Vintage clothing: complement your style with a hairstyle from the 50s
What can you wear with your vintage clothes and outfits from the 50s? It’s easy to recreate a retro hairstyle that complements your look. Open any high school yearbook from the 1950s and you’ll see all the popular hairstyles, including cute pixie cuts, carefree ponytails, and high-stacked hairstyles. The emphasis was on a youthful and extravagant look. Short curly hair was in, long straight was out. The women coaxed their hair into curls with visits to the salon, perms, and curlers that they put in daily and slept in every night. Here are some ideas and resources to help you recreate that look.
Tea pixie cut,with soft curls and shorter hair, she was popular in the ’50s. Pin curls and rollers set the look, and hairspray kept it in place. Women often wore permed hairstyles parted on the side. It was common to wear curlers to bed and then in the morning to brush their hair into place. Hairstyles used to be short enough to show the bottom of the ears. It was simple and easy to maintain with very short bangs that curled downward. Audrey Hepburn and Gina Lollobrigida were famous for their cute Pixie Cuts. A variation on this is the Poodle Cut which is best seen on Lucille Ball. Here are some variations of the pixie cut that you can try. Part your hair to one side and then sweep one side up and hold it in place with tortoise shell barrettes or fancy bobby pins. The front bangs can be worn fringed or curled underneath. A headband can hold your curls back with a soft slicked back or with bangs. Use bobby pins to hold the spit curls in place and position them to frame the face. Or try a special bow or tropical flower.
Fun fact: Did you know that even the kids liked the curly look? In a 1953 Life magazine ad, Lilt Home Permanent advertised Party Curl, a perm that would give her son “the prettiest hair in the neighborhood.”
Tea horse tail it was everywhere in the 50s. It’s a youthful style, free and easy and perfect for dancing. We’ve all seen movies featuring bouncy bobbysoxers with their hair tied back and tied with a rubber band. Women with this petite bopper hairstyle include Sandy from Grease and Gidget (it’s easier to surf with a ponytail!) You can change up the basic ponytail by wearing it with or without bangs. Ponytails in the ’50s were usually teased and sprayed with hairspray before being pulled up at the back of the head with a sheer scarf. A chignon or chignon with a scarf wrapped around it is a casual-chic look. The scarf or the ribbons that hold your ponytail can contrast with your outfit using typical 50s color combinations such as pink with black or red with black or turquoise with white. Try two ponytails on top of your head. It’s called the “Teeny Bopper” or “Poodle Ears.” For a casual everyday look, wear a head scarf tied under the chin with the ponytail peeking out the back and the bangs in the front.
Fun fact: Can you hum the song “Chantilly Lace” from “The Big Bopper”? He paints a typical 1950s picture complete with ponytail. “Chantilly lace, a pretty face and a ponytail, dangling, a wiggle, a walk, a giggle and a squawk, makes the world go round…”
Tea bulky it’s a 1950s puffed up hairstyle that later became the Beehive. This hairstyle required elaborate styling, most often in a salon with a set of wet rollers and a blow dryer. The hair is combed back from the scalp, pinned, pulled, and heavily sprayed to create the height required for this style. Hair rats were used to get the correct height and shape. Fur rats are made of real fur that is held up in an oval shape with a mesh or stocking. They can also be made of foam. The rats are coiled into the hair to make it look tall or pinned into place and the hair is then styled over it. Heavy use of heavy hairspray or hairspray would hold the style for a week if left untouched with a comb or brush. Pop singer, Dusty Springfield had a puffy light blonde. The Ronettes were famous for their towering beehives and showcased the height that hair could reach. Variations on a bouffant or beehive are numerous. You can wear your hair in a long ponytail on the back or on the side. Add some spit curls or bangs for a little extra volume. You can sweep the hair up into a high twist and then leave some hair at the bottom down and twist it up to create a contrast. Look for hairstyle “how to” videos on YouTube and Ehow.
Fun fact: Did you know that the beehive is also known as the B-52 because the hairstyle resembles the bulbous nose of a B-52 Stratofortress bomber?
Your hairstyle can be the finishing touch to a vintage outfit, whether you’re wearing a 1950s circle skirt or a skinny capri. Have fun with it. Or if all this seems too complicated for you, try a voluminous wig. It’s easy on and off and you can skip the hairspray!