Beauty Hair 20 Shag Haircuts That Will Inspire Your Next Layered Look By Calin Van Paris Published on August 29, 2024 @ 12:04PM Close Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images Shag haircuts are all about careless cool. The past several years have seen short styles veering away from polished and pretty and toward an edgy and even weird cuts that ooze rockstar-worthy nonchalance. The shag is a throwback style built of jagged layers cut for extra texture and primed for zhuzhing and mussing, resulting in looks that are just the right amount of messy. The new shag isn't defined by length or even a specific shape. Instead, shags are snipped to be as individual as their wearers, with layers cut first to pull focus to the face, next to maximize volume and oomph, and finally to make a subversive point. The style works well with any texture, straight hair offering a blank canvas for shaping, wavy and tight curl patterns helping to enhance sculptural structure. From Taylor Hill's post-Victoria's-Secret-era cut to Zendaya's tiered curls to Sydney Sweeney's one-night-only onyx, the shag is a study in thematic versatility. Here, 20 shag haircuts cool enough to inspire your next salon session. 01 of 20 Taylor Hill Daniel Zuchnik/Stringer/Getty Images Taylor Hill's shag is rife with soft yet edgy curls snipped to frame her face. The model opted to chop off her beachy brunette after her 2023 nuptials, her short mop of a hairstyle allowing her entire look to evolve along with it. 02 of 20 Cara Delevigne ANGELA WEISS /Getty Images Donned for the 2023 Met Gala, Cara Delevingne's blanched blue shag is an eye-catching meeting of retro and futuristic, its piecey ends verging on wet-look. 03 of 20 Jenna Ortega Frazer Harrison/Getty images Jenna Ortega's full bangs and collection of soft waves and layers converge in a shag of sorts, one matched to her moody-chic aesthetic. 04 of 20 Amandla Stenberg Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images A shaggy bob and uneven baby bangs find favor with Amandla Stenberg, who styles the chop with enough product for a seemingly dampened finish. 05 of 20 Kristen Stewart Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Getty Images Kristen Stewart has sampled every cut and color under the sun, from bleached buzz cuts to blonde blowouts. This halfway variant falls somewhere between pixie and mullet, its off-kilter, air-dried pieces warranting the title of shag. 06 of 20 Emma Watson Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images Gently layered, medium-length brunette is infused with the funk and energy of a shag with a cut of jagged fringe — a somewhat unexpected choice for Emma Watson. 07 of 20 Emily Ratajkowski Daniel Zuchnik/Getty Images Emily Ratajkowski's for-the-night shag features a deep raven shade and high-gloss finish, the overall effect owing something to oldschool Italian glamour. 08 of 20 Zendaya Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images Though Zendaya's brushed and banged curls boast enough texture to stand alone, long layers deliver the style into modern shag territory. 09 of 20 Stella Maxwell Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images Stella Maxwell's tousled peroxide bob is decidedly shag-ish, the descriptor applying mostly to the cuts undone styling. 10 of 20 Miley Cyrus Mike Coppola/Getty Images Miley Cyrus's short hair often signals irreverence, and this grown-out bleached blonde chop is no exception. The pop star's rooty crown and flippy, elongated ends contribute to her red-carpet-ready shag. 11 of 20 Billie Eilish Taylor Hill/Getty Images The contemporary shag is among Billie Eilish's hallmark hairstyles. This bleached bob's shorn layers create the sort of rough finish associated with shag cuts. 12 of 20 Kylie Jenner Marc Piasecki/Getty Images A shag is an out-of-the-box choice for Kylie Jenner, which is likely why she doubled down on the look with wet-look gel and lash-skimming fringe. 13 of 20 Taraji P. Henson Michael Loccisano/Getty Images If the adapted shag is marked by an uneven approach, then Taraji P. Henson's asymmetrical chop is worthy of inclusion. 14 of 20 Taylor Swift Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images Consider this Taylor Swift's shag era. A fully blanched blonde dye job doubled as an opportunity for the pop star to test drive an edgier look in the form of a rounded, scrunched shag. 15 of 20 Rihanna Jerritt Clark/Getty Images More wet-look please! Rihanna's easy, gelled curls and partial layers transform a basic bob into a texturized near-shag. 16 of 20 Natasha Lyonne Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Getty Images Natasha Lyonne owes much of her vibe to '80s rockstars, so it's no wonder the elongated shag features heavily in her beauty rotation. Long layers and fluffed up texture combine for a look that calls for more mess. 17 of 20 Suki Waterhouse Steven Ferdman/Getty Images In Suki Waterhouse's world, it's always the 1970s. A cocktail of long layers and romantic curls are punctuated by mussed bangs for a bohemian style that's both shaggy and luxurious. 18 of 20 Chloe Moretz Jason LaVeris/Getty Images If the current curtain bang comes with a wash of cowboy sensibilities (thanks, Sabrina Carpenter), then Chloe Moretz's chop is a Western-infused shag. 19 of 20 Halle Berry Jason LaVeris/Getty Images Waves and pushed-up volume place Halle Berry's long bob squarely into shag territory. 20 of 20 Jennifer Lopez Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images Jennifer Lopez's look centers luxury and glamour, meaning that her take on the shag is a supremely sumptuous one. More lightly layered lob than all-out shag, Lopez's style proves that a few simple shifts are all one needs to adapt a trending style.