I thought I might share my feelings on each decade of the 20th Century. Specifically in order of my interest. I had a moment trying to decide whether to go from my favorite to my least favorite or vice versa. I think I have decided to start with my least favorite and work my way to my most favorite decade of hairstyling. See if you can guess which it is. Also, let me know how you feel about my order, do you agree?
1970s: I consider this the most unfortunate of the style decades of the 20th Century. There were not very many good styles that came out of this decade. Also, it is a decade where the salon wasn't as popular for the youth of the day. One of my least favorite haircuts came into fashion around this time, the pageboy cut. You can look back at a previous post to see my feelings about that.
1980s: This decade is a close follower to the '70s. I don't think anything good came out of this one, as far as style goes. The only reason it ranks higher than the '70s is that people were once again visiting the salons fairly regularly.
1990s: Down on the list due to it being the decade I had my "formative years" in. There were quite a few mistakes, but at least we weren't perming and frosting our hair. In this decade we were straightening and doing chunky highlights. Not great, not to mention the styles, every one looked greasy and shiny.
1960s: The last decade of the weekly salon visit. Ladies were starting to move toward a blow dry style and not a wet set as had been previously done. There is a mixture of styles in this decade, some good and fun, others a bit much, some downright awkward. The '60s had a certain vibe and it wasn't too bad.
1900s: The turn of the 20th Century. Ladies are still, generally, wearing their hair up on their head. Quite popular at this time was the Psyche Knot and the fringe. Curling irons are being used to create the curly fringe and only a handful of folks are getting burned by said curling irons. Also, L'Oreal is founded as the first "permanent color" company in 1904.
1920s: A wonderful decade of completely changing the popular way to wear the hair. Everyone who's anyone is getting their hair bobbed, shingled, mingled, and vingled. More chemical services are being done in salons, lightening and permanent waves. Finger waves and ringlet curls are also popular. We are beginning to get to the era of styling on a weekly basis.
1930s: Thanks to women wanting to grow out their hair a little bit, styling becomes more prominant in the '30s. There is a softer look to the styles, but where it could be afforded, there were visits to the salon and trending styles. Many of the average ladies could be expected to just style up their hair at home, due to the Great Depression and, yet, they still managed to stay as stylish as they could.
1910s: I adore the Gibson Girl look. It was an influential style based on the drawings by Charles Dana Gibson of his wife. There was a "big hair, don't care vibe". Ladies were padding out their hairstyles and were absolutely glorious. Also, this is the decade where ladies started cutting and bobbing their hair. Which continues right into the '20s.
1950s: Post WWII and hair is getting shorter again. There is a lot more cute pixie type cuts and waves. Middle class ladies are really able to take advantage of the post-war economic boom. More visits to the salon to stay up-to-date with the fashions coming out of Europe. One might even see a little glimpse of the fashion of the world when attending a movie, as part of the news reel that ran before a film.
1940s: My absolutely most favorite decade of hairstyling in the 20th Century. There is such a sense of glamour and refinement with the styles of the day. And these styles have stayed with the retro/vintage/rockabilly crowd. Think victory rolls and pageboy hairstyles. Soft waves and sculptured curls. It is the epitome of what it means to be a hair artist, to create these looks. The cuts matched the styles, the styles matched the ladies, so much work was put into all of this. I also love reading the hairstyling manuals and instruction books of the decade. It is just the most awesome, in my opinion.
