If you thought Carrie Bradshaw and Manolo Blahnik did a lot for shoes, wait until you see what two St. Louis Moms are gearing up to do for hair. Susannah Danforth and Lindsay Bush have figured out a way to bring that oh-so-finished look New York’s hippest Moms and Hollywood’s leading ladies have, here to the Midwest. For $35, you can have your hair professionally washed, blown-out and styled at their flagship salon, the Breeze Blow Dry Bar on Clayton Road in Ladue. That’s about a dollar a minute to put down your boar barrel brush and relinquish that tortured scene straight out of a sit-com as you stand there sweating in steam left over from the shower, unable to see or reach the back of your head while your hair is starting to curl up again because of all that humidity.
Whether you are heading to a meeting, an event or something up at school, I cannot think of a better cure for “tress stress” than the drive-by blow dry. For that busy woman, looking for a quick dose of posh pampering, you will find it here. The shop has a decidedly Tory Burch feel – it’s like being wrapped in one of her shifts – clean, crisp and above all else , hip!
What I love about this concept is that it was borne of necessity by two busy Moms who were doing the same things all of us spend our days doing. I used to marvel when I saw them, carting kids to hockey games, play try-outs or the grocery store, at a time when I knew Susannah was spending late nights studying for a law degree and Lindsay was trying to organize women voters across our state. They were also doing things like running the annual book sale up at school and chairing this or that good effort. In other words, like most busy Mothers, neither one had time to think about, let alone do, her hair!
And while Susannah, a sassy brunette, and Lindsay, a California beach girl with golden locks, may have both fallen for guys from St. Louis, neither one loved the way their naturally wavy hair looked in this town’s legendary humidity. Hence, the concept of the blow dry bar.
The first time I went in, I got a kick out of the glamour shots lining the wall that were adorned with sayings like, “Sally’s kankles were grateful that her hair looked so damn good.” And, “Betty knew that striking a pose was so much easier when she was having a good day.” I was also treated to an expert blow-out and even better chat with the Blow Dry Bar’s own version of Frederic Fekkai. In this case, it’s manager Josh Wagner. A native Missourian who spent time at the House of Bumble, styled models for fashion week and has brought all his inside New York stuff back to this swath of Clayton Road, I wound up showing him shots of the neon plastic pumps I took pictures of on South Beach and we became fast friends!
The drive-by blow dry. A must add to your self-care kit! Located at Lester’s Plaza at 9916 Clayton Road in Ladue. 314-692-BLOW or 314-429-2569.
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