(16) No Appointment Necessary

We promised you real, live action from the streets and here it is: a west end Family Day mission to Camille's Beauty Lounge.

Before spas there were beauty parlours and beauty lounges like Camille's. You needn't be an archaeologist to discern that we're dealing with the 1970s here. UNISEX being the first major clue not mention the pink naughahyde chairs. (Major points for anything pink!)

If beauty salon culture is half as good as barbershop culture then it's no wonder chicks are so into it. My barber is great, his name is Luigi and he's been clipping away in the same place since 1964. Talk about patina. I wasn't even born then! 11$ for a cut is my idea of economics. Nothing refreshes a guy's perspective like a good old-fashioned haircut from an old-school professional like Luigi. (Except maybe sitting on a high pressure air hose that is, me and the guys at work, we take turns.)

To know what it was like having Camille in your life you'd have to watch the movie Camille 2000 while Hurricane Camille rips the side off your trailer. Don't let that pale skin and bouffant fool you, we're talking force of nature here. (Baby, my year in traction should have been punishment enough. If you are reading this please, please call me.)

Our Cray III supercomputer pointed out that the bouffant disappeared when women made that return to the workforce in a fairly big way during the economic dysfunctions of the 1970s.
Le sigh. Economics usually trumps culture and lifestyle. An entire generation of women now have come of age not knowing what they are missing.

In addition to evoking the hairstyles of 1950-1975 this type of piled-on-top look reminds us of women in ancient Roman times. Cray III also made a connection to the 19th century fancy for cameos. These small carved portraits of women were all they had in the days before cameras or the Internet. Back then you had to spend hours carving agate, shell, lava or ivory (tsk, tsk) just to have a picture of a gal pal or contemporary celebrity. Imagine having to put up with a life that wasn't instantaneously saturated with celebrity infotainment and pornified images from the moment your eyes open in the morning. We're talking the days before TV and digital photography too, as well as Flintstones Chewables, the Concorde and even the El Camino. Each historical era contains curses and blessings for those living through them but if you lived before 1970 you are pretty much a loser.

nb: We never bought into the whole 9mm thing back in the late 80s. For a simple urban recon like this one a concealed M-1911 pattern Colt .45 ACP is plenty.

editor's note: the movie pic for this posting is American Mullet