A free costume and fashion-history reference · 1920s–1990s

Historical Hairstyles by Era

A working reference for students, costume designers, theater makeup teams, and librarians: explore the shapes people wore, how those shapes were made, and where to research them further.

Each decade covers women’s and men’s signature styles, period tools, modern stage techniques, and cultural context. Read every guide freely, print it for your costume notebook, or use the citation below in your research. Styles overlap decades and genders; these selections emphasize US and European fashion alongside relevant Black and diasporic hair traditions.

How to cite this page

HairstyleAtlas. “Historical Hairstyles by Era.” https://hairstyleatlas.com/historical-hairstyles. Accessed October 20, 2026.

Editorial photo collage of eight recreated looks: a waved bob, soft curls, victory rolls, pompadour, bouffant, Afro, big curls, and curtains, from the 1920s through the 1990s. — Editorial photo recreations of selected silhouettes. Follow the source links for historical photographs and evidence.

Explore a decade

Editorial photo recreation of a woman with a glossy waved bob and jeweled headband beside a man with smoothly slicked-back hair.

1920s

Close silhouettes, sculpted waves, and the fashion for bobbed hair.

Signature styles: Blunt bob and shingled bob, Slicked-back hair.

Editorial photo recreation of a woman with softly waved blonde hair and curled ends beside a man with a neat side part and lifted front wave.

1930s

Soft waves and controlled curls frame the face in an age of screen glamour.

Signature styles: Soft waved bob, Tapered side part.

Editorial photo recreation of a woman with raised front rolls and shoulder-length curls beside a man with a neatly tapered side part.

1940s

Rolls and brushed curls meet the practical demands of wartime work.

Signature styles: Raised rolls and victory rolls, Short military cut.

Editorial photo recreation of a woman with curled bangs and a ribbon-tied ponytail beside a man with a glossy pompadour; a short curled set appears behind them.

1950s

Salon polish and sculpted curls share the decade with teenage ponytails and quiffs.

Signature styles: Short curled set, Pompadour and quiff.

Editorial photo recreation of a woman with a high bouffant crown and flipped ends beside a man with a rounded mop top covering the ears.

1960s

Height, precision cutting, and new youth silhouettes coexist with natural hair.

Signature styles: Beehive and high bouffant, Mop top.

Editorial photo recreation of a woman with feathered layers, a woman with a rounded Afro, and a man with a layered shag at a roller disco.

1970s

Feathered movement, layered shags, natural volume, and braided patterns.

Signature styles: Feathered layers, Men’s shag.

Editorial photo recreation of a woman with voluminous curls and raised bangs beside a man with a textured mullet, short at the front and long at the nape.

1980s

Big texture, sharply different lengths, and sculpted silhouettes.

Signature styles: Permed volume, Mullet.

Editorial photo recreation of a woman with a layered blowout, a woman with a chin-length bob and small hair clips, and a man with center-parted curtains.

1990s

Layered blowouts and sleek bobs meet braids, curtains, and sculpted fades.

Signature styles: Layered blowout, Curtains.

Quick-reference timeline

Women’s and men’s signature hairstyles and key tools, decade by decade
Decade	Women’s styles	Men’s styles	Key tools
1920s	Blunt bob and shingled bob; Finger waves and marcel waves; Eton crop	Slicked-back hair; Neat side part; Center-parted brushed hair	Combs, marcel irons, wave lotion, brilliantine
1930s	Soft waved bob; Sculpted finger waves; Longer hair with curled ends	Tapered side part; Brushed-back top; Side part with a front wave	Pin curls, setting lotion, waving irons, grooming cream
1940s	Raised rolls and victory rolls; Pageboy and brushed-under ends; Snood or scarf with a dressed front	Short military cut; Civilian side part; Longer brushed-back wave	Pin curls, hairpins, nets, scarves, clippers
1950s	Short curled set; Ponytail with a dressed front; Soft brushed waves	Pompadour and quiff; Ducktail styling; Crew cut and flat top	Rollers, hood dryers, setting lotion, pomade, clippers
1960s	Beehive and high bouffant; Geometric bob; Flip with crown volume	Mop top; Conservative short side part; Natural Afro	Rollers, teasing combs, lacquer, precision scissors, picks
1970s	Feathered layers; Layered shag; Rounded Afro; Cornrows	Men’s shag; Men’s Afro; Long center-parted hair	Blow-dryers, brushes, rollers, picks, sectioning combs
1980s	Permed volume; Raised bangs and crimped lengths; Asymmetric short cut	Mullet; High-top fade; Jheri curl and similar curl systems	Perm rods, crimping irons, mousse, gel, hairspray, clippers
1990s	Layered blowout; Box braids; Sleek bob	Curtains; High-top fade and shorter shaped variants; Short crop and Caesar-style front	Round brushes, blow-dryers, mousse, gel, braiding combs, clippers

Sources & further reading

These museum, archive, library, and editorial resources provide historical context and further research. The stage and costume suggestions above are modern interpretations. Consult dated images for a specific year, place, and wearer.

Fashion History Timeline. Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/Source
Decade-by-decade essays on Western dress with dated, museum-sourced images and bibliographies, written by FIT faculty and students.
Clothing, Costume, and Fashion: A Guide to Resources. Library of Congress. https://guides.loc.gov/clothing-costume-fashionSource
Library of Congress research guide to books, databases, image collections and websites on dress from ancient times to today.
Fashion – Explore the Collections. Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/fashionSource
Gateway to the V&A's fashion collection, with curator-written articles and object records across the 20th century.
Hair Style. SFO Museum. https://www.sfomuseum.org/exhibitions/hair-styleSource
Museum exhibition on 20th-century hairstyling and salon technology, including permanent-wave machines, hooded dryers and the beauty-parlor era.
Fashion Resources: Costume Design, Historic Patterns and Cosplay. Kent State University Libraries. https://libguides.library.kent.edu/costumingSource
University library guide for costume research and design, pointing to visual resources, historic patterns and hair/makeup references.

See it on your own face

Try a hairstyle free with one selfie. Explore a modern interpretation of a cut; the preview is a starting point for your design, not a historical reconstruction.

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