to pdf - Lorraine Downes

EXCLUSIVE
Former Miss Universe
Lorraine thought long
and hard before giving
hairdresser Gareth the
go-ahead to transform
her trademark tresses
(above left) into a chic
on-trend pixie cut.
AFTER A TRYING FEW YEARS,
LORRAINE DOWNES IS STARTING
AFRESH WITH A BOLD AND
BEAUTIFUL MAKEOVER
A
s her hairdresser’s
scissors sliced through
her hair, sending her
long locks tumbling to the salon
floor, Lorraine Downes briefly
wondered if she was making
a big mistake.
“I thought, ‘That’s it... there’s
no going back now,’” recalls
Lorraine of the moment her
hairdresser began the dramatic
transformation. “I did wonder,
‘Oh, am I doing the right thing,
getting my hair cut off?’ but that
thought was fleeting. As more
of it came off, I knew I had made
the right decision.”
It has been two weeks since
Lorraine (49) had her trademark
8
tresses lopped off into a striking
pixie cut, and as she talks about
her new hairdo, she occasionally
runs her hand across her head,
as if to check that the hair has
indeed gone.
“It still feels a little bit strange
– but good,” she admits. “For
the first 24 hours, every time
I walked past a mirror, I thought,
‘Is that really me?’ It does make
you feel really different. It is so
liberating. I feel very free.”
Deciding to take the drastic
step of getting her hair cut so
short was not something the
former Miss Universe rushed
into. It was around a year from
the time she first thought about
New Zealand Woman’s Weekly
doing it to the day she walked
into Auckland salon Gareth
& Co and told her hairdresser
Gareth Chitty, “Let’s do it.”
“I had seen Charlize Theron
with her hair cut short and
I thought, ‘Wow, I love that
look,’” says Lorraine, who runs
an image consultancy business.
“I was keen to have short hair
for a change.
“I did have to think hard
about it – I was getting rid of
what has been a big part of my
image for many years. Right
from when I won Miss Universe,
I think people had tended to
see my hair as a big part of who
I was. So it was a decision I had
to work my way towards and
not rush.
“But I felt strongly that I had
got to the stage where it was
the right time in my life to make
such a big change.”
Lorraine had spent time
reflecting on her image after
marking the 30th anniversary
of winning Miss Universe last
year. The fact that she turns
50 in June also played a part
in her decision to lose her
long tresses.
But she doesn’t subscribe to
the school of thought that once
a woman reaches a certain age,
long hair can make her look like
“mutton dressed as lamb”.
“I think it is a very individual
thing – there are no hard and
fast rules. Some women look
better with longer hair – they
don’t suit very short hair even
when they are older.
“For me, it was more because
I feel like I’m starting a new
phase of my life, and not just
because of my age.”
Lorraine believes she’s
emerging from a transition
period which has involved a
lot of change – much of it due
to events beyond her control,
such as her mother, Glad,
having breast cancer and
her husband, Kiwi cricketing
legend Martin Crowe, being
diagnosed with the blood
cancer lymphoma.
“There has been a lot of
worry, seriousness and sadness
over the last few years,” says
Lorraine. “I’ve done my best to
be there to support them while
they’ve been through the tough
times – which I have been only
too happy to do.
“I have put a part of my life
on hold while they have been
going through these things,
but now they are both doing
well, I feel like a corner has
been turned. I have moved into
a phase of my life that is going
to be really exciting. That’s why
I wanted to do something about
my image. Having my hair cut
is a way of showing that.”
CHOP &
CHANGE
Lorraine’s
liberating
new look
nzww.co.nz
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she’s now got more spare time,
as much of her life had been
taken up with getting Jasmine
to and from classes six days
a week.
“Now I am moving into a
phase that is more about me,
which is quite exciting. I’m really
enjoying having the extra time
for myself.”
She is using some of it to
pursue interests such as yoga
and dancing. The former
Lorraine
recently bid
farewell to
daughter
Jasmine, who’s
now studying
in Melbourne.
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New Zealand Woman’s Weekly
PHOTOS: MONTY ADAMS • HAIR & MAKE-UP: RANI SHORTLAND • STYLING: SONIA GREENSLADE • P8: LORRAINE WEARS LUXEDELUXE SHIRT. P9: LORRAINE WEARS OCTOBER REIGN BLOUSE,
COUNTRY ROAD JEANS, 2ND DAY FUR VEST (ON CHAIR). P10: LORRAINE WEARS OCTOBER REIGN SHIRT, REPERTOIRE SLIP, DAY BIRGER ET MIKKELSEN PANTS. • LOCATION: HOTSPOTS LOCATIONS
‘To be honest, I don’t
really care what
other people think...
I love it, and that’s
what’s important’
Another big change
in her life is that her daughter
Jasmine (16) has left home
to take up a scholarship at
a performing arts school in
Melbourne. (Her eldest child,
21-year-old son Hilton, lives
in Wellington, where he goes
to university and plays rugby.)
Lorraine has long been
prepared for the fact that
Jasmine, a talented dancer,
would most likely head
overseas to train further, but
the scholarship came along a
year sooner than anticipated.
“It was too good an
opportunity to miss, so she is
gone. She went earlier this year
and there has definitely been
a grieving period for me to go
through. You know it will never
go back to how it was before
and you miss them so much.”
