vintage hairstyles

Many pictures from the 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s to help with your search for vintage hairstyles and other helpful information from that time period.

The 50's were a time of simplicity and Happy Days.

1950's Crew

Hairstyles reflected that theme as we see in this photo taken around 1957. Women wore their hair short and in easy care styles such as these which have some simple curls. Since blow-dryers were not used much at home, it was common to see women out shopping with curlers and hair nets during the day so they could look lovely at night. It was also popular to use pin curls which was nothing more than winding strands around the finger and securing them with bobby pins until hair dried. Many men chose the flat top crew cut for the then bad boy look. Black horn rimmed glasses topped off the look for men. Also khaki pants and white tee shirts and rolled up sleeves were the thing.

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Women of the 60's who wanted a more conservative version of the big bouffant opted for a tamed down puffy hairdo like this one. In the 40's and 50's many gals pulled their locks up in the back and this practice carried over to the 60's for some. Ratting the top portion and then smoothing over the top layer gave height as we see here and then the back was secured into an updo. Lots of Aquanet hairspray was used to keep those strands in place.

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This original photograph came from our archives and has a great example of a flapper girl 1920's hairstyle.

1920s photograph

The Marcel wave was still very popular and in 1910  women began cutting their hair short as a new sign of freedom from their corsettes and the beginning of a new trend for young ladies entering into the workforce. The Louise Brooks bob was the most famous hairstyle of the 20's. Vintage looks are gaining popularity in today's fashions. It is fun to look at old photos for inspiration.

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Teenage girls of the 70's wore sweaters with printed scenery and feathered hair. One teen girl has a straight version of this hairstyle and one has a curly version. The bangs were even parted and parts varied from in the middle to off center. Parts were very deliberate and even. That was the first thing one did before styling began. This is a fun photograph to see the retro fashions and decor.

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The shag hairstyle began in the late 60's and was strong into the early 70's. This photograph was taken around 1970 and shows the hair and fashion that was hot during this time with men and women. This young woman's hairstyle has the typical hourglass shape that came from the transformation of the bouffant which was full and round on top. Then, the fringes of longer pieces that came down the neck and flipped up, just like the Florence Henderson hairdo from the Brady Bunch, made the shag just that.

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