Darling & Dapper

When corporate says, "Keep it professional."

Chay says, "Okay... but what if we put purple underneath?"

Life and work can feel limiting, but you don't always have to go FULL RAINBOW to have fun with color. Sometimes the best kind of color is the kind you can reveal when you want to.

A little peekaboo purple.
A little "surprise!" when the hair moves.
A little ✨I have a secret✨ hiding underneath all that blonde.

Because even when the dress code is boring, your hair doesn't have to be. 💜

Hair by .chay

POV: You walk into Darling & Dapper and Kate is at the front desk looking this cute.

Honestly? You're already having a good day. 😂💛

But did you know she creates AMAAAZING wedding hair AND she makes extension dreams come true?

Basically, we're not really sure what Kate *can't* do.

Front desk? Yep.
Bridal hair? Absolutely.
Extensions? Certified.
Looking adorable while doing all of the above? Absolutely.

We're very lucky to have her!

HAPPY WORLD BEARD DAY! 🧔🏻‍♂️✨

YES, THIS MEANS YOU, MR. HASN’T-CLEANED-UP-YOUR-NECK-IN-A-MONTH.

You deserve some pampering. So does your beard.

A good beard is a commitment, but keeping it looking good doesn't have to be complicated:

🧼 Wash it regularly — but don't go overboard. Your face and beard still need their natural oils.

🧴 Condition + moisturize — beard oil or balm helps keep the hair soft and your skin underneath happy.

✂️ Keep the neck and edges cleaned up — because there's a difference between 'rugged' and 'I forgot I have a neck.'

And for the love of all things facial hair, get it shaped regularly. A professional cleanup every few weeks can keep your beard looking intentional while you grow it out.

And if you need a little reminder of what we can do… enjoy this ULTRA MEGA THROWBACK from the D&D archives. 😂

Happy World Beard Day, gentlemen. Go forth and trim wisely!

Raise your hand if you ever sprayed Sun-In in your hair, sat outside for three hours, and just... hoped for the best. 🙋‍♀️

Sometimes it worked, and sometimes your hair turned the exact shade of "orange surprise."

We've come a looooong way since then. 😅

If you're craving that naturally sun-kissed, "I just got back from vacation" glow, you don't have to gamble with the sun (or your hair).

Professional lightening is customized to YOUR hair, your starting color, and your goals - giving you bright, dimensional blonde while helping keep your hair healthy along the way. Yay!

So go ahead and skip the lawn chair, the spray bottle, and the crossed fingers. We'll bring the sunshine.

Hair by Alexis

This color needs a name!

Michelle once created a look like this that a client dubbed "Cranberry Ice," and honestly... we're still obsessed.

This time around, we got the coolest surprise.

The vision was blonde on top with a halo of deep red and the client's natural underneath. We knew there'd be a little color melt when it came time to rinse (red is gonna red 😅), but the final result? Even prettier than we imagined.

So now we need your help.

❤️ Cranberry Ice
🍷 Mulled Merlot
✨ Frosted Garnet
🍒 Cherry Frost
💋 Scarlet Halo
..or do you have an even better name?

Drop your vote - or your own creation - in the comments. We can't wait to see what you come up with. 👇

Hair by Michelle ✂️

While summer is quickly coming to an end, pixie season is ALL YEAR LONG!

This adorable whimsy & whispy pixie by .the.hair.lady is pefect for every season. 😍

Are you ready to pixie? WE'RE ready for you to pixie!

OHHHH SHE FANCY. SHE FAMOUS. 👀✨

Okay, but seriously — our own Liz recently joined the panel for the NACE Richmond + Hampton Roads Annual Half-Day Workshop, where she and other industry leaders got into some REALLY good conversations about the future of our industry.

They talked about how Gen Z couples are changing the wedding industry, what responsibility established leaders have in developing the next generation of professionals, what today’s professionals expect from their employers that previous generations may not have, and how leadership has changed over the last five years.

Basically: where we’ve been, where we’re going, and how the hell we make sure we’re building something better along the way.

We love seeing our people out there sharing what they’ve learned.

Way to represent, Liz!! 👏

photos by

We love being behind the chair… but we REALLY love getting out from behind it every once in a while!

There’s something extra fun about taking our hair magic on the road, getting creative in a totally different setting, and hanging out with our favorite weirdos in the wild. 💚

Thanks to everyone who came out to Moss & Moonlight at and let us play with your hair! 🌙✨

What is your FAVORITE part of Darling & Dapper Studio (you can't answer plants!)??

We'll start: sitting on this purple couch, because we get to takethe whole amazing studio in riiiight before we know we're about to get the best haircut EVER. There's nothing quite like that.

Least favorite part: when we have the cape on after a hairwash and feel like an alien. IYKYK 😂👽

When you say…

✨ "Just a KISS of red."
✨ "I want to be blonde... but not *blonde* blonde."
✨ "Can we make it look expensive without looking like I tried?"
✨ "I want people to notice, but not know why."

Don't worry - we know what you mean! You don't have to come into D&D speaking "hair."

Bring the Pinterest photos. Bring the weird metaphors. Tell us you want "autumn but in a good way" or "like if a strawberry whispered."
Even: "The Lacroix of strawberry blonde hair" works!

Our job is translating your vision into color that feels like *you.*

This gorgeous blendy-blonde with the tiniest hint of strawberry? Exactly the kind of subtle magic we're talking about.

Hair by Maggie 💛