Hairstyles through the ages

Flick through old photos of yester-years and you’ll notice how the fashions and hairstyles have shifted, but so too for the hair styles, largely determined by the fashions of the culture they live in.

Let’s take a look at how they have changed…

1920s: Short and Sharp Bob

Up until the 20’s women had long hair swept up into a poofy updo. The post-world war 1 and New Jazz era saw women wearing drastically different hair styles. The short and sharp bob.

1930s: Platinum Curls

Whist Australia weathered the great depression, the theatre was a source of entertainment and escapism.  Hollywood actresses such as Fay Wray pioneered a softer look of soft tumbling waves that women in droves sought to replicate for themselves. Polished bobs of the 1920s morphed into a less sleek, yet still above the shoulder’s hairstyle.

1940s: Structures Waves

Shoulder-length, structured waves with height. The Victory Roll was synonymous for this era; it involved curling sections of hair up, away from the face and securing them with pins to create a tube-like effect. Many worked in factories whilst their husbands were off fighting in world war 2, so many wrapped up their hair in a scarf with rollers in their hair whilst they worked.

1950s: Short, Pinned Back Curls.

The 1950s saw the emergence of a variety of popular hairstyles, again popularised by Hollywood actresses such as Marylin Munroe.  Everything from short tight platinum blond curls to sleek dark long hair with a blunt fringe.

1960s: Statement Hair

Big transition of hair styles within this decade! The early years were still mostly tailored and buttoned-up music groups with very impressive coiffed styles such as the beehive. Then by the end of the decade thanks to the Vietnam War and civil rights movements inspired a counterculture of long free flowing natural hair.

1970s: Bouncy Waves

Hairstyles did not look as ‘done’ as previous decades. Think Farrah Fawcett. Effortless looking waves that flick away from the face.

1980s: Choppy and Feathered

An era of More is More. Oversized power jackets and up-to-your-ears shoulder pads dominated the fashion scene.  It’s no surprise that hair styles were big!  Scrunchies were in, so were big perms, lots of hair spray, and crimped hair. Hair did not look natural.

1990s: The Rachel

Who didn’t go to the hairdresser and ask for The Rachel? A geometric, layered and bouncy shag, suited to any hair length. Who thought a hair style from a sitcom could harness a cult following?

2000s: Combination

Anything went in the naughties.  We saw experimentation with chunky foils, a mixture of curly and straight, long and short bobs, cropped fringe.  Think wavy and pinned back to the side, face framing bangs, super straight with totally random curls, pony tail with fringe pinned back with a tiny clip. 

2010s: Easy Breezy and Old is New

This decade has seen a resurgence of easy, low-maintenance looks, with no particular length that has dominated the fashion pages.   Though certain trends have been brought back with vengeance (high ponytails, sun bleached strands) Yet loose, straight out of bed top nots have reached sky high in popularity.

2020s: New Era

It's a whole new decade and that means it's time for some fresh new looks. Every few months we’ll see how a fresh set of haircuts becomes, for lack of a better word, trendy. Thankfully not all hair styles require big commitment and major transformation.