House of Cards is not a flawless show. There are some great moments from Kevin Spacey’s direct-to-camera smarm, but there is also some truly terrible dialogue about how blogs work. Peter Russo: amazing. All the other supporting characters: less amazing. But one aspect of HoC is dazzlingly unimpeachable, and that’s Robin Wright’s wonderful haircut.
As Claire Underwood, Wright wore lots of well-tailored business gear and tasteful evening gowns, but her signature style piece was the surprisingly versatile short haircut. It dresses up or down! It goes super femme or slightly butch! It’s the ease and elegance of short hair with the variety and glam of long hair. The longer section in the front sometimes lay flat, for a more streamlined look, and sometimes had a slight wave to the ends and a little more volume — a more casual, easygoing vibe. The story might not have served Claire all that well, but damn, that hair never looked anything other than perfect.