7 fun facts about the bob

‘Your hair is incredibly Haarlem.’ I am very happy that my house is in Haarlem, but something in me says that Leco does not mean this as a compliment. ‘And you already have a dog…’ I hear him sigh. Anyway, it’s the time for the scissors to go in, and rightly so. We had already exchanged some photos back and forth. That is our foreplay. Thank goodness we are on the same page. The bob must be it and will be it, so here I sit in a short skirt and bobbed hair, writing why I find this haircut (do you also get a little itchy from the word ‘hairstyle’?) extra fun. That also has to do with the historical value.

1. Once upon a time, there was a ballerina named Irene Castle

If we are to believe the books, she was the first to cut her hair just below her ears. She did it for convenience, but gently introduced humanity to the phenomenon of the bob.

2. The scandal

In 1925, socialite Louise Brooks cut her long hair to just below her ear. Unheard of and inappropriate. Although many women wore their hair up, it was all long. Short hair was for boys. And those boys, they no longer found Louise attractive from that moment on; she was no longer invited to parties and became the disgrace of her family.

3. Hairdressers refused to cut it

Yet the bob became increasingly popular. Women wore flapper dresses (straight dresses where you couldn’t see the waist), smoked, drank, gained the right to vote, and wanted short hair en masse as well. But because it was so controversial (and because they didn’t really know how to do it), many hairdressers refused to cut this hairstyle. So women went to barbershops where they were welcomed.

4. But once they crossed the bridge

At some point, the hairdressers decided to start cutting the bob after all. It led to a revival within the industry. In five years, the number of salons in America increased from 5,000 to 21,000. I mean.

5. The original bob

One of the first models to wear the bob was Grace Coddington, who was the creative director of Vogue US for years via modeling and styling, and thus lived alongside the most famous bob. By now, Grace has had her signature red curls for years (she does six happy dances every day because her husband is a hairdresser and he can timely touch up her color), but once she had the bob before Anna Wintour. You either have an eye for trends or you don’t.

6. Famous bobs

From Gabrielle Chanel to Greta Garbo in the 1930s, through Jackie Kennedy, Melanie Griffith, Victoria Beckham, and of course Anna Wintour.

7. What makes the bob unique

Aside from the cultural value, it is a hairdo that radiates strength, autonomy. You are feminine without it being a burden to please men. That is not the goal of the bob wearer. Think of it as the hair variant of the culotte. Despite the short length, you can do all sorts of things with it. Middle part, side part, pin on the side, messy waves, straight as a candle, or with bangs; anything goes.

Leco, did I already say that I’m happy with you?