Taking a look back (literally) at 1940s hairstyles

? Day 65 of Vintage 365 ?

Perhaps I'm the odd (wo)man out here, but as much as I adore seeing what vintage hairstyles look like from the front (and sides), I've always been intrigued by how they appeared from the back as well. Typically in beauty ads, vintage hairstyle books and magazines, and old school photographs and magazine images, we see hairdos as they appear straight on.

However, in the real world it's not uncommon at all to see the back of someone's head (for example, while walking down the street, sitting in class, taking a bus, or waiting in line) and there's much to be said for styling your vintage hair looks so that they sparkle with old school pizzazz (and authenticity) from any view.

Finding genuine vintage images that show how hairstyles of the mid-twentieth century looked from the back is a fair bit trickier than sourcing those that present styles from the front. As such I'm always on the prowl for "back of the head" photos that show how 1930s, 40s and 50s styles appeared from the back. While I sometimes find photos featuring one woman with the back of her head to the camera, it's quite rare to encounter a shot that shows multiple gals all facing away from the lens.

 

Thus today's terrific vintage find is a real treasure. Featuring numerous 1940s teenage girls' hairstyles as they appeared from the back, this lovely photo is both historically interesting and highly practical (if you're trying to recreate styles from that era yourself, I mean).

My hair is currently of a similar length to that of most of these young women, and I could definitely see myself trying to recreate any one (or more) of these looks, using the back of the style as inspiration for how the front would turn out (instead of the other way around, as is often the case).

There's something so fun and charming, timeless and beautiful about this 1940s hairstyle filled image (which comes via kimintn on Flickr). It's a both a slice-of-life look back at fun, wavy hairdos (and teenage fashions, don't you just adore all of their lovely dresses?!) of the day, as well as a super useful reference for creating 1940s hairstyles of your own that will look fantastic from any angle!

Source: http://www.chronicallyvintage.com/2011/03/taking-look-back-literally-at-1940s.html

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