I had just finished my Hairdressing Course in London UK in ’61 Vidal Sassoon was modernizing hairstyles & hair cutting with his brilliant geometrics, first the blunt “guillotine” then the graduated bob. Creative hairstylists have revealed many almost endless variations of the bob. In the Canadian Competitions, “The Mirror Awards” and “The Contessa’s” I have have found that many of the entrants seem stuck in hard edged bobs, probably because it’s early in their career. I wonder how many young stylists today know that the first bob in North America is credited to Irene Castle, a dancer who decided in 1912 to rid herself of the Style de Jour “The Gibson Girl”. She turned out to be quite the trend setter after bobbing (like a horse’s tail) off her long hair. See here a photo of the “Gibson Girl” and the first “Castle Bob”.
A little later came the late ’20’s The Flapper flounced, sometimes using the Marcel waving iron, finger waves with or without pin curls.Many Hollywood Stars bobbed their hair, one of the big looks was Louise Brook’s cut.
This is a photo of my Mother in the late 20’s, she had worn this graduated bob since a teenager. At this time she had dated the Prince of Wales (The Future Duke Of Windsor), note the mini bangs, how “to-day” is that? She had this look in England prior to Louise, her name: Elise.
Here are a selection of some of the BOBS that I have created & photographed since 1965, please see “hair gallery. I counted over 45 variations of this length. Some blunt, some layered, some edgy, some spiky, some softly curled, some coloured and/or hi-lighted.
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| 1966 | 1967 | 1973 |
| 1974 | 1978 | 1982 |
| 1984 | 1988 | 1990 |
| 1983 | 1984 | 1989 |
| 1992 | 1994 | 1996 |
| 1997 | 1999 | 2000 |
| 2001 | 2002 | 2005 |
| 2007 | 2009 | 2011 |
| 2007 | 2009 | 2011 |
My first influence as a student hairdresser in 1961 were the Coiffeur Parisians. Somehow they made any length of hair seem feminine. Then came Vidal, say goodbye to the BeeHive !! Can you imagine what our dollar bill would have looked like if Vidal had gotten hold of the Queen in the ’60’s. However I consider myself very fortunate to have my training before Sassoon, because in my opinion, I see so many stylists caught in a time warp and not knowing how to shape sexy long layered haircuts or even softly shape bobs. There is so much more to hairstyling than the Classic “Bob”. As a Yorkville, Toronto, hairstylist I have never lost my attraction to beautiful women with lovely long hair. Please see my earlier blog “The Perfect Haircut” to explain why so many hair-do’s are dependent on the stylist and client working together as a team. To arrive at the best suitability for the clients face shape, personality and hair type . Is the hair thin, limp, thick, curly, frizzy, straight or just hard to handle perhaps because the client does not have the ability to manage her hair.It’s the answer to K.I.S.S, Keep it simple stylist.
The following is the latest bob cut from a shag on my lovely wife Megan.
Long live lovely Ladies, long sexy hair and long live the magic of “The Bob”
blunt cuts, bobs, color, geometric, highlights, Hollywood, mini bangs, soft curls, spikey