These are new photos of Julia Roberts walking her dog in LA. I’m emphasising that they’re new because of what she’s wearing. It’s pretty warm in Los Angeles right now but Julia’s still wrapped up in a long sleeve and a scarf. Maybe it’s the air conditioning thing. Or maybe it’s sun protection.
I’m also emphasising that these are new shots because she was out last week with the dog too and when I posted those pictures, I noted that I thought her hair looked great and got an email from a reader called Michelle who disagreed – here’s Michelle’s note:
“Look I love Julia’s big hair as much as the next Gen X girl, but it looks like sh-t in the pap photos. I get that she’s on a dog walk and the end of the world is happening at this moment, but her hair still looks like sh-t. Your post made me wonder if we all have some collective memory of the past fabulousness of her hair that may be blinding you to the roots, the frizziest, the brassy color and general split endy-ness.”
Is it really “some collective memory of the past fabulousness of her hair” that’s blinding me? Or is it that the definition of when her hair looks good is different from person to person, often dependent on our own relationship with our own hair?
I don’t colour my hair so my gauge on what’s considered “brassy” may be set to another dial. When my friends who are blonde tell me that their tone is off, I either don’t see it or I disagree, maybe because I actually prefer “brassy” to that whatever “champagne caramel hue” that’s typically desired. I also don’t understand the streaking. But that’s me. Like if I were to go blonde, I’d hit it straight platinum. Platinum, to me, is the best blonde.
Further, since my hair is thick, straight, and pretty smooth, I’ve never experienced natural frizz, which means that frizzy hair is not bad thing in my books. I WISH my hair would frizz. My hair will take both a wave and a curl, but the waves and the curls come out sleek, like a twisted, shiny tube, even when no product has been applied, and you have to fight it to get the pieces to separate and fall in one curtain instead of fluttering around softly, with loose pieces escaping to give some airy volume. From my perspective then, frizz is desirable. Like if I showed this picture of Julia’s hair to my stylist to recreate on my hair, s/he could achieve the wave but it would come out like prom hair, or how they used to wear it on The Hills.
The point: hair texture is such a particular preference, non?
In other Julia news, she was announced as an unofficial headliner yesterday for The Call to Unite. Every major headline about the event had her name up top following President George W Bush and Oprah Winfrey. It’s a 24 hour livestream beginning this Friday, May 1 at 8pm ET featuring over 200 celebrities and notables. Per the press release:
“The Call to Unite will stand in solidarity with those experiencing pain, fear, loneliness, and grief — and offer hope and support as we build a new future together. Throughout the event, global leaders will join citizens of the world in sharing practices, lessons, songs, performances, reflections, and more to help us turn the pain of this moment into possibility for tomorrow.”
"Today, billions of people around the world are isolated and anxious because of the COVID-19 pandemic — unable to gather with loved ones, go to work, or even mourn those they’ve lost. Still, in this moment of isolation, millions are rising to the occasion by showing each other love and support in countless ways," the event's press release continues. "The Call to Unite is a celebration of those acts of humanity, and an invitation to the world to join in lifting one another in this moment of need. We need each other. Now more than ever."
For a full list of participants and more information on The Call to Unite, please click here.
