The 80's "big hair"

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   The 80's is the time to find the inspiration to something bizarre and crazy. The BOOM colors and great variety of hairstyles folli- still tear us a smile. Due to the appearance of those days, that period is considered to be the period of extravagant!
  80's hairstyles are extremely bulky, and prevail hair combed to one side or the hairstyles with hair in front shorter than the back.

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   Especially for the working -class women, the concept of big hair was really strong. It was risurfacing in the 1980's with the popularitu of American soap operas such as Dallas and Dynasty. The lifestyle of wealth was adopted through different ways of hair-styling. The hair was carefully tinted and layered to flow copiously yet stay off teh face. Women began to tint, layer and backcomb their hair having as reference the idea of "big hair". This helmet of hair was a signifier of female power, wealth and success. It was best seen in a  modified  form in the 1980's with the look of Margaret Thatcher.
    With her rise to power came changes of image and appearence. Margaret Thatcher  showed her allegiance to the attitudes and look of her class by her epousal of the shampoo and set-style. A look that had much in common withe the one of the Queen, a kind of anti-fashion way of hair-styling used as a way of signalling immutability of the monarchy, it's resistance to change and its longevity and tradition. Her fixed appearence mekes her feel secure and sets herself outside the parameters of fashion.
    For Mrs Thatcher the hair, especially an abundance of hair had traditional association with feminity, particularly backcombed- signified a partticular brand of domesticated feminity. This is the idea based on which she broke the rules. The large,heavily set and sprayed style gave the illusion of a hard helmet and steadfastly situated her within the culture rather than nature.

 
 This bigness of hair on men had a particular traditional association with power and has existed as a status symbol for centuries (the hair od Louis XIV can be taken as example). It seemed the more important the public office a woman held the more important became the hair in taking space around the body.

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  In the 1980's the was a rise of the number of women entering the workforce, some in even in positions of executive power. Countless articles began to appear on the subject of the appropriate appearence for the woman at work. Especially the Blunt cut became (and still remains) a signiture look of the professional woman, the image of competence and seriousness. What this look was designe to do is to send men a clear message: " I am here as your colleague, as your equal and I can do what you can do, and maybe even better". Women needed a way of declaring their intentions and their "dress for success" fit perfectly the bill. A kind of high contrast was a standart in this case: broad shouldered, a little severe and perfectly disciplined. This look was created to say: " Put away your stereotypes about women being flighty,  emotional and undependable. Women are now ready for the demands of the corporate world". This is not to say that the corporate woman of the 1980's was not sexual. More than this, she was frequently utterly sexual. But there was a clear message in place: " Let us attend the affairs of the world, before we consider those of the heart".
    Most men said that they got the intended message of this cut- loud an clear. The hair tells them that the wearer wants men to honour her as a colleague before they respond to her sexuality. But it is difficult cut for a sexist men, and this is the reason why other men find this a "practical" cut. For them this is a kind of cut worn by women who have married and settled down. They would say that these women are no more subjects of sensuality and vanity.

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     Because of that reason why there was tread a thin line for the hair between being not too long, as it would be considered too feminine and therefore frivolous, and not too short as this was too butch. This is why even Malloy was very specific when it came to hair: "If you are a business woman your hair must be medium length. It can never be so short or styled in such a way that it would look manish or boyish. While women with very long hair can be veri feminine, veru sexy and appealing- non-authoritative. Too many waves an curls will hurt you in business. If a woman wants to be aithoritative she must have hair in the medium range". According to Molloy, a business woman must not have blonde hair, because of the stereotype: blondes might have more fun, but brunettes had more power in the workplace. Although some found his rigid ideas untenable.

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    Another look began to break through which was to dominate women's hairstylinguntill the mid 90's- the long tousled perms. This look was popularized bu the Australian singer Kylie Minogue. Disorder took over from the ordered executive chic that was dominating hairstyle and thousands of women bought into the look and continued to do so throughout most of the 90's. The tight perm, lasting up to 3 months, was associated with pensioners whose attitudes to haircare were still in the orthodoxy of the 40's and 50's. In the early 80's young women rediscovered the perm, but instead of having it to add volume, they left it in it's chemically enhaced kinky state or even exagerated it with mousse.

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Reference: Book- Good hair days. A history of british hairstyling by Caroline Cox

                  Book- Big Hair. A journeyinto the transformation of self  by Grant McCracken