The transition of Mary Pickford’s hair from her signature “golden curls” to a short “bob” in June 1928 was one of the most shocking cultural events of the 1920s. For over a decade, her long, ringlet-styled hair had served as a global symbol of innocence and purity, earning her the title “the girl with the curls.”
Pickford’s iconic look consisted of roughly 20 thick ringlets that fell to her waist. This hairstyle was not just a fashion choice but a powerful branding tool. Her curls represented Victorian-style innocence and childhood. This allowed her to continue playing young girls and “Cinderella” roles well into her 30s.
Maintaining the style was labor-intensive. She spent a full day every two weeks washing her hair and used leather “curling rags” to set the ringlets. Her hair was famously valued at $20,000 per curl in contemporary press reports.
Following the death of her mother and the rise of “flapper” stars like Clara Bow, Pickford decided she needed a more mature image. On June 21, 1928, she secretly visited a New York beauty parlor to have her hair cut by stylist Charles Bock. She requested a “long bob” rather than a severe “shingle” to better suit her features.
“I had to take a courageous stand, once and for all... They’ve become a stumbling block to the future of my career.” As the barber snipped off the 20 long ringlets, she reportedly said: “Well, they’re gone and I’m glad.”
The news of the haircut made front-page headlines worldwide, with some fans writing her indignant letters as if she had “murdered someone.” She saved the cut ringlets, eventually donating some to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, where they remain part of the collection.
Post-cut, Pickford debuted a trendy, wavy bob that aligned with the “sophisticated” style of the late 1920s. She showed off her new short hair in her first “talkie,” Coquette, playing a reckless socialite.
“I wasn’t at all prepared for the avalanche of criticism that overwhelmed me from all corners of the earth,” she said. “You would have thought I had murdered someone, and perhaps I had, but only to give her successor a chance to live.”
“For weeks I told myself that I shouldn’t have done it. I thought it would free me... and I suppose in a way it did, because I began to feel a change in me personally, a sense of ease and liberation I hadn’t known before.”
While she won a Best Actress Oscar for Coquette, the transition was professionally difficult. The public struggled to accept her in mature roles, and she retired from acting only a few years later in 1933.
0 comments:
Post a Comment