Ah, the Bob; that classic style of the Sixties; Vidal Sassoon’s ‘signature look’ and his invention. Or is it?

In fact, the Bob was born in the ‘Roaring Twenties’, when it was sported by a new breed of modern women – feisty, assertive ‘flappers’, who preferred short, practical cuts to the flowing styles of previous eras. A famous champion – and wearer – of this ‘new chic’ was outspoken fashion designer Coco Chanel.

The cut caused outrage at first – some husbands even protested enough to divorce their wives! – but it didn’t take long for the shock to fade and the scissors to come out.

On into the Thirties and the silhouette became longer, softer and more feminine, inspired by the Hollywood ‘movie star’ image. Its popularity faded during the austerity of the war years, but it came to the fore again in the Sixties, when Sassoon cut it short and asymmetric – and made it his own. And with his ‘5-point Bob’ (worn by fashion icon Mary Quant), the cut helped make the Sixties ‘Swinging’!

But there’s life in ‘old Bob’ yet: It is still one of the most popular hairstyles today, with celebrities such as Victoria Beckham (with the ‘POB’ – Posh and Bob – see what they did there?) and more recently Pixie Lott helping to make it bang on trend again.

So long live the Bob – a style that’s as ‘cutting edge’ today as it was 80 years ago…