The haircut that in the 1920s made men leave their wives, was grounds for dismissal from employment and separated women into two camps-the naughty and the nice-is back in style with a new, 1989 kind of sass.
It`s the bob-that sleek, sprightly cut that`s generally snipped to one length all the way around the head and can be up to the ears or down to the shoulders.
It can be worn with or without bangs; be parted in the middle, on the side, or not at all; and be swept forward to the face or left to hang down. Although the classic bob is traditionally arrow straight with wide bangs, new variations include more tousled, even wavy and curly, looks.
In the `20s, to bob or not to bob was a dilemma facing each and every woman. But, the whole matter had little to do with hair and a lot to do with being liberated and free from a Victorian definition of femininity.
”When women did it to their hair in the 1920s, it was a sign of asserting themselves,” says Mary Barnard, director of Chicago`s Ray College of Design. ”It was the beginning of saying not only do we want to vote, but we want to be looked at not just as feminine beings but as human beings with a mind of our own.”
Corsets and calves, too
It was an act of feminine defiance not to be equaled until the 1960s, when women burned their bras. Forsaking one`s towering pompadour or long curly locks for a boyish bob was just the beginning. After the deed was done, the emancipated, modern woman of the 1920s also shed her corset and bared her calves in shorter skirts and dresses. For the first time, women demanded comfortable attire-and a fast, loose hairstyle.
”Bobbed hair is a state of mind and not merely a new manner of dressing my hair,” said opera singer Mary Garden in a 1927 issue of Pictorial Review magazine. ”I consider getting rid of our long hair one of the many little shackles that women have cast aside in their passage to freedom.”
Nowadays, a number of women feel the same way. But add hot rollers, curling irons, gels, mousses and all those industrial-strength hairsprays to the list of castaways. If women are defying anything by sporting a bob today, it`s the time they spend in front of the mirror and the hassle that goes along with donning a big ”do.”
Such ”big hair,” which has been in vogue for several seasons, must be teased, permed, heavily sprayed or glued into place. The bob, on the other hand, relies on gravity. It`s a wash-and-wear hairstyle that`s supposed to tumble down, whether to cheek, chin or shoulder length. It doesn`t attempt to defy gravity like big hair and soar to new heights atop the crown or widths beyond the ear.
While some say the wide-and-high look is stronger than ever, others are skeptical and believe there`s a movement toward a neater, shorter, sleeker look, and an easier-to-do ”do.”
Easy-to-wear
”Almost everybody has worn (a bob) at some point in their hairdo history and discovered it`s been the easiest of their haircuts,” says Kenneth Battelle, owner of Kenneth Beauty Salon in New York.
”I can feel it in the air from the designers, photographers and editors I work with,” says Christiaan, a New York hairstylist who has an exclusive clientele and also does hairstyling for several designer shows. ”Long hair has gone on long enough. Short hair is going to have its day again.”
Hair expert Vidal Sassoon agrees: ”It should never have been in style,” he says of the big, teased look. ”Unless you want to keep birds up there.”
And in the movie ”Working Girl,” even the naive Tess McGill utters a word or two about the dignity of shorter hair. ”If you want to be taken seriously,” she says before she crops her big ”do,” dons more businesslike attire and goes from secretary to Wall Street whiz, ”you need serious hair.” The bob is a serious hairstyle.
Naughty girls
In the 1920s, it was plucky women like fashion designer Coco Chanel, dancer Irene Castle, sultry actresses Louise Brooks and Greta Garbo and quintessential naughty girl Clara Bow who first gave the bob a fling. Even America`s sweetheart, actress Mary Pickford, finally succumbed and cropped her golden locks in an effort to shed her all-too-nice image.
Today, it`s women like Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who has a straight, elegant bob; actress Sigourney Weaver, who sports a long, wavy bob; and singer Madonna, when she fashions herself like Marilyn Monroe, who tops her head with a short, vampy bob. Actress Mimi Rogers` bob is chin-length and curly. And even Linda Evans, whose elegant tresses brisk her shoulders, by definition, wears a bob.
”It`s the most classic cut, passe partout,” says Charles Ifergan, owner of Charles Ifergan Coiffures, 106 E. Oak St.
Classic, he says, because of its clean, crisp lines and dramatic silhouette. Passe partout (translation: versatile) because it can be dressed up or down.
