The fringe with benefits

"FLOTUS makes a bang” was among the more outrageous headlines for US first lady Michelle Obama’s new hair do, which hit the internet with almost as much of a bang as her husband’s second inauguration.

Obama’s new fringe – called bangs in America after a horse’s tail cut straight across, "bang tailed” – sparked huge comment on the internet, most of it positive.

I love it and well, like, it – loathe is just too strong an adjective – in about equal measure.

Fringes are definitely very "in” at the moment and are an extremely easy way to update a look without being too drastic with the scissors.

Though Obama is an extremely striking woman, the new look makes her, in my mind, look like a cross between a sweet schoolgirl and Vogue editor Anna Wintour, while not quite hitting the mark on either.

But I must admit it bears a very striking resemblance to Karlie Kloss’s haircut that I wrote about not so long ago. In fact, technically, the cuts are almost identical. Perhaps Vogue is on to something here . . .

As a rule, I recommend fringes on long hair, that is, below the shoulders, or on shorter hair like a bob. On mid-length hair like Obama’s, Kloss’s is a bit shorter, I find fringes can swamp the face and create a hairstyle that just looks like there is something missing.

The fact that Obama is willing to experiment is perhaps the most important point here. Women would be well advised to follow her lead.