A "
bob cut" is a women's short haircut in which the hair is typically cut straight around the head at about jaw-length, often with a fringe (or 'bangs") at the front. Made internationally popular by American film star
Colleen MooreColleen Moore was an American film actress, and one of the most fashionable stars of the silent film era.-Early life:...
in the early 1920s, it was then seen as a somewhat shocking statement of independence in young women, as older people were used to seeing girls wearing long dresses and heavy Edwardian-style hair.
A "
bob cut" is a women's short haircut in which the hair is typically cut straight around the head at about jaw-length, often with a fringe (or 'bangs") at the front. Made internationally popular by American film star
Colleen MooreColleen Moore was an American film actress, and one of the most fashionable stars of the silent film era.-Early life:...
in the early 1920s, it was then seen as a somewhat shocking statement of independence in young women, as older people were used to seeing girls wearing long dresses and heavy Edwardian-style hair. Hairdressers, whose training was mainly in arranging and curling long hair, were slow to realise that short styles for women had arrived to stay, and so barbers in many cities found lines of women waiting outside their shops, waiting to be shorn of hair that had taken many years to grow.
By the mid 1920s, the style (in various versions, sometimes worn with a side-parting, curled or waved, and with the hair at the nape of the neck "shingled" short), was the dominant female hairstyle in the Western world. Close-fitting, bell-shaped hats ("Cloche" hats) had also become very popular, and couldn't be worn with long hair. Well-known bob-wearers were actresses
Louise BrooksMary Louise Brooks , generally known by her stage name Louise Brooks, was an American dancer, model, showgirl and silent film actress, famous for pioneering the bobbed haircut. Brooks is best known for her three feature roles including two G. W...
,
Clara BowClara Gordon Bow was an American actress who rose to stardom in the silent film era of the 1920s. Her acting artistry and high spirits made her the premier flapper and the film It made her world famous...
and
Joan CrawfordJoan Crawford was an American actress in film, television and theatre. Starting as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway, Crawford was signed to a motion picture contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1925...
, as well as Dutch film star
Truus van AaltenGeertruida Everdina Wilhelmina van Aalten was a Dutch actress who appeared in many German films in the 1920s and 1930s.-Early life:...
.
As the 1930s approached, women started to grow their hair longer, and the sharp lines of the bob were abandoned.
1960s and beyond
In the 1960s,
Vidal SassoonVidal Sassoon, CBE is a British-born Israeli hairdresser and businessman.-Early life:Sassoon was born to Jewish parents in London. His father was from Salonica , and his mother, whose family was originally from Kiev, was born in London...
made it popular again, using the shape of the early bob and making it more stylish in a simpler cut. Its resurgence coincided with the arrival of the "mop top" Beatle cut for men. Those associated with the bob at that time included the fashion designers
Mary QuantMary Quant, OBE, FCSD is a British fashion designer, one of the many designers who took credit for inventing the miniskirt and hot pants. Born to Welsh parents, Quant studied illustration at Goldsmiths College before taking a career with a couture milliner...
and
Jean MuirJean Elizabeth Muir, CBE, FCSD was an English fashion designer -History and early career:...
, actresses
Carolyn JonesCarolyn Sue Jones was an American actress.Jones began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Bachelor Party and a Golden Globe Award as one of the most promising actresses...
,
Amanda BarrieAmanda Barrie is an English actress.-Career:Barrie has acted in a number of British television and film roles in the 1960s and 1970s. She was also in two of the Carry On films, an extensive series of British comedy films...
, and singers as diverse as
Keely SmithKeely Smith is an American jazz and popular music singer who enjoyed popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. Her collaborations with Louis Prima and Frank Sinatra were highly rated. Smith was admired for her singing style, and for her duets with Louis Prima...
,
Cilla BlackCilla Black OBE is a British singer, actress and television performer who has been successful as an entertainer from 1963 through the present day. She is most famous worldwide for her successful singles "Anyone Who Had A Heart", "You're My World", and "Alfie"...
,
Billie DavisBillie Davis is an English female singer who had hits in the 1960s, and is best remembered for the UK hit version of the song, "Tell Him" and "I Want You to Be My Baby" ....
