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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.