The 1930s was a decade of transition and glamour, reflected in its evolving hairstyles. While short hair maintained its popularity, a move towards longer lengths and more voluminous styles emerged, particularly for medium hair. Waves were definitely a key trend of the era. The look of the thirties was clean, sleek, and sophisticated, often achieved through a combination of innovative techniques and timeless accessories.
Looking back, 1930s hairstyles can be defined by one major trend: waves. At the beginning of the decade, short hair reigned for men’s and women’s hairstyles. However, as 1930s fashion trends marched on, women started opting for longer hair. Lengths reached shoulder length, with some choosing to pin their hair underneath.
The "permanent wave" was a popular method to aid in setting waves. Women blessed with naturally curly hair would have more easily set their hair in the mode of the day by guiding their natural waves into their desired direction. Another way to achieve waves that can be dressed to the mode of the 30s is a curling method called Brush Curls. The difference between Brush Curls and Pin Curls is that Pin Curls are rolled around the finger and secured flat to the head. Wet Wave Setting Techniques were used to help approximate a natural wave in the hair before permanent waving techniques were perfected.
To get that curly and wavy look, women would place their hair in pin curls overnight so the style would stay in place. Taking the pins out so the curls fall, women could comb their hair out so that not all the strands were tightly curled for a looser option.
Short hair was quite popular in the 1930s. The bob was still a common style, and women could wear it in various ways. It could be in sculpted curls or straightened, parted down the middle or off to one side, and worn loose or pinned up. Chic bangs could also be featured. With more body than the previous decade, the 1930s saw the rise of the voluminous bob, as shown by Greta Garbo. Greta Garbo wears a voluminous bob in a publicity image.
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Known for her long hair and dark tresses, Vivienne Leigh wore Hollywood waves. Despite short hair being all the rage in the 1930s, long hair was also on-trend. Stars like Vivienne Leigh showed off long waves that ran down the back. The look is great for formal events. Jean Harlow was famous for her platinum blonde hair color. Another notable hairstyle was platinum blonde curls. Most women wore their natural hair color as dyes were not well-advanced during the 1930s. However, blonde stars like Jean Harlow dyed their hair. Actress Carole Lombard wore short hair with bangs.
Bobby pins became popular a decade before, but when it came to 1930s hairstyles, they were still an excellent way to keep hair in place. During this time, bobby pins were often worn independently or as part of an elaborate hairstyle. Everyday women used vintage hair accessories and pins to adorn their hair and upgrade their overall look. Dorothy Lamour wears gorgeous hair accessories to pin her hair.
Hair accessories like clips, combs, headbands, and even hats are ideal for adding glamour to vintage hairstyles. A woman wears short and sleek bangs with a pinned-back hairstyle.
Most ’30s hairstyles began with a chin-length cut. Women who had longer hair could style these same “short” looks with the help of a professional hairstylist. Other styles embraced straight long hair or curly long hair into simple down looks. Just like in the ’20s, women used the chignon bun to gather up long hair off the neck. The chignon was smooth and flat and pinned tightly to the head. There were also numerous tricks to wave or roll long hair and sweep it up and around in sections all over the head, giving the overall appearance of short waved hair. Marcel waving (book) was the preferred styling method in the early ’30s. It shortened hair quite a bit but left the ends flat, so a stylist would tightly curl the tips. Rolling and curling brought up hair off the neck and into a lovely styled coiffure. Again, it was an optical illusion. It is difficult to find examples of these because long hair was so well hidden.
One trendy medium length hairstyle was the Pageboy. Greta Garbo favored the style for her mostly straight hair. The pageboy featured a side part, smooth flat top, and was straight or waved all around, with ends either curled under at shoulder length for a polished look or frizzy curled for a carefree ease. Similar to the pageboy, the long bob was popular in the mid to late 1930s. Women’s hair was parted from the side or in the center with a smooth flat top and tons of big fluffy curls from the eyes on down to the shoulders. This was an easy style for long haired ladies. Simply pin curling long hair and then combing out the curls into fluff brought length up above the shoulders and gave it a “short” hair look. In the front, ladies could have short bangs or layered curls up the sides.
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The longest of ’30s long hairstyles was little more than an extra long curly bob. It was the signature look of Hollywood starlet Ginger Rogers. She had lovely, long, thick hair that curled into volumes of curly goodness from her ears down. Marlene Dietrich also had a long hairstyle with bouncy curls, although her hair was naturally straight and thin. Other stars followed the trend and it became the signature look of the early ’40s. The Coronet braid became trendy in the mid 1930s. Along braided rope was placed like a crown or heaband across the top of the hair.
