Noted celebrity hairstylist Larry Sims, who has collaborated with beloved actress Gabrielle Union for over 20 years, has joined forces with JC Penney. This partnership brings the SimStyled salon experience to select JC Penney Salons in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas, just in time for the holidays. As part of this experience, Sims and Union have curated eight of her most talked-about looks and trained JC Penney stylists on how to recreate them.

Bringing Hollywood Hair to the Masses

With two decades of innovative and eye-catching hairdos under their belts, narrowing down the style menu was no easy task. As Union revealed during a meet and greet event at JC Penney Glendale Galleria in L.A. on Dec. 3, "When we were trying to narrow it down, we first narrowed it down to 26 because we've done so many. It's literally been 20 years worth [of hairstyles]. So we had to figure out what are the most commented on and what [people] have most attempted to recreate. Then we worked with the JCPenney team to come up with a variety of styles that meets all of our textured hair customers' needs without making them compromise."After much refinement, Union and Sims settled on eight classic and diverse looks for textured hair that can be achieved at the salon in two hours or less. And since they work together on all things hair, every look in the SimStyled experience is created using products from Flawless by Gabrielle Union, the affordable haircare line they collaborated on.Larry Sims emphasized the importance of authenticity during the training process. "When it came down to training, JC Penney was very particular about making sure the claims were real. They were like, 'If you can do this in two hours or less, we really have to see you in action.' So a few people flew out and saw me do my thing on a few friends here, and we were able to accomplish it. They were able to see the SimStyled method be done in two hours or less."For Sims, recreating the looks goes beyond just doing someone's hair. "I just didn't want to be a celebrity 'stylist' with a tutorial video. I wanted them to feel the authenticity of my spirit and my passion for the movement, which is the SimsStyle method. I wanted them to know that we were a team. It's not them working for me or just for JCPenney. We're family now, and I need them to feel like we're family so that they can be passionate about executing the vision. Because if they believe in the vision, then the customers will be really happy with the results, and that's what we want."Partnering with JC Penney allows customers to enjoy a Hollywood experience at an affordable price. All hairstyles can be done for $78 or less, depending on add-ons. As Union explained, "That's part of the partnership because growing up, JC Penney stores were everywhere, and there were so many JCPenney Salons. So we were like, 'Who might best utilize what we're trying to bring?' [and we said] JC Penney because they're in every kind of community and they're also some of the first stops for our people coming out of beauty school. We wanted to make sure that we are reaching people where they're at and making sure that people can afford it, so [we] partnered with a company that is all across America, at a price point that you can get your whole family done, in and out."Currently, the SimStyled salon experience is only available in eight stores, but Sims and Union plan to expand. "We started off very small, but the goal is to grow that menu so that more styles are available and we want to get in more JCPenney salons. They have 621 salons throughout the country. We're starting in eight because this is home base between San Diego and LA, but we hope to be at a JCPenney salon near you."