Sunday 8 July 2012

Hair Inspiration: The Beautiful Bob

For as long as I can remember I have worn my hair shoulder length or longer. The thought of anything shorter appalled me. However, over the past few months my hair has become dry and damaged snubbing my overzealous efforts to style it.  I was also bored with it and in the midst of a mid-20s crisis last month I went under the scissors and got a bob!


The history of the bob is an interesting one. Originating at the beginning of the 20th century, it was seen as a shocking statement of independence in young women. It was only considered respectable when women joined the workforce during World War I and no longer had time to style long hair. By the mid-1920s it was the dominant female hairstyle in the Western world popularised by actresses Louise Brooks and Joan Crawford, the original flapper girls. As the 1930s approached, women started to grow their hair longer and the bob was abandoned.


Vidal Sassoon is credited with bringing back the bob in the 1960s, revolutionising the style with his precise, geometric cuts. Sassoon created some of the most iconic hairstyles of the 60s including Mia Farrow's pixie crop and the five-point cut worn by stars such as Mary Quant, Nancy Kwan and Grace Coddington.

                                          Vidal in his salon. Oh to have a time machine!


More 1960s Inspiration:
Anna Karina

                                                      Chantal Goya
                                              Jessica Paré as Megan Draper in Mad Men






Modern Inspiration:
Krysten Ritter

Kimbra


Alexa Chung


Taking inspiration from the 60s (my favourite decade for music, fashion and beauty) I asked my hairdresser for a blunt bob a lá Chantal Goya. However, she nervously recommended an A-line bob (where the front is slightly longer than the back) for fear I’d turn the scissors on her due to my lack of length! I took her advice and it was the right decision. I love my hair. It’s in better condition, more manageable and I think I look a little more elegant! Also, in a world obsessed with big hair and extensions it’s nice to sport something a little different.
  My gorgeous friend Katie and I at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby last weekend





4 comments:

  1. You look AMAZING! I would love a bob but my hair is too unruly and I am too rubbish at styling it xo

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  2. Aww cheers Emma! I'm not too great at styling it myself, heated rollers make it a tad easier x

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  3. Chantal Goya's got nothin' on you hun! Love that I feature in it a wee bit too (makes me feel famous haha!) xx

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