History Of The Bob
The decade was the 1920’s and women everywhere were trying to make
statements. Statements with their words, clothes, and of course their
hair. They had to have something different, something shocking,
something that would make all those prim and proper women gasp, enter
the bob.
In the mid 1910’s a famous dancer names Irene Castle, who was known for
her bobbing hair and short shirts, shortened her hair for ease. This
short cut hair with cute curls at the bottom became known as the Castle
Bob. But the actual bob itself didn’t take off as a style until the 20’s
 May 1, 1920, in the Saturday Evening Post was the headline that read
‘Bernice Bobs Her Hair’. It became an infamous tale depicting a sweet
but homely young lady who gave into a pair of scissors and had her hair
transformed turning her into a cool smooth talking women curtsey of her
cousin. The heroine would become a role model for young women of the
day.
Like most looks it became popular first with the younger crowd which
made it the forerunner for the look and fashion of the day. This started
out simply straight and bland but growing and moving like a river to
waves, perms, and various different coloring methods.
The style blazed through the 1921’s, following the lead of fashion
designers such as ‘CoCo’ Chanel, actress Clara Bow and Louise Brooks.
Seeing these icons amazing looks encouraged the rest of women everywhere
to take the cut bobbing their hair to their liking.
Soon long strands of beads, feathers, and various other things were
added giving us the era and fashions of the 20’s we all know so well.
The rebellious changes in hairstyles were just the beginning.
There was a small fear among ladies that the fad would fade as many
fashions do and long hair would be back in leaving them stuck with short
hair till it grew back. So then became the question ‘to bob or not to
bob’ for many professionals had predicted the immediate return of long
hair, however it was hard to ignore the popularity the bob had on not
only fashion but the normal person as well.
So the average barber would arm themselves with smelling salt for often
the loss of curls and long cascading hair came tears and fainting. Men
disliked, even to the point of rage, that women were invading their
shops for up to this point barbershops were their domain yet despite the
fainting and tears there were reported lines out shops doors for the
want of a clean simple bob. In fact in New York City there was a
reported 2,000 heads per day being clipped into bobs.
So the bob hairstyle was invented. It was short, simple, and amazingly easy to
take care of which was great for the woman on the go or woman who just
wanted to look fabulous but not spend all day in the bathroom fixing her
hair.
Other Bob Hairstyles
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