Hair through the Decades – 1920s

As fashion changes and trends come and go, as do hairstyles. We’re going to take a look through modern hair history and peruse some of the styles that have shaped the decades.

The roaring 20s, a time of bold change, fun, and fashion. After the hardship of the first World War and the loss of so many of our men, there was almost a devil may care attitude to life, a sense of wild abandonment almost. And nowhere more was that visible in the hairdressing world.

Not only did the 1920s bring about technological advances including the first hand-held hair dryer (although very heavy and dangerous!), electric curlers and the forever useful bobby pins but it also saw the first time really that the female population began to experiment with their style and cut their hair short. Prior to this it was seen as masculine and not respectable at all for a woman to have short hair, and even though popular American dancer Irene Castle is credited with bring the short bob style to the masses, women of the time were apprehensive about this new style and were worried about people’s opinions and judgements. May women adopted the short look but maintained their long hair by tucking it under and pinning it into a short looking style.

But for those who dared to go short, and with very few women’s salons as we know them today, it would mean entrusting your locks to a friend who was handy with the scissors, attempting it yourself or visiting the barbers. And it was the barbers of the time who did exceptionally well out of this hair revolution, with teems of women flocking to them for the latest ‘orchid bob’, ‘charleston cut’ or ‘eton crop’ and further into the 20s the fringed version was to be known as the ‘paige boy’ – a style still seen today.

In fact, the bob style in its many guises really has stood the test of time and to this day never fails to be at the forefront of hair fashion.

Have you dared to go short before? What about the bob, ever taken on this classic style? We’d love to hear from you in comments below or on our Facebook page.