Lorraine found solace in the
words of artist and poet Kahlil
Gibran, who wrote, “You are the
bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.”
Says Lorraine, “You shoot
them off into life, and it can be
so hard to do that, especially
when they are really young like
Jasmine. But that is our job as
parents. Raising my children has
been such a huge part of my life
and now that they’re off doing
their own thing, it takes a bit of
getting used to.
“But this is so wonderful for
Jasmine and at least Melbourne
is not that far away. We are in
contact every day, and luckily
we have Skype.”
While Lorraine misses
Jasmine very much, her
daughter’s departure means
‘Now I am moving
into a phase that
is more about
me, which is
quite exciting’
Dancing with the Stars winner
is particularly passionate about
the Argentinian tango and tries
to get to a session once a week.
“I go along to what is called
a milonga. Anyone can go – you
don’t need a partner. You turn
up, put your tango shoes on and
dance the night away. I love it.
The music really captivates me.”
She is also pleased to have
more time to devote to being
a New Zealand Breast Cancer
Foundation ambassador, and
to taking on more clients with
her image consultancy business.
“I love working with women
so much and helping them to
find their essence. I want to
encourage them not to be
afraid to make changes, to try
new things, and me having my
hair cut is a way of showing
them what you can do.”
She knows that some women
might be reluctant to try a short
hairstyle because they feel
that long hair is more sexy and
feminine. “But I don’t believe
that is the case at all. I have
always thought that short hair
can be very stylish and chic and
make a woman feel really good
about herself.”
It can also highlight a woman’s
facial features and “make her
eyes pop”, says Lorraine. And
it’s much easier to look after,
she points out.
“My hair is naturally curly,
and as I got older, it got really
frizzy. The only way I really liked
it was blow-dried straight, which
takes an awful lot of work.
“Now it takes me five
minutes to get my hair done
and I can be out the door.
I love it.”
Since she’s had it cut, she’s
had mostly great feedback.
“I did have one person say
that they’d had their hair cut
short and it was a big mistake.
But she said it looked great on
me. Most people say they like it,
although a few people haven’t
recognised me straight away
because my long hair has always
been such a part of my image.
“Marty really likes it and was
so supportive of me when I said
I was thinking about doing it,
but he would be supportive
of whatever I wanted to do
– he’s like that.
“Jasmine hasn’t seen me
in the flesh but saw a pic and
said she thought it was really
modern. Emmy [Martin’s
daughter] struggled a bit. She
looked at me and said, ‘Raine,
how long will it take you to grow
it back?’ But she is 10 – at that
age, they love long hair.”
Lorraine knows there will be
some people who won’t like
such a radical change.
“To be honest, I don’t really
care what other people think
– it’s about how I feel. I know
there will be those who say, ‘Oh,
we liked you better with long
hair,’ and everyone is entitled to
their opinion. But I love it, and
that’s what’s important.”
She talked in depth to her
hairdresser Gareth before taking
the plunge, and says if he had
advised her against it, she
wouldn’t have done it. “He’s
very honest – if he didn’t think
it would work on me, I would
have listened to that. But he
thought it was a great idea.”
Although Lorraine has had
long hair for most of her life,
there was one other time when
she got it all cut off, although
on that occasion it was not
something she’d planned.
Twenty years ago, Lorraine
wanted a new look because
she was turning 30, and got
her hairdresser to give her
a full head colour instead of
highlights. But because her
hair was long, the intense
JENNIFER
LAWRENCE
CHARLIZE
THERON
PAMELA
ANDERSON
CREAM OF THE CROPS
Charlize Theron, Pamela
Anderson and Jennifer
Lawrence look stunning with
cropped hair, but you don’t
need to be a Hollywood star to
work the look, says Lorraine’s
hairdresser Gareth Chitty.
“Most women can carry it off
– in fact, they look better with
short hair – as long as it’s the
right style. Be brave – it’s not
like you’re getting a tattoo!”
Taking along pictures of your
desired style is important
too. “One person’s ‘short’
is different from another’s.”
Lorraine’s
top tips
• If you are thinking of making
a major change to your
hair – or your appearance
generally – don’t do it when
you are feeling especially
emotional. You might do
something drastic you regret.
Take time to think it through
and talk to your hairdresser.
• It is important to have a
hairdresser who technically
knows what they are doing.
When I was having my
hair trimmed in Gareth’s
salon, I could see how he
had cut other people’s hair
and I thought, ‘Wow!’
blonde colour was too much.
“It was a disaster – I looked
like Loni Anderson. I had a party,
and every time I opened the
door to greet a guest, nobody
said anything. Not a single
word, so I knew it was bad!
“I went to the hairdresser
and said, ‘You’ve got to do
something.’ He ended up
cutting it off – although not
as short as it is now. I had it like
that for a couple of years and
then grew it back.
“That is the good thing about
hair – it grows back. That’s why
I think it is worth being brave
and trying something different.
When I did go through that
moment of, ‘Oh, am I doing
the right thing?’ I remembered,
‘If it looks terrible, I can always
grow it again – it’s only hair!’
“Gareth said to me, ‘Once
you’ve had this done, you won’t
want to grow it back,’ and he
was right. This is the new me
and I think it’s going to be
like this for a long time!”
■
Donna Fleming
nzww.co.nz
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