I’m not a regular viewer of the television show Lost, but from what I’ve heard, it’s about a bunch of attractive people who are stuck on an island, ooze sex appeal, deal with supernatural creatures and often take long hiatuses to keep audiences guessing and ratings up. As a friend of mine tells me, Lost just came back on the air and the hot female character, Kate (hereafter referred to as “Hot Female Character”), came back with blunt bangs.

Now tell me… last time you were stranded on a island, were you aware of the latest beauty trends? Most of all, did having bangs perpetually in your eyes help fight off the beasts and “others” and, um, other things that are creeping around on the island?

It’s a sure sign that something is trendy when it manages to make its way on to television in a scenario that really doesn’t make sense. Granted, a knife is probably capable of cutting Hot Female Character’s bangs, but one wonders why ABC would change the look of one of their characters mid-season just to stay current with fashion.

There are two answers to this. First, fashion is completely pervasive. Duh. Second, bangs are hot. In most cases bangs are a stylistic choice that add attitude and vamp to any look (much like winter’s black nail polish). But if you’re going to take the plunge, there are definitely some things to keep in mind. Obviously, you have to style your hair everyday. If you don’t, you’re going to look like you have a mouse on your forehead.

Girls – you know the pain of having hair that isn’t “easy.” So, I urge you to take the risk on only if you’re someone who likes to dress up and put time into your look in the morning. But if you’ve already cut them and you’re not a fan, don’t despair – they’ll grow out eventually. And if not, well, I’ll be sure to talk about hats in the coming weeks.

Medill junior Kurt Soller is the PLAY fashion columnist. He can be reached at [email protected].