The Reason You'll Never Catch Ina Garten Switching Up Her Signature Short Hair

Ina Garten became a staple in the cultural and culinary scene in the early 2000s. She was working at the White House as a budget analyst in nuclear energy in the 1970s, but she quit to buy a specialty food shop in the Hamptons called The Barefoot Contessa. After she sold the store, she wrote a cookbook with the same name and it turned out to be a bestseller. From there, she has gone on to star on Food Network TV shows, write a memoir, and launch a podcast. Yet, while Garten underwent quite the evolution on her way to becoming the Barefoot Contessa, her outward appearance hasn't changed. She's maintained the same bob haircut with bangs for decades. (She'd look totally different without their signature short hair, that's for sure!) Garten's hairdo is essentially her version of the adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Garten explained how she first got what would become her signature look to People in 2026: "I got this haircut in 1974. I had long hair. A friend had gotten hers cut into a bob, and I loved it, so I went to her hairdresser. It was a young man who was French, Sylvain Melloul. He cut my hair like that, and I've never changed it ever since."

As for why Garten has decided to keep the style? "I do tend to wear the same thing," she told People. "I think once I get comfortable with something, I don't have any need to change it."

When something works for you, there's really no reason to try anything different. If you're looking for inspiration to change up your own appearance and possibly find a new signature style, along with Ina Garten, you should look to other celebrities who have made the chop and never looked back.

Garten has taken a similar approach to her fashion and style. She often wears a button-down shirt and that's what she cooks in, too. She told HuffPost that she considers it her "uniform" as compared to wearing an apron in the kitchen. Having one look that you stick with certainly simplifies getting ready in the morning.

However, Garten's approach to style isn't how she approaches business. On "The Interview" podcast in 2026, she talked about taking risks at work. "I love working scared," she said, "because it keeps me up at night. I love this expression, 'getting out over your skis.' Well, you have no choice. You've invested your money. You've sort of made a stake in what you've decided to do, whether it's books or TV."