It`s also a sexy hairstyle, according to Sassoon, the stylist who turned hair into an ”attitude” and short hair into a provocation.
”It`s a very sexual cut in the most delightful way,” he says. ”A man can run his hands through it” and not get stuck in hairspray.
Emphasis on the eyes
Unlike other short cuts, there`s nothing cute or coy about the bob. It`s chic, aggressive. It emphasizes the facial features and especially the eyes. The bob moves-swishes and swirls, yet snaps back into place-and there`s a little bit of the vamp, a little bit of the naughty girl in it.
And, according to New York fashion designer Rebecca Moses, there`s a lot of sense to it.
Moses wears a rounded, cheeky bob that she spends no more than 5 minutes on in the morning. According to Moses, she wraps her hair wet in a towel and keeps it there until she gets dressed and puts on her makeup. She then lets it loose, brushes it and flips it back wet. Only if it`s very cold outside will she blow it dry, and then not for more than a minute. Most mornings, she says, she lets it dry under her hat on the way to work.
”We live such a crazy life here in New York,” she says. ”Chicago is no different. Every second is consumed.
”It feels free and natural. It`s not a contrived `do,` ” she continues. ”We were all into `dos` a year ago. . . . It`s enough hair to do something with but not enough to give you a headache.”
The bob is a precision haircut with a well-defined shape. A good cut is a must, say stylists, and it should be trimmed back into shape every four to six weeks. That way, styling is less of a hassle.
The bob is designed to be towel-dried or quickly blown-dry. Gels, mousses and hairspray are not an important ingredient in its makeup, although a dollop here and a spritz there may be necessary. But, that`s all-the bob should never be shackled into place.
Let it swing
”The bob doesn`t require that much gel-just a little setting lotion, a little mousse to keep the fullness,” says Ifergan. ”If you glue it down with hairspray, it doesn`t move. The bob should swing.”
How did those daring women of the `20s wear a bob?
With a long-waisted, fringed or feathered dress; a cigarette poised in a cocked wrist; a cloche clamped tight over the head and down around the nape of the neck allowing only a peek at what`s underneath. And don`t forget the lanky, apathetic slouch and the low, breathy voice.
Today, anything from a sequined evening gown to a Chanel suit to a baggy sweatsuit is the ”right” attire to wear with a bob. A pen and pad have replaced the cigarette, slouching is unhealthy and a breathy voice could be misinterpreted as an asthmatic condition.
Like the bob of the 1920s, the bob of 1989 may have a lot to do with something else other than hair.
Try nostalgia.
The hip `20s
The 1920s and all the splendor of the period are enjoying a resurgence in popularity these days. Chanel is hot. Art Deco furniture and decoration are hot. (Last year, Andy Warhol`s collection of Art Deco and Art Nouveau furnishings sold at Sotheby`s in New York for a record $5.3 million.) The new NBC Tower, at 455 N. St. Clair Ave., is a clean-edged Deco addition to Chicago`s skyline. And, Jay Spectre`s collection of 1920s and `30s inspired furnishings has given the home industry a new look at this era.
”Today, we look back on almost a century-89 years of style filled with turbulence and excitement,” says Spectre. ”From that style, be it hairdos, skirt lengths, chairs, rugs, ceiling heights, movies or morals,” we can re-evaluate what we`ve seen and adapt it to where we are now.
Indeed, today`s bob has been re-evaluated and reworked. The bob of 1989 is softer and rounder than the geometric bob of the 1920s, or even that of the 1960s, when it enjoyed its first widespread revival.
Robert Harrison, assistant manager at Vidal Sassoon in Water Tower Place, describes it as ”freer, looser, not so stiff.” Sassoon introduced a new collection of bobs last year as a tribute to the classic style.
Wavy or curly hair-be it natural or hairdresser-induced-makes the bob less head-hugging and just plain bigger than the classic, straight bob of the 1920s. Then there`s the graduated bob, in which one layer ”undercuts” the next for a better swish and swirl. Bangs-if they exist at all-can be fringed, chunky or spikey.
Bobs for men also are popping up (remember the early Beatles with their bowl-on-the-head cuts?), but most stylists agree that it`s a look primarily for the avant-garde or artsy man.
Yes, that sassy one-length style is back-or maybe it never really left.
”The bob doesn`t stay for awhile,” says Ifergan. ”It stays forever. It never goes out of style.” –
