Hairstyles of the Rich and Famous do not only serve to be their identity signatures. These may also signal cultural shifts and trends. A celebrity's hairstyle is a statement to the world. And when that hairstyle is copied and becomes popular, it just might have affected people's inter-relationships. Thus, we can say the possibility exists for a hairstyle to set a social trend.
Hairstyles of celebrities symbolize each generation, era. From a hairstyle we can say what decade it was. In the 50s, the hairstyles were held firmly in place; that was the era of reconstruction in the US. The 60s was a transition from the reconstruction to the boom. There was relative prosperity and it could be seen in the entry of the "twiggy' and the page boy. The 70s was the Age of Aquarius, a radical era of the hippies, the Black Panthers, anti-Vietnam War, LSD, Woodstock. Adults had taken on a laid back attitude to life and the youth were speaking out against decades-old or century-old traditions. This was the age of nonconformism where boys and men sported hair as long as or longer than women's. The general hairstyle of that era was long, free-flowing, just the way they wanted their world to be. It was more open rebellion in the 80s where hair was now wild curls or drastic harsh cuts.
The end of the millennium to the present new millennium shows hairstyles mixing decades in various manner. This bespeaks the current life attitude which is looking at the past and getting from it what can be used to combine with each other to create something completely new.
Celebrity hairstyles also set trends in fashion. A celebrity cut that becomes popular gives inspiration to new fashion designs. The 70s long flowing hair popularized middle-east inspired caftans and Hawaiian muumuus. This was a marked contrast to the structured hairstyle of the 50s combined with the stiff suits and the rigid lifestyle. The wild cuts and curls of the 80s saw metal and leather clothes and accessories abounding.
Movies, TV programs, groups have given society hairstyles that had become popular. Figures that become icons start a trend that spreads throughout the generation of that time. The worldwide phenomenon of the Beatles created a hairstyle that, in like manner, also became popular worldwide. Michael Jackson and Motown popularized the Afro which crossed the Atlantic to Europe and even Asia. The fashion star Twiggy created the Twiggy hair and started the penchant for anorexic thinness which still exists to this day. Charlie's Angels catapulted Farah Fawcett and the Farah Fawcett hairdo to world popularity. In recent years, the TV show Friends put the "Rachel" in several other countries for almost a decade.
The cut or style of hair affects how people live. The 60s firm and structured hairstyles called for a lot of preparation which meant the women had to get up earlier to have time enough to fix their hair. This would make a working day more exhausting. The long flowing hairstyles or short cropped ones which are easier to maintain give people time for other tasks at the start of the day.
Let's hope for celebrity hairstyles to always afford us the time. If we can't keep from copying them.
