Best of 2001: Best Vintage Haircuts

The Service Station
4222 Adams Avenue, Kensington
619-516-2600

Hair stylist Katie Carney says it started about five years ago, when she was watching the 1941 musical Moon Over Miami. Betty Grable's hair struck her as being so beautiful that Carney resolved on the spot to grow out her own short red hair and duplicate Betty's elaborate do. "I taught myself how to do it," she says. Intrigued, she began to study other hairstyling techniques from the '20s, '30s, '40s, and '50s and to offer them to clients. About a year and a half ago, Carney opened her own salon, decorated to evoke the spirit of an old-style service station, with old gas pumps and vintage music. Carney and five other stylists pride themselves on the range of looks they can create for men and women. "We do everything from finger waves to rolls to you name it," Carney says. For clients who can't put into words the style they want, books and videos featuring old movie stars provide inspiration.