20th century foxes

Throughout history, royalty, intellectuals, celebrities and actresses have pioneered many trends. The 20th century in particular produced many of the styles we love today.

'20s - Short, sharp shockers
The Great War and women's emancipation made long, girlie hair an anachronism. In the 1920s flappers' bobbed hair became shorter and shorter as an act of rebellion as well as fashion. Many debutantes smoked and drank and went around unchaperoned: behaviour that scandalised the older generation. The most severe interpretation of the look was the Eton Crop, popular in 1926, when hemlines were also at their shortest; the most iconic was Louise Brooks' fringed bob.

'30s - Making waves
Femininity was rediscovered in a big way in the 1930s. Hair followed hemlines and became longer and more lustrous. Hollywood was a huge influence on the masses flocking to the cinema, and fan magazines created a stellar line-up of glamorous household names. Garbo, Harlow and Dietrich were enormously influential. Immaculate waves were all the rage and straight hair totally unfashionable. Enter the permanent wave in 1935.

'40s – War babes
During the war, when going to the hairdresser regularly was nigh-on impossible, women working in factories and as Land Girls both protected and disguised their hair with turbans or headscarves. They mainly opted for the Joan Crawford-style roll or rather frumpy, sausage-shaped curls on the top of the head.

'50s – Teenage kicks
The '50s was the decade of the blonde: from bombshell Monroe to ice-cool Kelly. Previously, colouring one's hair had been considered a bit brazen. Hollywood blondes helped create such a demand that home dyeing kits came onto the market. Although many young women still wanted to look ultra grown-up with neat up-dos and sets, the jazz- and rock 'n' roll-obsessed teenagers and their uniform of ponytails, elfin cuts, Elvis-style quiffs and kiss curls set the scene for the sexual revolution of the next decade.

'60s – Modrophenia
The world's focus was on Swinging London, and Vidal Sassoon revolutionised the bob with stunning purist geometric cuts - The Five Point Cut, The Nancy Kwan, The Quant - evoking the flapper styles of the 1920s, but encompassing the latest techniques, bringing about a revolution in haircutting. Likewise, Twiggy's urchin crop, courtesy of Leonard, propelled her to supermodeldom overnight. Long hair was sexily dishevelled and backcombed and worn by Bond girls and party girls alike.

Early '70s – Chick flicks
The early '70s opened with distinct hippie influences. The musical Hair was making waves, and politics had an impact on styles, with the black is beautiful movement ensuring a craze for natural afros and ultra-curly perms for blacks and non-blacks alike. Softer perms produced the highly desirable Charlie's Angels flicks, and the pudding-basin Purdey - modelled on Joanna Lumely's cut in The New Avengers - also enjoyed cult status as TV's high-kicking glamourpusses introduced new looks to the bleak British landscape.

Mid '70s & '80s - Rebels and romantics
Punk's ethos was anti-establishment. Hair became rainbow bright and aggressive like the music. Like so much of street fashion, punk was given the haute-couture seal of approval on the catwalks, eventually evolving into showy New Romanticism. Curly perms, frosted highlights, mullets, dreadlocks and crazy colour became commonplace. Hairspray excesses probably impacted on the ozone layer as big hair combined with padded shoulders for the ultimate in power dressing – it was the Dynasty era, after all.

'90s – Softly, softly
The vogue for grunge saw long hair shrink to more natural-looking dimensions, and the finish so understated as to be just out of bed. It was RIP the perm, as colour became the next big thing. The run-up to the new millennium saw the A-list influence on trends go into hyper-drive with the 'Anthea', the 'Meg', the 'Natalie' and the 'Rachel' becoming definitive looks. Hair straighteners became as prolific as hairdryers, as pin-straight and polished became the apogee of perfection, thanks to further examples of the Aniston factor.

The Noughties – Retro in perspective
Styles in the 21st century largely reflect what has gone before, but are given a modern spin. We've seen revivals of the mullet, '70s flicks, quiffs and backcombing, and extensions are the new dreadlock - although more Footballers' Wives than counter-cultural statement these days. Straight has finally relinquished the spotlight to texture, as Sienna Miller-style bohemian locks rock. This century may not prove as innovative as the last one, but we can be sure that the celebs of the moment will continue to inspire us when it comes to cut and colour.

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