By the Hair

A year or two ago I and many of my friends cut off our long, blown straight locks and began to sport bobs that ranged from cheek to jaw length. At the beginning of last winter many of us began to grow out these bobs so that they reached lengths that graced necks and the tops of shoulders and despite their simplicity offered styling options the shorter bobs did not. About a week ago I began to read articles and see fashion reports regarding the effect the economy has on the length of hair we women keep. It seems the more dire the economy the more simple and the shorter the hairstyles are.

The bob haircut for women first appeared in the 1920s in response to the women's suffrage movement and reined after the stock market crash. It was a reflection of the changing times. It gradually grew out and wasn't really popular in its more severe forms until the 60s when the civil rights, women's and sexual revolution movements were once again on the forefront of our collective consciousness and women no longer had the desire to frivilously spend, or look like they frivilously spent time and money on their hair (of course there were those who keep their manes long, but that's another post concerning the sex kitten's reach for sexual freedom!).

When I polled a few of the women I know either cutting or growing their hair to the longer versions of this style their intentions were mostly economical, they wanted to save money, but also they wanted options, to be give themselves a style that is easier to handle and allows for the natural wave and texture of their hair. They all concluded that this style feels right for these times. I find it interesting that the the shorter more severe bob re appeared during the last years of Bush's term and that it is now slowly being replaced with a longer less severe version that is still somewhat conservative with options. Maybe there is a wave of subliminal messages that we all ride without being fully conscious of our choices.