The hottest hairstyle in 2023 (as worn by our future queen) is a huge mane of blow-dried waves that falls well past your shoulders. It takes hours to achieve, jumbo rollers, backcombing and even includes hidden extensions if you're a little low on volume. A visit to the hairdresser twice a week (if only!) seems essential to maintain this low-maintenance look.
Where does the BIG DO come from? Think of a lion's mane crossed with a mermaid. Botticelli's Venus wears three wigs at once. Raquel Welch in Planet of the Apes. A drag queen.
It may be the hot look of the moment, but for me big hair is terribly retro. It weighs a ton, requires a lot of maintenance and can never get wet.
From the Royals to most of the female contestants on Love Island, to our ambitious new minister Esther McVey, TV presenters like Cat Deeley and Tess Daly – all adopted BIG HAIR – the look seems to show you mean business. Your hair makes a big statement on your behalf.
It has even reached the House of Lords, where bra queen Baroness Michelle Mone is performing the 'do' as she tries to claw her way out of the hole she finds herself in regarding a highly profitable PPE supply contract .
The hottest hairstyle in 2023 (as worn by our future queen) is a huge mane of blow-dried waves that falls well past your shoulders. Pictured: The Princess of Wales arrives for a carol service at Westminster Abbey in London on December 8
From the Royals to most of the female contestants on Love Island, to our ambitious new minister Esther McVey, TV presenters like Cat Deeley (pictured) and Tess Daly – all adopted by BIG HAIR – the look seems to show you mean business. Your hair makes a big statement on your behalf
It has even reached the House of Lords where bra queen, Baroness Michelle Mone (pictured) is doing the 'do as she tries to claw her way out of the hole she finds herself in regarding a highly profitable PPE supply contract .
It's strange that, at a time when women are regularly encouraged to believe they can do anything, that we should reach for the stars and aim high, that we should live their best lives and achieve our dreams – THE VAST MAJORITY OF YOUNG WOMEN WANT THE EXACT SAME HAIRSTYLE.
Honestly, a look not too different from Barbie.
From Adele to Beyonce and – her biggest fan – the Princess of Wales, to almost every beauty queen, big hair has come to mean being trendy and expressing your strength and femininity in a thoroughly modern way.
Unfortunately, the big hair trend – when it reaches the high street – has resulted in thousands upon thousands of clones, with the same suspiciously full lips, the same striking eyebrows and the same mysteriously shaped and shiny skin. Almost like sex dolls.
From Norwich to Newcastle, Edinburgh to Exeter, Hoxton to High Wycombe, every time you see a group of young women dressed up for a night out in a city center in 2023, they will all look predictably the same.
Is this what my generation fought so hard for? We wanted equal opportunities at work and equal representation in politics. The right to express your uniqueness and succeed no matter what you looked like. Diversity was our theme; everyone had the right to express themselves as he or she wanted.
Big hair may be trendy right now, but it also represents the traditional view of what is beautiful. It's hard to believe that in 2023, beauty pageants still exist, where women parade up and down and are judged on their appearance, but they still take place and are watched on television by millions of (mostly male) fans.
Despite including rounds on skills and helping others, some beauty pageants have a rigid idea of what are the acceptable traits needed to win. This week there was a big stir on the other side of the channel when Eve Gilles, 20, from Nord-Pas-de-Calais was crowned Miss France, watched live by 5,000 fans in a stadium in Dijon and 7.5 million viewers on national television.
This week there was a huge stir on the other side of the channel when Eve Gilles (pictured), 20, from Nord-Pas-de-Calais was crowned Miss France, watched live by 5,000 fans in a stadium in Dijon and 7 .5 million viewers on national television
JANET STREET-PORTER: Sorry ladies, but why do modern women need BIG HAIR to prove they're feminine? Miss France and – quelle horreur! – Her pixie cut shows that beauty is more than just a blow-dried mane
In the past, every Miss France since the competition began 103 years ago has had long hair, and lots of it. Not to mention curves. Eve, who studies mathematics and computer science at the University of Lille, has a short, dark pixie cut, an elfin face and beautiful eyes. In short, she is slim, astonishingly beautiful and has an expressive, lively manner. But none of these trappings have calmed the misery and grumbling who claim the match has been hijacked by the 'woke' brigade.
Critics say it is not “traditional” and accused organizers of election rigging and “feminist washing.” The new Miss France has been criticized for being androgynous and having a 'lack of shape'.
For shape we can replace the words big breasts.
Supporters have pointed out that beauties like Linda Evangelista and Audrey Hepburn had a similarly glamorous, slim appeal.
The public could only cast a third of the votes, and in the end it was the seven female judges who decided to break with tradition. One MP – disgusted by the fuss – complained that 'in France in 2023 we will judge women by the length of their hair'.
But we do that in Britain too. Despite elfin icons like Audrey Hepburn, Mia Farrow, Twiggy and the beautiful young actress Emma Corrin (who played Diana in The Crown), long hair is still considered more feminine by the masses.
My argument is that long hair traps women, makes them carry a great weight on their heads, with every part carefully twisted and styled to unnatural perfection, and could show that you haven't found a better way to spend your time.
The new Miss France wants to qualify as a statistician and says her win is a win for diversity – and her hairstyle is seen as a symbol of the MeToo movement in France. She's smart, sharp as a tack, and a great pick who could inspire young girls to break out of the confines of the “beauty” mold.