Welcome back to French Hair Revolutions. As we enter the 20th century, it becomes ever harder to truly separate the trends which occurred in France from those in other countries. As our world increasingly became global, so did trends.
20th CENTURY: From 1900 until the beginning of the Second World War
Technology and war impact hairstyles in the beginning of 20th Century in France. The influence of the aristrocracy begins to be supplanted by the show business and fashion industry. Where our icons of fashion were once royalty, now they will be entertainers.
1900’s - 1910’s - Long and wavy hair styles are still fashionable
During the first decade of the 20th Century, women hair length remains relatively long. Hairstyles are similar to those of the end of the 19th Century:
Marcel Waving (l’Ondulation Marcel) and the Gibson Girl style is on. As long-lived as it was, this hair trend is described as bordering on a craze.
1910’s - 1920’s - The impact of the electricity and World War I on hair techniques and styles: The first perms and bobs
The popularity of the Marcel Waving and Gibson Girl style diminishes around 1905 - 1909, when Karl "Charles" Nessler creates the first permanent wave (now commonly called a perm). The German hairstylist first tries the method in Paris on a lady named Katharina Laible. Initially M. Nessler uses a mixture of cow urine and water to break and reform the bonds of the hair. He burns off all of Ms. Laible's hair twice, as well as part of her scalp, and then proceeds to marry her.
Electricity, which was introduced mainly for lighting and industrial use, begins to be used for heating and the application of the electric motor at the small business and domestic level. In 1909, Nessler’s electric permanent wave machine is patented in London.
Nessler's invention paves the way for a series of improved perm techniques and machines such as the one co-developped by Eugene Suter. Suter, is a Swiss immigrant who set up a fashionable ladies' salon in London's West End. He claims to have come from Paris, which in those days is the center of fashion and style. He delves into the possibilities of electrical permanent waving. Shorter hair allows for the design of smaller equipment. Eugene Ltd becomes synonymous with permanent waving throughout the world.
The Birth of the Bob: 1909 is an important year in the history of hair styling and cutting, as it is also when a new hairstyle is born which will have a dramatic impact on the perception of women. The Bob is first introduced by Antoine de Paris, a French stylist of Polish origin. The style is inspired by Joan of Arc (Jeanne d’Arc) and features hair shortened so that it does not pass the lower end of the neck. Actresses and a few "advanced" or fashionable women adopt the style — for example in 1910 the French actress Polaire is described as having "a shock of short, dark hair." Polaire might have been ahead of the times, as she reputedly adopted the style in the early 1890’s.
When it first appears, this bold and versatile haircut generates a wave of nervousness among men who are so used to seeing women wearing long, 'properly feminine', hair. It is the first World War which brings the style respectability. For women engaged in war work such as ambulance driving it is more convenient and sanitary to keep their hair short. Gradually other women in French civil life, as well as those engaged in auxiliary military duties, Red Cross Work, etc., adopt this simple, practical, youthful hair style.
1920’s - 1930’s: Short hair for both men and women
By 1921, following the lead of icons such as the fashion designer "Coco" Chanel, young women everywhere take the plunge and begin bobbing their hair. This new style is a real revolution, a statement of independence, an exhibition that women are equal to men. Many types of bobs are developed: the French bob, the Straight Bob, the Valentine bob and the Castle bob (named after ballroom dancer Irene Castle Castle). When the hair is shorter in the back, but longer in the front, this is a Shingle Bob (aka "Boyish Bob"). The wave technique has not disappeared, however; it is appropriated and remains very popular among women who sport a bob.
Men slowly start following suit and adopting shorter hairstyles. No siginificant change occurs in men's hairstyle during the two first decades of the 20th Century. But beginning in the 1920’s, men start shaving their face and wearing short hair: a flat hairstyle becomes the new trend. Another popular hairstyle for men is the military cut.
1930’s - early 1940’s: Longer hair with soft or hard curls
Short hair remains fashionable in the early 1930s, but gradually hair is worn longer again, in soft or hard curls. Women's hairstyles are often smooth at the crown to accommodate a hat, with curls framing the face and at the ends.
In the 1930s there is a return to a more genteel, ladylike appearance. Budding rounded busts and waistline curves are seen and hair becomes softer and prettier as hair perms improve. Foreheads which had been hidden by cloche hats are revealed and adorned with small plate shaped
hats.
By the early 1940s, shoulder length curls or page-boy bobs are most popular. Hats are worn for most occasions, almost always tipped to one side and decorated with bits of net veiling, feathers, ribbons, or brooches. The popularity of hats in this era might in part be a compromise between the recent hair trends and more traditional ones. In other words, a means to cover up the shocking new styles as befitting the situation.
Looking back on this period, it strikes us that here is the birth of modern hairstyling: the use of electrical tools and chemicals. The shift in who influences trends. Even as some women broke from convention, others remained with prior fashions. This split was most pronounced with the advent of the bob. But from that, diversification in style is also born. This then further sets the groundwork for individual styling. Trends come in more frequent waves; but none quite ever disappears. They find their niche. And, they become part of our modern vocabulary, enabling us to make social statements based on the hairstyle we choose. No longer is a choice of hairstyle simply about following or not following the majority. It is becoming about a more complex communication within one's surroundings.
