Sharpen Your Style With Suggestions From Vidal Sassoon Hair Guru

So often you see a celebrity like Katie Holmes or Renee Zellweger sporting a chic and sexy hairdo and you wonder whether her do will work for you. We turned to an expert -- Allison Lyle, creative director of the McLean, Va., Vidal Sassoon salon -- for advice on what we should consider about our faces, our hair texture and our lifestyle before venturing into the same cutting edge as our favorite stars.

Shorter, structured shapes are back in style, says Lyle. They encourage women not to hide behind a curtain of hair and are compatible with this season's fashion for fitted, structured clothing.

Whether you choose long or short, "By all means, bring a photo of a hair style you're interested in to your stylist," says Lyle. Apart from your hair texture and face shape, you need to explain your lifestyle, how you manage you hair currently and what you would be willing to do. Whatever the style though, the bottom line is how comfortable you are in wearing it.

Renee Zellweger

Zellweger looked cool and confident in the new do she sported at the Academy Awards this winter. Her short version of the popular bob suits those with oval or heart-shape faces with fine to medium hair texture that's either straight or wavy, says Lyle. Bangs play a role in softening a wide forehead. This is an easy-to-maintain style, requiring just a blow-dry and a volumizer for lift.

Katie Holmes

Holmes turned heads when she subbed her long, girlish locks for this more sophisticated, sculpted shape (longer than Zellweger's but basically the same cut), which can be worn with or without bangs and by women of all ages. "It always looks modern," says Lyle, although it is not best for round faces. It will work for fine or medium texture hair and is more dramatic on heads with straight hair. For Holmes's smooth, shiny finish, you'll need a flat iron after a blow dry, notes Lyle.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Paltrow's waves and the length of this style work wonders on softening the jaw line and forehead of a square face. This hairdo suits fine, slightly wavy hair best, but to achieve those big loose femme curls, blow dry first with a round brush and then use a curling iron, parting your locks into medium to large sections as you go. Try a soft hair spray for hold.

Beyonce Knowles

These long, luxe waves look lovely with the singer's oval-shape face, but this style would also help balance a long face because the flipped out sides give the illusion of width. This do requires medium to thick hair and a layered cut and is not a style to covet for every day unless you have lots of time, tools and products, notes Lyle.