,
Juliette GrécoJuliette Gréco is a French actress and popular chanson singer.-Biography:Juliette Gréco was born in Montpellier to a Corsican father and a mother who became active in the Résistance, in the Hérault...
,
Mireille MathieuMireille Mathieu is a French singer. She has achieved great success in France, as well as becoming an international superstar. She has performed and recorded songs in at least nine languages.-Biography:...
and
Beverly BivensBeverly Bivens, later Beverly Marshall, was lead singer with the American West Coast folk-rock group We Five from 1965-7.- We Five :Beverly Ann Bivens was born in Santa Ana, California on April 28, 1946...
of the American group
We FiveWe Five was a 1960s folk rock musical group based in San Francisco, California. Their best-known hit was their 1965 remake of Ian and Sylvia's "You Were on My Mind", which reached #1 on the Cashbox chart, #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart...
.
Many styles and combinations of the "bob" have evolved since. In the late 1980s,
Siouxsie SiouxSusan Janet Ballion , better known by her stage name, Siouxsie Sioux , is a British singer-songwriter, best known as the vocalist of Siouxsie & the Banshees between 1976 and 1996, and of its splinter group The Creatures...
, lead singer of
Siouxsie & the BansheesSiouxsie & the Banshees were a British rock band formed in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bassist Steven Severin, the only constant members....
and
Corinne DreweryCorinne Drewery is the lead singer of the pop music band, Swing Out Sister.-Early life:She grew up in Nottingham and the Lincolnshire village of Authorpe and went to South Reston primary School, then Monks Dyke School and King Edward VI Grammar School in nearby Louth then Lincoln College...
singer of
Swing Out SisterSwing Out Sister are a British "sophisti-pop" group best known worldwide for their 1986 song "Breakout". Other hits include "Surrender", "Twilight World", "Waiting Game" and a remake of "Am I the Same Girl?" Though their album sales in the U.S. and Europe have leveled off since the 1980s, they...
, had a bob cut for a short time.
Anna WintourAnna Wintour OBE is an English American fashion editor and the editor-in-chief of American Vogue, a position she has held since 1988. She became interested in fashion as a teenager. Her father, Charles, editor of the Evening Standard, often consulted with her on how to make the newspaper's...
, editor-in-chief of American
VogueVogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine published in 16 countries + Latin America by Condé Nast Publications. Each month, Vogue publishes a magazine addressing topics of fashion, life and design.-Style and influence:...
since 1988, apparently had hers trimmed every day (
Times 2, 10 July 2006). In the early 1990s
Cyndi LauperCynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first artist to have four top-five singles released from one album. Lauper has released 11 albums and over 40...
had a bob haircut with very unusual colors, and then identified with
Uma ThurmanUma Karuna Thurman is an American actress. She has performed predominantly in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action thrillers. She is best known for her work under the direction of Quentin Tarantino...
in the film
Pulp FictionPulp Fiction is a 1994 crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who cowrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
in 1994.
2000s revival
In 2006 the bob was adopted by the singer
MadonnaMadonna is an American recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance...
and, as a move away from
boho-chicBoho-chic is a style of female fashion drawing on various bohemian and hippie influences, that, at its height in 2004-5, was associated particularly with actress Sienna Miller and model Kate Moss in the United Kingdom and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and Nicole Richie in the United States...
, by actress
Sienna MillerSienna Rose Miller is an American-born English actress, model, and fashion designer, best known for her roles in G.I. Joe, Alfie, and Factory Girl.-Early life:...
.
In November 2005,
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
ice dancer Kristina Lenko was asked to join
ITV1ITV1 is the generic brand, that is used by twelve franchises of the ITV Network in England, Wales, the Scottish Borders, the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their eleven...
's new series,
"Dancing on IceDancing on Ice is a British television show, in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The format, devised by LWT, has been a prime-time hit in 8 different countries including Germany, Italy and Chile...
