Retro Hairstyles You Could Wear Today

Classic Hollywood Glamour for Modern Weddings and Special Events

Plus The Best Everyday Styles from the Last 75 Years

Every new fashion season now offers something new--or does it? A lot of hairstyles that are "new" today are actually re-runs of old hair fashion. Some are significant variations of old styles; whereas others are virtual copies.

In 2007 the new hairstyle trend was bob haircuts. You saw the new edgy Victoria Beckham bob, and other regular bobbed hairdos. Bobs were all the rage in the 1990s; supermodel Linda Evangelista had a bob in 1995 and in 2007. Is anything ever really new?

You may not be satisfied with the current hairstyles trends, concluding the latest haircuts don't suit you, or they look dull. Today the hairstylists around the country lack creativity, you feel.

If that's the case, you could find an inspired style for every day from a previous decade or era.

Classic haircuts

Just as there is classic clothing, there are classic hairstyles. You can look good in them at any time. They may not even look "dated." They are just that good. Hot then... hot now... how always.

Retro is hot

You may be surprised, but a lot of people still like The Rachel Haircut of 1995, and every day look online for a picture of it to take to their hairdresser. It was the hottest haircut of the 1990s, and today it's probably the hottest retro hairstyle.

Night hairstyles

Dressing up for a special occasion could make you wonder if the hairdos from another time period would look great.

Retro evening hairstyles can look just as elegant, if not more elegant than, many modern night styles. Ladies in earlier eras had a sense of elegance and refinement that is not always visible today. It came from their upbringing, in part, and their education. It wasn't just the way they dressed; it was an elegant state of mind.

The evening makes us think of glamour, but when many women think of the most memorable decade of Hollywood glamour, the first decade they think of is not the last one, or the 90s, or 80s. They are usually taken back to the 1940s and "old Hollywood glamour." And that includes retro hair styles from the glamorous 40s.

What is retro?

Here "retro" is defined as from the last century, i.e., 1900-1999. The hairstyles pictures are categorized by decade from the 1920s to the 1990s.

Retro hair styles on the red carpet

In recent years, we have occasionally seen modern stars wearing retro hairdos on the red carpet. Either they found a vintage gown they loved, and needed a suitable vintage hairstyle to go with it, or they simply decided they wanted to try something different--retro styling.

"Something old, something new"

Brides take their wedding hair seriously and often don't find perfect wedding hairstyles immediately. The "modern" looks for some are nothing to fuss over. That could lead them to go looking into the best bridal hairdos of another decade.

Other brides have a theme for their wedding that would call for a vintage hairstyle, like a retro updo.

Or they want to stick with the tradition of "something old, something new," and for the "old" part they could wear an inspired vintage wedding hair style.

Some of the ladies who visit this site and still want or need to see more ideas have found vintage books at amazon.com. Some of their books have not only pictures but also instructions, like step-by-step guides. (Not all the images are photos, however; some are drawings, but they are just as good if not better.)

If you changed your mind and actually want the latest hairstyles instead of something old, you can see a site with 2010 hairstyles for women. There are lots of new ideas there. Many girls today want the very latest modern looks; it is rare that an occasion or person wants old styles. Even for prom, retro is the choice of maybe 10% or less.

Looking ahead a little further to next year's hairstyles, get a jump on the coming trends with Hairstyles 2011 which has new pictures and information on possible direction in 2011. Clues come from salon stylists and the celebrity styles from the last seasons of this year.

Books

The top of most pages on this site has select links to the best books about vintage hairstyles from different eras. So you can check them out if you need to see more looks than you can find on this site. One of them is very popular; about 40 women have already rated it five stars. The author did a terrific job and it's great to see ladies don't have to be ripped off any more paying over $100 for what was the "only" book available on 40s hair styles.

A good source for those whose plans to wear a vintage hairstyle not in the immediate future is ebay. It has many black-and-white portraits of female stars from the Old Hollywood area. Most of them cost less than $10. But you don't even need to buy them because you can just print out the pictures.

In addition to ebay, Heritage Auctions at ha.com has many old prints. However, you have to be a member to view previous sales. The good thing, though, is when you zoom in on the pics, they are much larger, and therefore you can get a good high-resolution 8x10 printout.

Unique Vintage has vintage clothing and many of their models have vintage hairstyles from the 1920s to 1960s.

Retro prom hairstyles

One online survey showed most high school proms are very modern. Girls are looking for recent or current prom hairstyles which are less than a year old.

But the same survey also showed that nowadays some schools are more fun. They have a prom theme that is based on a decade--e.g., 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, or 1960s.

If that is your situation, and you already bought a retro prom dress, you'll also need a retro hairstyle for prom, too.

Whatever the reason or occasion--prom, wedding, special occasion, or anything else--you're welcome to look around. See if you can make the best of the past a fun part of your future.