The Scandalous Eton Crop Hairstyle

Throughout history a woman’s hair was considered one of her most charming feminine features. In the 1800s long hair was de rigueur for females of all ages and elaborate hairstyles were the trending fashion. But, after World War I women’s hairstyles never quite returned to the same length and complexity. In fact, they got incredibly short!

The cloche hat was a hugely popular accessory in the 1920s and beyond. This fitted hat had a low brim in the front and none in the back, making it ideal for showing the lines of head and shoulders. And unlike the huge, ornate hairstyles of the 1910s and earlier that often featured tendrils cascading down and even false hair extensions and fillers, the hairstyles of the late 1910s and of the 1920s worked much better with the fashionable new cloche hats. The newest fashion in headwear simply didn’t have enough space for those big hairstyles underneath.

The Eton crop emerged as one of a handful of short hairstyles for women- this one being the shortest of them all. It was named for Eton College, a boys school in England with a history dating back to the 15th century. This new ladies hairstyle was said to be modeled on the short hairstyles the boys at Eton were sporting.

To style this look women used a man’s product called Brilliantine, an early pomade made from petroleum and fragrance that is still available today. This gave a slick look that reflected the light and emphasized the shortness of the hair.

Many famous actresses and celebrities of the era donned this short hairstyle, such as Josephine Baker, Bessie Love, and fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli. But, it was not a universally popular look.

A lot of people considered this new trend to be boyish and unflattering and it’s the main topic in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s first major story about a young woman who is tricked into cutting her hair short, “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”.

While it was not popular with traditionalists, the look was so chic that many fashionable girls and women sought shorter hairstyles throughout the decade and into the 1930s. The shingle was a slightly longer haircut that was common, as was the banged “Dutch boy” bob made famous by Louis Brooks.

For women who didn’t want to offend their husbands or parents, there was another option to doing the full chop. One could artfully conceal their long hair in a clever up do to make it seem as though they had cut their locks. A headband, very trendy in the era of short hair as well, could be worn to keep everything in place. This camouflage of longer hair is explained in detail in a silent newsreel of the era from Pathé, no doubt a welcome alternative for those easily-influenced at the movies, where it would have been shown before the film.

Watch the video below to see how women made their long hair look “almost” like the controversial Eton crop.