Street Style is pure self-expression. It reflects people’s neighborhood, lifestyle, and plays out in choices in clothing and hair. Whether the attitude is elegant, boho chic, hipster, haute couture, retro or a combination— it’s all around. This openness to self-expression gives hairstylists carte blanche for creativity.
I spent a lot of time in Manchester and London growing up and was intrigued by the limitless exploration of street style. Now, living in Los Angeles, the quintessential melting pot of style, the burgeoning beach communities are home to a number of prestigious hair academies like Paul Mitchell the School, Vidal Sassoon, Toni & Guy and Goldwell/KMS that are breeding grounds for new street trends. With so many talented stylists in the making, their endless experimentation has become a hotbed of what’s happening in hair.
Hair trends that have been spotted on the street reflect a little of each from Sassoon inspired mod crops to the rise of the rock n’ roll/punk influenced “Skrillex” where a portion of the head is shaved.
Mod crops, while never out of style, are resurging and taking inspiration from the graphic black and white patterns happening in the fashion world. 
thefashiontag.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/sidecut-side-swept-hair-trends/">The Skrillex haircut is the namesake of the dub step electronic music producer Sonny John. His music makes him one of the most popular dub step artists and his street style is so influential it spawned a haircut that has even made its way to Rihanna’s hair.
As for color there is some left over Ombre gracing the streets of Los Angeles for the summer, and pastels are holding strong. With the accessibility of chalks and non-commital (read: semi-permanent) colors, ‘streeters’ are open to trying temporary hues. Whatever the flavor…explore, create and have fun.
[Rihanna Image: Steve Granitz/WireImage/Getty Images; Erin O'Connor Image: Stuart Wilson/Getty Images Entertainment]
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Pastels
I have worn many pastel tones in my hair, ranging from pink to mint green. There is definitely an art to creating gorgeous pastel tones. Here are a few ideas.
Preparing the Canvas
First of all you need to lighten the canvas to a pale blonde so you get a clear, beautiful, soft pastel. Anything darker than a 9 will not appear very pastel.
After you have your pale blonde base its important to tone. If you are going for a cooler pastel such as pink, baby blue or mint green, it's a good idea to tone to white to get the truest color.
For warm pastels, tone using a peach or warm pink/raspberry. Toning with something warm lays the ground-work for a longer lasting pastel.
Making the Pastel
Choose desired shade of Paul Mitchell Inkworks and mix with White ink. Think of the white ink as white paint and add the ink colors little by little until you’ve reached the desired color.
To achieve pastel with color, I like to overlay the pre-lightened hair with Paul Mitchell the color. I use 10N as the “white paint” and then add in the tone. As an example, for pink, add in a dot (and I mean a dot) of 3VR and sometimes some red and violet shots, and treat this as the toner by mixing it with 10 volume.
If you want something even less permanent, try one of the many chalks or colored mascaras on the market. Its as simple as applying to the strands of clean hair and sealing with a little finishing spray
Have fun experimenting! -Lucie Doughty, Editorial Director for Paul Mitchell and Co-Founder, Straight Pin Studio
[Image courtesy of Lucie Doughty]
