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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

People: She’s truly a head of her time


Associated Press Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Erin Carlson Associated Press

Call it “Scientology Chic.”

Katie Holmes debuted a stylish bob this past summer and, all of a sudden, her reinvention from low-key twentysomething to sophisticated arm candy of Tom Cruise seemed established.

Holmes recently updated her look, displaying eye-grazing bangs at a red-carpet event in Germany. Photos of the china-doll haircut swept through cyberspace as Internet critics weighed in: some loved it, some hated it, and some sniped at its uncanny resemblance to the ‘do of her 1-year-old daughter, Suri.

“Is it just me or does Katie/Kate Holmes look like an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT PERSON with her hair cut into that short, sharp bob??” Elle magazine blogger Carol Han observed.

“She’s gotten about 17 times hotter, while Tom seems to have gotten exponentially worse looking!”

While long hair remains the norm in Hollywood, a handful of cropped cuts are making bold statements, from Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham‘s sleek style to pop star Rihanna‘s edgy mane makeover.

“The bob really comes back every couple of years, and it really is just a way of kind of cleaning house – like starting new but still (having) a great, feminine haircut,” says hairstylist Ken Paves.

“And all the girls that are wearing it right now are wearing it to perfection, I believe. I think Rihanna’s hair is genius. I love Katie’s.”

Paves, whose celeb clientele includes Jennifer Lopez and Jessica Simpson, credits Beckham with launching the trend.

“It would be silly to say that she was the only person in Hollywood wearing a bob, because, you know, by all means, she was not – but hers definitely drew the most attention at that time,” he says of the media frenzy over the Spice Girl’s drastic 2006 hairdo: stacked in the back, angled at the side.

Rihanna put a severe spin on The Posh last spring with super-lopsided layers.

Holmes took a more moderate approach, as did Christina Applegate and Hilary Swank.

Christina Ricci recently popped up on the red carpet with an ear-skimming bob.

Amy Synnott-D’Annibale, beauty director at In Style magazine, says it all began several years ago when former bad girl Nicole Richie classed-up her image with a sideswept bob.

Synnott-D’Annibale adds that the style “reflects a bigger change in Hollywood that – among the younger generation – there’s a desire to be more stylish than sexy.”

New York stylist Harry Josh, who oversees the silky manes of Gwyneth Paltrow and Gisele Bundchen, says “there’s an overwhelming boredom with hair right now.

“Going above the shoulder is so much fresher than keeping it on the long side, but there’s very few people that are willing to take the plunge.”

He thinks it would take at least “20 major people” to make the trend mainstream.

“It’d be more influential if Kate Moss, Cameron Diaz, you know, those kind of girls did something with their hair,” he says, “because people look at them and think, ‘I want to be them.’ “

The birthday bunch

Actor-comedian Tim Conway is 74. Singer Cindy Birdsong (The Supremes) is 68. Actor Don Johnson is 58. Actress Helen Slater is 44. Actress Molly Price (“Third Watch”) is 42. Actor Adam Brody (“The O.C.”) is 28.