Fun idea.

Watch out for the hair chalk - DD has some and it gets all over everything. We have a salon brand of some sort - Kevin Murphy Hair Bug , I think.

Suz, it's a great idea to try with the chalk/powder colors first for shade, amount and location. Can't wait to see you try. I have sported purple highlights for the last three summers and they sure made a statement, even when I was sleeping Beware though, you will need a fair budget for maintenance... mine needed retouching about every three weeks to keep looking their best instead of ratty. Mine required bleaching though.

Gracie, I am glad you chimed in. What happens when you want to grow them out? Do you just let them fade?

And Lisa, thank you for that warning! Good to know.

Ooh - Diana - thanks for that link. I want to add some turquoise to an underlayer, I think.

That's a curve ball I didn't see coming! You wild thing, Angie.

I can totally picture this on you, Suz! I say go for it -the beauty of hair is that it is easy to change if it doesn't work.

Love the idea. Statement hair.

Ha ha Diane! I remember Maniac Panic-- I never did it, but I had a friend who had hot pink hair and apparently the SO rocked a green beard!

What a neat idea. The easiest statement thing I've ever done is my crazy haircut. It instantly amped up my look without me needing to think about it. I think my pre-haircut clothing style was distinctive in the same way, but now, just [the right] tshirt and jeans get the same effect.

If a bold color streak isn't your style, you could also consider a black streak, though I think color would be more fun.
blond + black:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/521995413029922606/
blond + color:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/547820742144437031/

How Fun!
I have a friend who coloured a streak in a bright version of her eye colour-
it really made her eyes 'pop'

Suz, you won't need to strip your hair of colour like dark haired girls, who need to bleach to add colour. (That tends to be a little damaging and high maintenance). It's an easy fix on your hair colour. And the condition is quite easy to maintain with the right shampoo if you do one or two broad streaks. This is what my Teresa told me when I was interested in doing it with blue - and I trust her implicitly with hair matters.

Yes, you wear specs - but they are black - no?

Creating a temporary solution to see how you like it is a great idea.

Blue is amazing but so hard to maintain - otherwise I'd be a true ink blue all the time. Post some chalk pics, Suz!

What a great idea Angie

I think it is a great idea too. I would put it close to the front on the side that sweeps and go fairly subtle rather than in-your-face at first.

I've seen bright colored fake "extensions" (I think teenyboppers use them) at the drugstore. Maybe you could play around with a couple of those first?

And please do start a "casual statement piece" thread! When Angie put those words together, I realized that this is what I've been looking for, without being aware of it, for some time. I lead a casual life in a rural area most of the time, but we have a city place, too. Even my dress-up moments, with some rare exceptions, require me to look polished, but somewhat dressed-down and practical (no spike-heeled open booties for these snowy gravel roads.) It's not easy! Not easy, for that matter, to find casual statement pieces in general, so some discussion could be helpful.

Very excited to see the trial streaks Suz!

Tulle, thank you -- I will definitely start a thread and we can brainstorm together. I am travelling just now so it might be a day or two .

Angie, thank you for the explanation. It sounds very do-able. I will consult with Marnie, my hair genius. She will be excited.

I have two pairs of specs. One pair are black with white insides. The other pair are burgundy with hot pink inside -- the overall effect is dark fuchsia. I think it would work with cranberry or fuchsia. I had also thought about blue at one time. But I think pink might be more fun.

My specs to make a statement and add contrast to my face (and outfits). But I only wear them part time.

Greyscale reminds me that another option is a new hairstyle. Or a new hairstyle AND a streak or two. I've had this haircut for 3 years now and while I love it, it might be time for a shift. I won't go longer, but could change the style of the short cut.

FWIW, any shade of red will last longer and be at least slightly easier to maintain than blue. Hair holds "natural" shades far more easily, for some reason, than unnatural ones. As a teen I had a blue streak in my hair and it was constant maintenance. My stylist told me that the further one goes from a natural shade, the more difficult the colour is to maintain. Now, bottle reds can certainly be difficult to keep true as well, but they don't just fall out as easily as blue, and they are easier to maintain with coloured shampoos and the like.

I would love to go lighter with my hair or even streak it, but it is dark, and it goes vibrant copper with bleach. Even my stylist has difficulty stripping the underlying red from my hair, and it leaves my hair like straw so I can only bleach when my hair is shorter. I am not bold enough right now to go short AND blonde!

What a fun idea. I hope you try it and have happy results, Suz.

I like this idea a lot! The pastel colours are quite popular here with the younger girls but something like Angie is suggesting has edge and sophistication. If you can try it with something temporary and see how you feel that would be great.

Loving all the fun ideas here!

Diana - I have heard of Manic Panic too. Might have to look around here.

Lisap - Kevin Murphy chalk you say? Hmm ... Suz we both could toy with the idea

Una - I would have pmed you before I did any kind of coloring to my hair! .. I had forgotten about the bleaching= damage issue! Will have to talk to my stylist and see what best can be done!

IF and When I turn 80, I want to go with totally blue or purple hair...probably short and spiky.

Suz, my DD has blue hair colour that gets put in via a wand like mascara. I'll check out the brand when I get home. It washes out with shampoo, and is MUCH less messy than the chalk (which she also has, and seems to end up with blue hands as much as hair). This is a great time to find temporary stuff to play with as well, in the Halloween stores.