The quiff is a hairstyle that combines the 1950s pompadour hairstyle, the 1950s flattop, and sometimes a mohawk. It was born as a post-war reaction to the short and strict haircuts for men. The hairstyle was a staple in the British Teddy Boy movement, but became popular again in Europe in the early 1980s and experienced a resurgence in popularity during the 1990s. [1]
The etymology of the word "quiff" is uncertain, several proposals have been suggested for its origin.[ citation needed ] It may owe its origin to the French word coiffe, which can mean either a hairstyle or, going further back, the mail that knights wore over their heads and under their helmets. [ citation needed ] Another possible candidate for its origin is the Dutch word kuif, meaning "crest". The Dutch name for Tintin, who sports a quiff, is Kuifje, which is the diminutive of the same word.[ citation needed ]
The modern-day quiff includes longer hair at the front of the head, receding into shorter hair at the back with a trimmed back and sides. [2] The Japanese punch perm, a favorite among yakuza (organized criminals) and bōsōzoku (biker gangs), is similar to the quiff.[ citation needed ]
A hairstyle, hairdo, haircut, or coiffure refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human head but sometimes on the face or body. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming, fashion, and cosmetics, although practical, cultural, and popular considerations also influence some hairstyles.
A buzz cut, or wiffle cut, is a variety of short hairstyles, especially where the length of hair is the same on all parts of the head. Rising to prominence initially with the advent of manual hair clippers, buzz cuts became increasingly popular in places where strict grooming conventions applied. In several nations, buzz cuts are often given to new recruits in the armed forces or newly incarcerated inmates. However, buzz cuts are also used for stylistic reasons.
The mullet is a hairstyle in which the hair is cut shorter at the front, top and sides, but is longer at the back.
A bob cut, also known as a bob, is a short to medium length haircut for women, in which the hair is typically cut straight around the head at approximately jaw level, and no longer than shoulder-length, often with a fringe at the front. The standard bob cut exposes the back of the neck and keeps all of the hair well above the shoulders.
The high and tight is a military variant of the crew cut. It is a very short hairstyle, characterized by the back and sides of the head being shaved to the skin and the option for the top to be blended or faded into slightly longer hair. It is most commonly worn by men in the U.S. armed forces. It is also popular with law enforcement officers and other public safety personnel. Although "high and tight" is the primary term used in military and law enforcement, the same haircut is sometimes referred to by civilians as a "walker".
A crew cut is a type of haircut in which the upright hair on the top of the head is cut relatively short, graduated in length from the longest hair that forms a short pomp (pompadour) at the front hairline to the shortest at the back of the crown so that in side profile, the outline of the top hair approaches the horizontal. Relative to the front view, and to varying degrees, the outline of the top hair can be arched or flattened at the short pomp front and rounded or flattened over the rest of the top to complement the front hairline, head shape, face shape and facial features. The hair on the sides and back of the head is usually tapered short, semi-short, or medium.
The ducktail is a men's haircut style popular during the 1950s. It is also called the duck's tail, duck's ass, duck's arse, or simply D.A. and is also described as slicked back hair. The hair is pomaded (greased), combed back around the sides, and parted centrally down the back of the head.
A bowl cut is a simple haircut where the front hair is cut with a straight fringe and the rest of the hair is left longer, the same length all the way around, or else the sides and back are cut to the same short length. It is named so because in medieval times, when it was popular in Europe, a bowl would be placed on the head and then used as a cutting guide to trim the hair.
The pageboy or page boy is a hairstyle named after what was believed to be the haircut of a late medieval page boy. It has straight hair hanging to below the ear, where it usually turns under. There is often a fringe (bangs) in the front. This style was popular in the mid-to-late 1970s and 1980s.
A flattop is a classic hairstyle characterized by short hair on the sides and back of the head, with the top hair cut short and styled to stand upright in a flat, level plane.
An induction cut, also referred to as a mighty fine, is the shortest possible hairstyle without shaving the head with a razor. The style is so named as it is traditionally the first haircut given to new male recruits during initial entry into many of the world's armed forces, but most particularly in the United States.
Layered hair is a hairstyle that gives the illusion of length and volume at the same time, using long hair for the illusion of length, and short hair for volume, as an easy style to manage. Hair is arranged into layers, with the top layers cut shorter than the layers beneath. This allows the tips of the top layers to blend seamlessly with layers beneath.
An eponymous hairstyle is a particular hairstyle that has become fashionable during a certain period of time through its association with a prominent individual.
The wings haircut, also known the Mod haircut, Mop top, flippies, flow, Justin Bieber haircut, or skater hair is a popular hairstyle used in the skateboarding, surfer, mod, and preppy community. Typically long, the style can range from long and drooping below the eyes, to a shorter length. The haircut is typically wavy and, if straight, the length comes to halfway down the ears. Instead of lying on the wearer's ears, the hair flips up and comes straight out like an airplane wing, hence the name. The hairstyle was popular among men in the 1960s, 1970s, mid-late 2000s, early 2010s and 2020s.
The pompadour is a hairstyle named after Madame de Pompadour (1721–1764), a mistress of King Louis XV of France. Although there are numerous variations of the style for men, women, and children, the basic concept is having a large volume of hair swept upwards from the face and worn high over the forehead, and sometimes upswept around the sides and back as well.
A pixie cut is a short hairstyle, generally short on the back and sides of the head and slightly longer on the top, with very short bangs. It is a variant of a crop. The name is derived from the mythological pixie.
The undercut is a hairstyle that was fashionable from the 1910s to the 1940s, predominantly among men, and saw a steadily growing revival in the 1980s before becoming fully fashionable again in the 2010s. Typically, the hair on the top of the head is long and is often parted on either the side or center, while the back and sides are buzzed very shorter or shaved. It is closely related to the curtained hair of the mid-to-late 1990s, although those with undercuts during the 2010s tended to slick back and top gelled up the bangs away from the face.
In the Western world, the 1950s were a decade known for experimentation with new styles and culture. Following World War II and the austerity years of the post-war period, the 1950s were a time of comparative prosperity, which influenced fashion and the concept of glamour. Hairstylists invented new hairstyles for wealthy patrons. Influential hairstylists of the period include Sydney Guilaroff, Alexandre of Paris and Raymond Bessone, who took French hair fashion to Hollywood, New York and London, popularising the pickle cut, the pixie cut and bouffant hairstyles.
A regularhaircut in Western fashion is a men's and boys' hairstyle featuring hair long enough to comb on top, with a defined or deconstructed side part, and back and sides that vary in length from short, semi-short, medium, long, to extra long. The style is also known by other names including taper cut, regular taper cut, side-part and standard haircut; as well as short back and sides, business-man cut and professional cut, subject to varying national, regional, and local interpretations of the specific taper for the back and sides.
