hair salons

Established in the sixties as the in-house salon of the Plaza Hotel, Gerard Bollei has been a fashionable place for decades. The salon even did hair and makeup for Truman Capote’s glam Black and White Ball. In 1976, having grown too big for its gilded britches, the operation moved and expanded, putting down roots as one of the original tenants of the Galleria building on 57th Street. Bollei himself died in the eighties, but his legacy lives on in that same duplex space. Retaining plenty of seventies charm—Formica, rounded countertops, lots of taupe—the salon spans 5,600 square feet and employs a staff of 80, including nail, makeup, skin-care, and waxing experts. Hair gets the most attention, however, with 30 stylists and 25 color specialists, many with decades of experience, doling out custom cuts and colors to generations of clients. Society types, fashionistas, and a healthy smattering of celebrities have been loyal customers for decades, and bold names like Carolina...