Here at ELLE we have taken a trip down memory lane to look back at long-forgotten hair trends and accessories from our childhoods. Some Have great nostalgic value but for now they may have to be left in the past (chopsticks and hair mascara, for instance). Other trends like side ponytails and crimping (yes, crimping) can easily be worn today with a few updates on the original. Here, the ELLE Beauty Team reveal the hair trends that have a special place in their hearts and why they continue to embrace them today...
ELLEuk.com Beauty Writer Amy Lawrenson and Crimping
Regular readers of Beauty Notes Daily will know that, of late, I've been on a bit of a campaign to bring back old long-forgotten hair trends (the topsy tail, anyone?). And this time I want to talk crimping. Not the 80s-style OTT texture that Madonna flaunted back in the day. No, this season crimped hair is pretty, more subtle, kind of beachy. Sounds appealing, right? (It's okay, I won't tell anyone).
I spied the offending hair texture on models at two SS12 shows - Costume National, where sleek roots gave way to lightly crimped ends for a dual texture effect. Over at Viktor & Rolf the models’ hair appeared to have been lightly crimped then brushed through with a soft bristle brush for a subtle hint of texture. Both were surprisingly pretty, honest!
Backstage hair stylists weave small sections of hair around kirby grips in a figure of eight before clamping with an iron to set the shape. It's fiddly and time consuming so if you're not a pro, go get yourself a pair of crimping irons. You probably had a pair back in the day, mine had interchangeable plates so you could get different crimped effects from a Cyndi Lauper-esque frizz to a sort of unconvincing beachy wave that looked a little (but not enough) like Kylie Minogue's hair on her self-titled debut album cover; those were the days!
Tempted to try? Use the Babyliss Pro Attitude Porcelain Crimper, £29.95.
ELLE Magazine Beauty Writer Suzanne Scott and the ‘side-pony’
I’ve always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with the side pony. The ones worn by the scary older girls who would sit at the back of the bus on the way to school? Hate. But the cute-as-a button side-pony sported by Deb in Napoleon Dynamite? Love.
I’m rather fond of a ponytail and usually wear one at least twice a week. Normally in the same spot, half way up and dead centre. Or so I thought. Fellow EBT member, Georgia, was quick to point out the other day that, more often than not, my beloved pony is far from centre and in fact lies well within the realm of the ‘side-pony’. I don’t know how I have unintentionally managed it. Maybe one arm is longer than the other? Oh well, with the return of all things nostalgic maybe I should proudly embrace it. Or maybe not.
Deputy Beauty Editor Georgia Collins on Scrunchies
Until the age of 27 I had stomach-grazing hair and up until the age of about 14 the only thing I ever did with said hair, was bundle it up into a sloppy ponytail. The style was neither here nor there, it was what I put it up with, that was key.
This was where my obsession with scrunchies came into full force. For a girl who was so non-committal with hair dos (no plaiting, pigtails or holiday-style cornrows in my youth), scrunchies were the be all and end all.
My collection was amassed over several years, and included countless neon numbers, frilly lace things and countless wired velvet ones, which were a personal favourite. These scrunchies were the envy of my fellow classmates and became a kind of playground currency (this was before stickers and sticker books came into their own), plus as a budding fashion-lover, I always felt accessorised if I had a huge hair tie adorning my pony.
Of course they were a fleeting fad and I stopped thinking they were the last word in chic as soon as I hit my teenage years, but every time I walk into a chemist now (especially small, independently owned ones that still seem to do a mean line in dayglo hair accessories) and I see a pack of 5 for 50p, a small, rebellious part of me is so very tempted to re-live a little of my hair youth. After all, I can see an electric orange one sitting proudly (albeit ironically) atop a nonchalant festival top knot, can't you?
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