being Barbie, I had had enough. I dyed my hair back to dark brown (almost black), simply because the upkeep was too much, and I didn't feel like blonde really fit my personality anymore. (Let me tell you, once the french manicure and evening gown were gone and were replaced with my usual black nail polish and skinny jeans, the blonde hair looked a bit awkward.)

Now, I've been thinking that maybe it would be a fun change to go blonde again! (Back to my really pretty honey color.) Or maybe light brown with baby blonde highlights, a la Mischa Barton during her early O.C. days. What do you think?

Keep it classy and fabulous!
xoxo, Laura