." Needing something shorter than her then waist length cut, she went to her stylist in
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
and told him "Do whatever you like." The result was an
asymmetricAsymmetry is the absence of, or a violation of, a symmetry.-In organisms:Due to how cells divide in organisms, asymmetry in organisms is fairly usual in at least one dimension, with biological symmetry also being common in at least one dimension....
Bob cut, which has since been heavily copied. Popularity of the cut in the UK and Ireland can be traced to the influence of fashion icon and ex
Spice Girl Victoria BeckhamVictoria Caroline Beckham is an English singer, songwriter, dancer, fashion designer, author, businesswoman, actress and model....
having had her hair bobbed in the same style, with girls asking hairdressers for a "Pob" - Ms Beckham's nickname Posh Spice conflated with "bob."
In 2007 R&B singer
RihannaRobyn Rihanna Fenty , known as Rihanna, is a Barbadian singer and model. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
had a bob haircut in the video for the international smash "
Umbrella"Umbrella" is a song recorded by Barbadian R&B singer Rihanna, featuring a rap verse by American hip hop artist Jay-Z. The song was written by Terius Nash, Christopher Stewart, and Kuk Harrell, and was produced by Stewart. It was released as the lead single for Rihanna's third studio album, Good...
". She has stated that she got her inspiration from
Charlize TheronCharlize Theron is a South African actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She became an American citizen in 2007....
in
Æon FluxÆon Flux is an avant-garde American science fiction animated television series that aired on MTV. It premiered in 1991 on MTV's Liquid Television experimental animation show as a six-part serial of short films, followed in 1992 by five individual short episodes...
.
Keira KnightleyKeira Christina Knightley is an English film actress. She began her career as a child and came to international prominence in 2003 after co-starring in the films Bend It Like Beckham and the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy....
had a bob in her short TV ad for
Coco MademoiselleCoco Mademoiselle is a women's perfume in the Chanel collection that was introduced in 2001 for the younger Chanel fans.The fragrance was created by Jacques Polge, the nose of Chanel since 1978.-Coco Mademoiselle le Film:...
.
Actress
Christina RicciChristina Ricci is an American actress who first achieved fame for her role as Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family and its sequel Addams Family Values ....
also had a bob for live-action movie version for 60s anime series
Speed RacerSpeed Racer is an English adaptation name of the Japanese manga and anime, which centered on automobile racing. Mach GoGoGo was originally serialized in print form in Shueisha's 1958 Shōnen Book, and was released in tankōbon book form by Sun Wide Comics, re-released in Japan by Fusosha...
and later onwards.
Types
- Chinese bob: Cut at the neckline, bobbed up around the edge.
- "A-line bob": A typical "bob" cut, with slightly longer hair in front, cut in an asymmetrical style. Made popular by Victoria Beckham
Victoria Caroline Beckham is an English singer, songwriter, dancer, fashion designer, author, businesswoman, actress and model....
known as the A-line bob as it is layered in at the back, it is originally around the shape of the face but has many variations, including the dramatic "buzzcut bob" where it is shoulder-length at the front and crew-cut at the back.
- Pageboy
The pageboy is a hairstyle named after what was believed to be the haircut of an English page boy. It involves straight hair hanging to below the ear where it usually turns under. Often there is a fringe in the front. This style was very popular in the 50s and 60s. -Design / style:The pageboy...
: is slightly different from the bob, but is also acknowledged as a type of bob. Hair is usually worn straight and could go as long as shoulder-length. The fringe is cut at or above the height of the eyebrows.
See also
- Bobby pin
A bobby pin is a type of hairpin. In British English it is known as a hair grip or kirby grip. It is a small pin or clip, usually of metal or plastic, used in coiffure to hold hair in place. Typical bobby pins are plain and unobtrusively colored, but some are elaborately decorated or jeweled...
- "Bernice Bobs Her Hair
"Bernice Bobs Her Hair" is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, written in 1920 and first published in the Saturday Evening Post in May of that year. It appeared shortly thereafter in the collection Flappers and Philosophers.-Background:...
", a short story by F. Scott FitzgeraldFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are evocative of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost Generation" of the Twenties...
on the subject.
External links