Last week was Fashion Week in New York. I was scrambling around from show to show, looking out for the newest trends in fashion and beauty. The shows I missed I read about. I talked to my fashion fiend friends who didn’t miss one stroll down the cat walk, from Marc Jacobs to Vera Wang. I constantly asked about the hair styles and hair colors the models where wearing. I guess I became slightly annoying. I was in the middle of lunch making my usual beauty inquires when the entire table went quiet. After a moment of silence they started up their usual chit-chat. I realized that this non-answer from these fashion aficionados was telling. Hair tied back is and always has been the quintessential runway hair style. It can be in a high or low ponytail, a simple chignon or wrapped in a knot, but it’s almost always tied back. The hair always looks great but it always looks the same.

I headed back to the salon more than a bit frustrated. My publicist Leigh was waiting for me as I got off the elevator. “The Wall Street Journal is on the phone. They want to talk to you about Sarah Palin’s hair and they are on deadline.” As I walked toward my office, I considered what I could say about the most famous up-do since Ivana Trump’s coif post “The Donald.” I picked up the phone and the reporter’s first question was, “Louis, are woman requesting Sara Palin’s hairstyle?” I thought about Palin’s up-do for a minute and said, “No!” The reporter seemed surprised. At that moment I realized the hair everyone was talking about was Sarah Palin’s.

Was this the forecast I was looking for? No, I thought, it can’t be! How, I wondered, could Palin’s up-do - fastened with a plastic clip – ever evolve to make her a hair icon if the Republican ticket won?

Sara Palin's hairstyle popped out of nowhere, just the way she did. We were expecting Mitt Romney, Tom Ridge or even Joe Lieberman to be the Republican candidate for Vice President. I promise you if one of them had been nominated, I would not be writing about their hair. Sarah Palin changed history and became the nation's latest “it” girl the moment she accepted the Republican nomination. She appeared on stage and impressed the nation with her skill as a public speaker. Her hairstyle, however, raised eyebrows. I think most of us where confused by her style because she looked good in spite of her hair. She is an attractive woman who can get away with more than most. I must admit I loved the Audrey Hepburn “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”-like streak she had in her hair when she first appeared at the convention. The next day as she posed next to John McCain, her hair was colored an all over brown. I immediately thought this was an effort to portray a more conservative right-wing image. Then I noticed that as she was sending her son to Iraq the brown color was washing off and the blond streak was popping through. It will be telling if she covers it again.

If the Republican ticket wins and Palin stays in the public spotlight, it will be interesting to see how her style evolves. I think she will continue the up-do, but it will morph into a more simple and chic style. She will probably never be seen in public with a plastic clip again. I hope to see her Hepburn streak return for good. Who knows, she might start a trend! I can picture middle-aged housewives across America asking their hairdresser’s for the Palin streak. Odder things have happened.

I can't predict who will win the election or if the new rage will be brunettes with up-do’s and a blond streak. Only time will tell. I do know that I will always be on the watch to spot new trends.

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