How Palin Got Her Political Updo

The Beehive Beauty Shop is an unassuming bubble-gum pink cut-and-color salon, but it’s in this little Wasilla establishment that Sarah Palin forged her trademark look, the New York Times reports. As mayor, Palin often wore her hair down, but when she jumped into the race for governor, she collaborated intensely with the salon stylists to get just the right business-like ‘do.

“She’s very involved in her look,” said the Beehive’s owner. Palin believed that “if she looked too pretty or too sexy, people wouldn’t listen to her,” so the pair experimented with all manner of unassuming style. The updo is meant to convey professionalism, while making the diminutive Palin look taller. Palin likely won’t visit the Beehive anymore, says the owner: “She is on a whole different level. Part of us is like: ‘Ohhh, we’ll miss her.'” (More Sarah Palin stories.)