The No-Eyebrow Look: More Than a Fashion Statement?

Social and financial forecasting firm says
shaved brows show up in bear markets

Gainesville, GA / August 18, 2009 – Shaved eyebrows appear to be the latest trend in high fashion, but it has the all-too-familiar look of a bear market. That's according to Elliott Wave International (EWI), a financial forecasting firm that predicts cultural trends and market patterns based on waves of social mood.

“Gender-bending is a classic trend that appears during times of bear markets, and shaving one's eyebrows is a way to blur gender boundaries on the cheap,” says EWI's Brian Whitmer, who writes about the trend in the August issue of The European Financial Forecast.

He points out that a recent cover of Italian Vogue magazine features the shaved head and brow of model Kristen McMenamy, who pioneered the no-brow look two recessions ago in a "grunge" photo shoot for U.S. Vogue in 1992.  Whitmer predicts more permanent attempts at androgyny as financial markets continue down to the larger bottom predicted by EWI.

In contrast, EWI says that bull markets emphasize super-feminine and super-masculine roles with heroes and heroines who fit conventional gender roles.

Whitmer's article includes a financial market chart that highlights correlations between the absence of eyebrows and previous recessions,

And what do “unibrows” indicate?  “That’s a situation too hairy to call!” he says.

Background: Brian Whitmer edits The European Financial Forecast and contributes to Global Market Perspective, both monthly forecasting services of Elliott Wave International. Having worked first as a civil engineer, he received his MBA from Georgia Southern University and joined Elliott Wave International in 2009.

About Elliott Wave International

Elliott Wave International, based in Gainesville, Ga., is the world’s largest market forecasting firm that specializes in Elliott wave analysis, a form of technical analysis based on crowd psychology and pattern recognition. EWI’s analysts provide around-the-clock forecasts of every major market in the world. Learn more at www.elliottwave.com.

Note: For a copy of the article or to arrange an interview with Brian Whitmer, call Aaron Berstler or Dustin Sadnick at Kohnstamm Communications, 651-228-9141.