Bostonista Loves: Dean Mellen


1219341207One of our fellow Bostonistas cuts her hair approximately every third day. (She claims it’s every six weeks.) We’ve become so inured to the sight of her rolling into the office with significantly changed hair that sometimes we forget to comment…or, um, notice.

But the last time she came from a cut, all of our heads swiveled. Her always-cute short hair had become…way cuter. It was a little edgier, a little more noticeable, and a lot more her.

The man behind the amazing handiwork, it turns out, is Dean Mellen. Though a newbie to the Newbury salon scene, he has 20 years of experience coiffing the likes of Claudia Schiffer and Christina Aguilera.

Beyond his stylist-to-the-stars cred, Mellen seems to be that rare stylist/psychic/psychologist who can shake your hand, immediately intuit your style and personality, and create just the right look.

Case in point: Our scissors-happy Bostonistaartsy, intellectual, a little avant-garde—received a choppy New Wavey look that was absolutely perfect for her. We were slightly nervous, however, when another team member headed out to visit Mellen next. She’s younger, more conservativeand has long, gorgeously thick hair whose loss we’d seriously mourn. We held our breathe and waited for her to return with a punky pixie cut.

Of course, we were silly to worry. Bostonista #2 returned just as thrilled, with her long locks intact and shiny from a Mellen-applied glaze. She, too, raved about his friendly, chatty bedside manner.

But beware: Mellen’s currently juggling a fairly insane six-week rotation between New York, L.A., and Boston, so he’s only in his Newbury salon the first two weeks of every month. And, judging by the number of magazine staffers who are flooding through his doors, you’d better be prepared to throw a few elbows to get an appointment.

Dean Mellen at Atelier, 174 Newbury St., Boston, 617-456-0006, atelierboston.net.