Nicole Kidman arrives at the 79th Annual Academy Awards in Hollywood, California February 25, 2007.

Let's get one thing perfectly straight: If you want one of the hottest looks this season you have to get perfectly straight. Hair, that is.

Among the celebrities who'vesportedit recently on red carpets and elsewhere are Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Beyonce, Gwyneth Paltrow, Queen Latifah and Jada Pinkett-Smith.

It's a trend that clearly has legs into summer and even fall. Major design houses are on board with print campaigns featuring straight hair, including advertisements for Valentino, Fendi, Herm¨¨s, Burberry, Prada, Versace, DKNY, Calvin Klein, Chanel and Gucci.

"It's a recycle, but it's definitely happening," celebrity hairstylist Oscar Blandi said. "Straight is coming back strongly. It's straight, but it's a different straight."

How?

It has body. Unlike the trend about six or seven years ago for stick-straight hair, this season's straight has body, movement and shine.

"The key thing is that the hair is phenomenally shiny. It is very glossy, shiny hair," Redken stylist Kaz Amor said. "If you look at Gwyneth (at the Oscars), the hair was moving. It was not stiff, straight-down hair."

Blandi said the previous straight-hair trend dictated almost no movement.

"It's not spaghetti. Before, the hair was almost attached to the skull," he said. "Now, it's got a silky texture. It's not flat. There's much more body. "

Today's straight styles are parted on the side and pulled away from the face, said Tim Rogers, stylist and spokesman for Charles Worthington hair products and salons.

(The Hartford Courant)