Guest Post | Hairstyle History: The Bob

This article was provided by Sam Rigby on behalf of Hershesons, a hair salon chain that also sells full head clip in human hair extensions, hair styling tools and hair accessories.

(image: weheartit)

The bob hairstyle is back for 2013 – we’ve already seen them at numerous designer fashion shows around the world. Chanel offered up models wearing Renaissance inspired clothing alongside pastel-coloured bobs at the Spring/Summer 2013 pre-show, while at Antipodium the 50s/60s style clothing worked perfectly with the models’ boxy bobs.

The origins of the bob

Bob hairstyles first began to pop up in the 1920s, when women started to wear their hair short as a statement of their independence.

Before that, short hair was considered unladylike, and hairdressers’ only real experience was in styling long locks and not cutting hair. Things began to change in the 20s thanks to World War II.

Men were shipped off to the battlefield during the war, meaning women had to take their place in factories and on farms across the globe. Long hair wasn’t exactly practical, so many chose to cut their hair short to avoid nasty accidents. After the war, women didn’t want to be pushed back into the kitchen – they’d experienced real life and wanted more of it. So, they kept their hair short and challenged opposition with their new ways.

(image: wehartit)

And so, the bob also became synonymous with the ‘Flapper’ movement in the USA. Flappers were women that flouted social norms by smoking, drinking alcohol, wearing makeup and generally being much more boisterous than ‘normal’ women were.

Even though the Flappers’ style was considered brash and unfeminine, the movement continued and helped to create the era the Roaring Twenties. By the 1930s though, the trends changed and long hair was desirable again.

The return of the bob

After the bob’s decade of brilliance in the 1920s, it returned with a bang in the 60s. The hairdresser Vidal Sassoon is credited with bringing it back, with the now-common ‘wedge bob’. This hairstyle is angular, usually appearing to be longer in the front, and can be seen all over the place today.

(image: weheartit)

The bob continued to be popular well into the 80s and 90s – Cyndi Lauper, Siouxsie Sioux and Anna Wintour are all famous for their bob haircuts, and Uma Thurman can be seen sporting a bob in ‘Pulp Fiction’.

The modern bob

The bob hairstyle is constantly changing, with short and log variations of the style available today. Women with bob cuts are no longer seen as outlandish and dangerous, instead it’s just another hairstyle that you can opt for if you fancy a change!

Interested in being a guest blogger? Please let me know!