Like many women in New York, Katie Armour, editorial director of the digital magazine Matchbook, is absolutely devoted to her hairdresser. “He’s so wonderful, I know all about his family,” said Ms. Armour, 27, who travels from her apartment on the Upper East Side to the West Village once a month to get her hair done.

But unlike most of her friends, Ms. Armour visits a branch of Fellow Barber (formerly the Freemans Sporting Club barbershops) rather than a salon. Cut by Hugo Hernandez, 68, for $40 plus tip, her closely cropped pixie is inspired by the actress Jean Seberg in the 1960 Jean-Luc Godard film “Breathless.” There is no shampooing involved, and very little styling; just a little spritz and comb. And that’s exactly how she likes it.

“My hair is very short,” Ms. Amour said. “Shorter than the hair of the man I’m seeing right now.” Some of her male friends in the city went to Fellow Barber and had cool haircuts, she said, so it made sense to try it. “They do a good job, and it’s half the price of what I used to pay.”

Ms. Amour is just one of many New York women in recent years to choose the more affordable, less fussy atmosphere of a barbershop over the traditional salon experience. This isn’t entirely new. The 66-year-old institution Astor Place Hairstylists offers cuts starting at $16 as well as more extravagant treatments, including keratin straightening and color. And Rudy’s, the kitschy barbershop chain founded in Seattle in 1993, which now has locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn, has always welcomed both sexes.