The Short, medium and Long of it all –
Short hair is very much “high fashion” in 1953, and it certainly looks wonderful on some girls. Others prefer to wear long hair, or admire the short cut but wisely apply to a principle to which all girls should cling – if it doesn’t suit you, don’t wear it !
Every girl will find on this post a 1950s hairstyle to suit all lengths of hair. Each style is fashion-right for today, because each has the smart – close to the head line – which the new small hats and high collars demand.
Look for the appropriate section for a style which you like, and try it on your hair !
SHORT HAIR – 1950’s styles
If it’s short, it’s smart – and usually easy to handle. Whether its curly or straight, a short style depends for its effectiveness upon expert cutting and shaping.
1.The “cap cut” – close to the head and very nearly straight, with a definite forward movement is becoming a classic. It suits most faces, and is an excellent style for fine, straight hair.
2. A soft, pretty short cut which teenagers love, but suitable for twenty-somethings too. the ends are lightly tapered to give it that airy feathered look, and the soft, half-bang is young and becoming. It’s a good style for long thin faces.
3. The cap-like, forward movement again – but in flat, sculptured curls for sophistication and smartness. the top curl can be drawn back to reveal an attractive forehead and hair-line, or combed forward diagonally to follow smoothly the line of the side bar.
MEDIUM-LENGTH HAIR – 1950’s Styles
For the girl who prefers to avoid extremes – or for Miss Long-hair who decides to meet the short styles half way!
1. Here’s a style that’s much softer and prettier than a “bun” or a roll. A centre-back parting divides the hair at the nape of the neck into two soft curls; the side hair is brushed back, in softly waved wings.
2. The girl with classic features should wear a centre-parting; draw back the top hair from her forehead and brush the rest forward on to her cheeks. This style can be worn with a side parting, to flatter a round face, or to minimize a jaw that’s too heavy.
3. A delightfully demure, close to the head style for the teenager, lovely for parties. The hair is parted at centre-back, brushed forward from the parting, tucked under the wide velvet ribbon and pinned beneath the bow, to give the up-to-date cap like effect. the front parting can be at side or centre.
LONG HAIRSTYLES – 1950’s
The world is full of men who go on murmuring darkly that a woman’s hair should be long.
Well shampooed, well brushed hair is one of the prettiest things there is, so it’s a fine idea to have plenty of it – as long as its a controlled abundance. Even the prettiest hair looks wrong if it’s all over the place.
1. Yet another version of the “shoulder-bob.” For this style, the side and front hair is cut very short, and brushed forward in a gradually sloping line which echoes that of the cap cut. The long back hair is set in fluffy curls, and combed out to meet the side hair.
2.A becoming “Chignon” style, achieved by means of a low, loose roll of hair at the nape of the neck. The side hair is smoothed back to join the roll; and the front hair is set in a flat off-the-brow “quiff.”
3. Another classic favourite, in a smooth, up-to-date version. Up-do hair is no longer scraped straight up as in the 1940s, but softly swathed across the crown of the head in a diagonal line. The front hair is short; it frames the face simply and elegantly, giving a “short cut” effect.
That’s all
Text ©Glamourdaze 2015
Now available direct to your device – vintage 1940s hairstyle tutorials.
Ten 50s Hollywood Hairstyles How to do – booklet
Now get the Concise Illustrated History of Fashion – 1940 to 1949