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Insightful commentary from the NYT
Moore's Makeover
By MELENA Z. RYZIK
Yes, that was Michael Moore, not some sleekly coiffed and styled film executive, at the People's Choice Awards last Sunday (and at several other awards shows since). The notoriously scruffy Mr. Moore ditched his trademark baseball cap and sweats in favor of a tailored suit and silver tie. The biggest change, though, was above the neck: vaguely spiky hair and, in place of his usual salt-and-pepper, stuck-in-a-cabin-without-a-razor mustache and beard, a neatly trimmed (and uniformly colored) goatee.
Laurent D., owner of Privé Salons in New York and Beverly Hills, was behind the changes. His client list includes Gwyneth Paltrow and Johnny Depp; Mr. Moore was "a great challenge," he said. The reason for the makeover? Mr. Moore would not comment, but Mr. D. reported: "He doesn't want to look Hollywood, but he wants to look more polished."
A day before the ceremony, Mr. D. (born in France as Laurent DuFourg) went to Mr. Moore's hotel, grudgingly bringing a colorist at the request of Mr. Moore's staff. "I was not very excited about doing the color, because I don't see Michael with highlights and lowlights," he said. "He's not that kind of guy." They had a long conversation about the hair - he was reluctant to go short, Mr. D. said, because of a bad experience with a pre-"Tonight Show" haircut - and a longer talk about the beard. Mr. Moore consulted family (one sister was pro-beard removal, one against) and eventually consented to the spiky 'do; the goatee (dyed to match the hair, which was not colored) was a compromise.
The biggest challenge with any new look is upkeep. Mr. Moore was surprised to learn that his new hairstyle did not require any products (although Mr. D did school him in the wonders of hair wax), but he will have to get haircuts more frequently. "You know, even if he wears the baseball hat, it's going to look good," Mr. D. said.
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"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave whither Thou goest." - Ecclesiastes 9:10
"If simple folk are free from care and fear, simple they will be, and we must be secret to keep them so." - JRRT
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