The timeless adage ‘Old is Gold’ might be true after all.The 1950s were an extremely influential era which impact the fashion scene right to this day. From the black and white to the flamboyant reds, the 50s had it all.
But more than the dresses and the bright lipsticks, The 50s are remembered the most as an era known for experimenting with new hairstyle patterns. In the post below we will look at the different 50s hairstyles that got popularized over that decade.
The wealthy patrons wished to looked more glamorous than the rest, which led to some over the top and daring new styles.
UNDERSTANDING THE 50s FASHION & HAIRSTYLES
The women started emulating the hairstyles of famous film personalities, musicians, models and magazine cover girls. They sported everything from pixie cuts to crazy updos but most preferred to keep their hair medium to long in length
The 50s were also witnessed heavy use of styling products, hair dyes & holding gels. Although the products back then were very harsh, they did help style better and gave birth to some awesome new hairstyles.
The 50s were notorious for using low quality styling products. Even though times have changed now & the styling products are more gentle, they do cause a lot of damage nonetheless.
1. IT’S ALL ‘BOUT THOSE CURLS
Big waves and curls were the trademark back then. The curls much were bigger & rounder compared to today’s smaller curls. Curls were a part of everything from updos, bobs to even the simplest of hairstyles. Big curls, cat eyes & bright red lipstick is signature 50s hairstyle.
2. ROCK ME SOME SHORT CURLS
Women were not afraid to sport shorter hair or shorter hair with curls back then. Women experimented with everything from extremely short pixie cuts to medium length hairstyles right to elaborate updos for longer hair.
 |
| Curls For Shorter Hair |
3. BLACK WOMEN PREFERRED STRAIGHTENING THEIR HAIR
The natural hair movement wasn’t in effect back then. Black women did not have the same appreciation for naturally curly hair back then, as they did today. This meant that a lot of black women straightened their hair and rocked elegant hairdos that white women with straighter hair did.
 |
| Beautiful updo |
4. HAIRSTYLES WITH LESSER CURLS
Those who did not opt for big curls, preferred straight hair but with a slight hint of curls so as to stay in the trend. This type of hairstyle will look good on women with medium length hair. Some fancy neck & ear accessories will look good with this style too.
 |
| Elegant Wavy Hair |
5. LARGER THAN LIFE ACCESSORIES
Women wore really big accessories like big flowers, ribbons and bandannas in their hair and look really pretty when done right. Women lately use hair accessories just to hold their hair together but back then hair accessories were flaunted as a part of the look in itself. Sure it’s hard to get this style right, but you can a lot of fun with these styles.
 |
| Accessorize it! |
6. THE VINTAGE PIXIE LOOK
If you’re wondering whether short hair is something would look good on you or not, you should check out our guide on short hair where we provide guidelines for the same.
 |
| Vintage Pixie |
7. THE TIMELESS MARILYN MONROE LOOK
Marilyn Monroe is considered one of the stylist & most beautiful women ever. Her classic look of curly blond hair, bright red lipstick and that great smile will always stay a classic.
 |
| The Memorable Marilyn Monroe |
8. VINTAGE BANDANA LOOK
This vintage bandana updo was another trademark looks that was popularized in the 50s.
It is an easy to style hairstyle with the bandana holding together the hair in its place while protecting it from sun & wind.
The style goes really well with some summer dress and the bandana will protect your hair from the extreme sunlight when you stroll along the beach. Check out more such updo hairstyles.
 |
| The vintage bandana updo |
10. THE POODLE CUT WAS PRETTY FAMOUS TOO
 |
| Poodle Cut was a craze back then |
11. WHO CAN FORGET THE VICTORY CURLS
Last but not the least, the victory curls are another trademark hairstyles of the 50s.
The victory curl is the a hairstyle which emphasizes on the big curl at front while the rest of your hair is in an updo or let down. We’ve also got many more curly hairstyles for you.
It’s a beautiful hairstyle that will require a lot of styling product to hold it together but once got right will make you look like the belle of the ball.
THE PERFECT RED LIPS & CAT EYES
If you’re gonna rock some 50s hairstyle, you have to make sure you have to perfect red lips and those catty eyes as well.
Using bright shades of red lipstick was symbolic features of those 50s.
If you find all this too hard to figure out by yourself, and we do sympathize with you because getting the makeup and hairstyle right can be tough, you can check out the complete start to end guide to the 50s hairstyle and make up by the beautiful Kayley Melissa in the video below.