Katy Perry shows off a short and wavy black hairstyle evoking a bygone era. The wavy hairstyles of the 1930s live on today, although many women wear their hair in less defined waves than decades ago. Daisy Ridley wears a medium-length hairstyle featuring tight curls and a romantic side part. Films like “The Aviator” and “Water for Elephants” also showcased curly coifs of the decade. In modern times, finger waves are often only seen at formal events and red-carpet settings. Often, the hairdos will have a smooth, flat top with curled ends, a great look for long hair.
To achieve a modern 1930s hairstyle, create soft finger waves or pin curls using a curling iron or flat iron for quicker styling. Taylor Swift shows off 1930s-inspired pinned-up waves at an event. Then, set the waves with light hairspray for hold. Romantic waves were a major part of 1930s hairstyles. A blonde woman wears soft curls with a center part. A woman wears thick curls underneath a sun hat in the 1930s. Glamorous waves show off a short fringe as well in this 1930s hairdo. Posing with a smile, a woman wears 1930s sculpted waves. 1930s Authentic CoiffuresShorter waved hair defined the nineteen thirties coiffure. Hair was primarily worn at chin or just above shoulder length with deeply set waves.
I have been to a few ’30s events where I had to do something to my long hair without a lot of time. Most ’30s hairstyles need to be wet set in curls the night before or prepped an hour or two with hot curlers prior to dressing. The pageboy is the easiest medium-long style to create with straight/wavy hair quickly. For natural curls (or straight hair set in small hot rollers), start again with a deep side part or a smoothed back top and let the curls fall from the eyes or earlobes down.
Creating a faux bob is one of my favorite ’20s-’30s styles. I take the bottom half of my long hair and create pin curls with them and pin them flat at my neck nape. I then use the upper half of my hair to marcel wave or curl with a 1/2 inch iron and place them over the pin curls. Instant short hair! For the updo/evening style faux short hair look I created above, I simply took my hair and divided it into 6 or 7 equal sections. Each section I then twisted and twisted and twisted until it was very tight (twisting is an easier way to create a rolled look). Next, I folded the twisted hair in half, which made the twist twist onto itself. I then pinned the ends up under my folded front wave. Once all the hair sections were twisted and pinned, I had a big mess of hairpins sticking every which way. Rather than figuring out how to make them look neater, I took a feather clip and covered up the mess. Presto! Finally, my all-time favorite ’30s long hair technique: wear a hat. Seriously, I’d rather focus on my clothes than my hair, so I collect big ’30s hats like deep sided cloches, slouch hats, berets, and sun hats to cover up most of my hair.
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Let’s look at this hairstyle from the early 1930s. It comes from a Modern Beauty Shop Magazine from February of 1933. The silhouette looks pretty similar to our ideas of a 1920s hairstyle doesn’t it? The bulk of the shape is focused below the ears and occipital bone. The top of the hairstyle is flat against the head. In the 1920s, the fashionable close fitting cloche hat required this tight, close hair silhouette. It was right around the time of this early 1930s magazine that hats changed a little. Instead of the all over head hugging cloche hats, there were more tilted and asymmetric hats. Although these hats did not cover as much real estate on the head, they still formed close to the scalp. As the 1930s wore on, curls made there way up the head and by the late 1930s, hair looks included full curls on top of the head.
The style of a decade didn’t turn on a dime. The clock didn’t strike midnight on the morning of January 1st, 1940 and all of a sudden victory rolls were in. The reality is, there wasn’t anything called a victory roll on January 1st of 1940.
It’s 1957 now and immaculately curled and arranged hairstyles of the 1930s and 1940s has given way to a free form 1950s hair that allows for movement and touch. In this 1950s Sweet-Heart-Coif hairstyle, the curls are brushed and styled, but there is a lightness to it. The 1950s hairstyle, especially in the middle of the decade and beyond just looked easy and unrestrained. This freedom from prior tiny curls and immaculate waves was a long time coming.
This does not mean that there is anything wrong with wearing victory rolls with whatever outfit you want to. One of the best things about vintage today is that we can combine it however we want, to make us look however we want to look. Wear a 1930s hairstyle with a 1940s dress, or a beehive with a 1950s dress. If your goal is historical accuracy, this is not true. If there is someone out there that has a photo of their great grandma sitting on a couch in 1956 with victory rolls, that just means that great grandma found a hairstyle she liked 15 years before and just kept going with it. That does not define it though as a 1950s hairstyle.
tags: #medium #hair #1930s #hairstyles
