STYLE: LOOKS : SHORT & SOFT

A month ago, the Ford model known only by her first name, Bernadette, had a shoulder-length bob. Boring. “Cut it all off,” she invited her friend Julie Michaud, a 25-year-old free-lance hairstylist, who picked up razor and scissors and set about shaping Bernadette’s new gamin look. A hair and makeup stylist for MTV and music videos, Michaud cut the hair irregularly all over Bernadette’s head, sculpted the bangs and then left long wisps at the sides and nape.

“The ‘80s short haircut was all about hard lines, symmetry and precision cutting, while in the ‘90s, we’re doing soft shapes with no hard lines and no wedges--in other words, no bobs or bowl cuts,” Michaud says. Bernadette’s hair measures about 2 1/2 inches on top and as long as 3 inches at the nape, long enough to go around rollers occasionally. The cut makes her fine hair seem fuller and sets off her jaw and cheekbones. Says Michaud: “It’s not an androgynous boy cut; it’s feminine.” Very.