Remember the days when Shiv Roy had loose, flowing locks? When it comes to Shiv's hair on Succession, I could write you a 1,000-word article on how the transition from long to short, blunt bob mirrored her character's ambition as she tried to curry favor with her harsh father and join the severe ranks of Waystar Royco. But instead, I'd prefer to spend my time talking about how insanely difficult it would be to manage Shiv Roy's haircut.
Although the likes of Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham, Dua Lipa, Anna Wintour, Jen Psaki, and even Tina Belcher have perfected a blunt bob, it's no easy feat. (Unless you're an animated character.) Sure, some bobs don't require pin-straight hair. But if you wanted to emulate Shiv's look, you'd probably need the amount of money that the Roys have. OK, probably not that much, but hear (hair?) me out.
You know that Shiv Roy is not walking into her local Hair Cuttery waiting for a stylist to open up. (Hair Cutterys don't even exist in New York City.) Instead, she's far more likely to be going to Julien Farel's $1,000-per haircut salon in the Loews Regency Hotel on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. (Former bob-haver Katie Holmes is said to be a client.) And with hair experts telling UK's Stylists that blunt short hair needs to be cut every three to six weeks, that's a lot of dough.
Money may be no object to a Roy, but what about time? When does Shiv find the time for routine maintenance — let alone, daily flawless styling — in between insulting her siblings, using Tom as a doormat, and trying to convince her father she should take over the company? Well, she's most likely got a servant, er, personal hairstylist for that. How else did she go from her wedding look:
To this new haircut in just a few days' time?
Vox spoke with the head of the hair department for Succession Season 2, Jasen Sica. "Shiv's hair needed to be stronger-looking this year. She has stepped up her image. The change is significant," Sica said about the 8-inch chop. And though he didn't go into the styling details, Vox writer Cheryl Wischhover mused, "You can imagine her having someone come to her apartment to do it for her every morning."
Just like the dog walker takes out old Mondale (where is Mondale?), the hairstylist probably comes into the Roy-Wambsgans home (did Tom take her name?) each morning to do Shiv's hair. As is only right since Shiv's bob demands to be taken seriously. But if this writer with unstyled hair may offer a suggestion? Stop fiddling with your power hair, Shiv, or daddy will never think you're fit to be CEO.
Images: Macall B. Polay/HBO, Zach Dilgard/HBO, Colin Hutton/HBO, HBO