A crew cut is a type of haircut in which the upright hair on the top of the head is cut relatively short, [1] graduated in length from the longest hair that forms a short pomp (pompadour) at the front hairline to the shortest at the back of the crown so that in side profile, the outline of the top hair approaches the horizontal. [2] [3] Relative to the front view, and to varying degrees, the outline of the top hair can be arched or flattened at the short pomp front and rounded or flattened over the rest of the top to complement the front hairline, head shape, face shape and facial features. [2] The hair on the sides and back of the head is usually tapered short, semi-short, or medium. [3] [4]
A short crew cut is sometimes referred to as a butch, though with the exception of variant forms, a butch differs from a crew cut in that the top hair is cut a uniform short length. [5] A long crew cut can be referred to in the US as an ivy league crew cut or ivy league. [6] [7] A crew cut where the hair on the top of the head is graduated in length from the front hairline to a chosen point on the mid to back part of the crown as a flat plane, of level, upward sloping or downward sloping inclination is known as a flat top crew cut or flattop. [8] [9] The crew cut, flat top crew cut, butch cut and Ivy League haircut can be referred to as types of buzz cuts. These haircuts have become popular military-inspired styles for men who want a short and low-maintenance look. [10]
In English, the crew cut and flat top crew cut were formerly known as the pompadour or short pompadour, as well as the brush cut, and had been worn since at least the mid-18th century. [6] [3] [11] The style went by other names in other languages; in French, coupe à la brosse "cut like a brush"; in German, Bürstenschnitt; in Russian, ёжик "hedgehog." A short pompadour with a flat top was considered the standard while a somewhat curved appearance across the top was suggested for wider foreheads and face shapes. [12] The style with a flat top acquired the name brush top short pompadour and the style with a more rounded top, round top short pompadour. [13] Prior to the invention of electric clippers with a motor in the handle in 1921 and their ensuing marketing and widespread use, barbers considered the perfect short pompadour to be the most time-consuming style to trim. [12] [14] [15] [16]
The term "crew haircut" was most likely coined to describe the hairstyles worn by members of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell and other university crew teams, which were short to keep the hair from being blown into the face of the rower as the boat races down the course opposite the direction the rower is seated with both hands on the oars, making it impossible to brush the hair out of the face. [17] [18] [19] [20] The name drew a contrast to football haircuts, which had been long since 1889 when Princeton football players began wearing long hair to protect against head injury, thereby starting a trend, not altogether welcome; mop haired football players were frequently caricatured in the popular press. [21] [6] In 1895, the championship Yale football team appeared with "close-cropped heads" and subsequently long hair went out of style for football. Almost concurrently, the first helmets began to appear. [21]
Crew cuts were popular in the 1920s and 1930s among college students, particularly in the Ivy League. The style was often worn as a summer haircut for its cooling effect. [18] [19] [20] [22] Men inducted into the military in World War II received G.I. haircuts, crew cuts, and a significant proportion continued to wear a crew cut while serving and after, as civilians. [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] As long hair became popular in the mid-1960s, the crew cut and its variants waned in popularity through the 1970s. [29] [30] The crew cut began to come back into style in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the flat-top crew cut being the most popular crew cut style during the 1980s. [31] [32]
Thicker hair that wants to readily stand upright is ideal for a crew cut; with an appropriate head shape, a crew cut may be possible with fairly thin hair. [3] When designing a crew cut, a barber follows the general sequence of other medium to short haircuts; edging, siding and topping. [3] [1] When designing a new crew cut and the current style is not relatively short, the hair on top or all over the head may initially be shortened with shears or clippers. Edging and siding together form a taper which usually is short, semi-short or medium. [3] For a crew cut, some barbers perform edging and siding as one integrated process, regardless, the upper sides are initially boxed in and then cut to final form when designing the top. [1] The hair on the top of the head can be styled clipper or shears over comb or free hand with a clipper. [1]
With the clipper or shears over comb method, the comb is inserted in the upright hair at the desired length and the hair is reduced to this length by means of clippers or shears severing the hair above the teeth of the comb. [33] Freehand means the clipper blade or guard does not determine the cut hair length but rather the distance the cutting blade is held above the scalp sets the cut length.
The barber selects the most complementary final form for the top according to face shape, skull shape, frontal hairline, and facial features within parameters set by customer instructions. Specifically, the short pompadour front can be made higher or lower, wider or narrower and can be flattened or arched to varying degrees across the forehead; the hair over the rest of the top can be more rounded or flattened; the upper sides can have more or less volume. [2] In side profile, the outward appearance of the upright top hair should approach the horizontal; if the hair is cut so the upright top hair appears horizontal when the head is viewed from the front as well as the side, as a flat plane, the style is generally referred to as a flat-top crew cut or flat top; per customer wishes and the shape of the skull and frontal hairline, the flat plane can be level, upward or downward sloping relative to the forehead. [2] [8] [9] A crew cut with a longer top can be referred to in the US as an ivy league crew cut or ivy league. [6] [7] A long crew cut might be graduated in length on the top of the head from 1+1⁄2 inches (38 mm) at the front hairline to 1⁄2 inch (13 mm) at the back of the crown. [34] [35] A crew cut with a shorter top might have a similar proportional graduated difference in the length of the hair on the top of the head. If a short crew cut is 3⁄4 inch (19 mm) at the front hairline, the length of the hair at the back of the crown might be 1⁄4 inch (6.4 mm). [8] [9]
Sideburns, sideboards, or side whiskers are facial hair grown on the sides of the face, extending from the hairline to run parallel to or beyond the ears. The term sideburns is a 19th-century corruption of the original burnsides, named after American Civil War general Ambrose Burnside, a man known for his unusual facial hairstyle that connected thick sideburns by way of a moustache, but left the chin clean-shaven.
A buzz cut, or wiffle cut, is a variety of short hairstyles, especially where the length of hair is the same on all parts of the head. Rising to prominence initially with the advent of manual hair clippers, buzz cuts became increasingly popular in places where strict grooming conventions applied. In several nations, buzz cuts are often given to new recruits in the armed forces or newly incarcerated inmates. However, buzz cuts are also used for stylistic reasons.
A bob cut, also known as a bob, is a short to medium length haircut for women, in which the hair is typically cut straight around the head at approximately jaw level, and no longer than shoulder-length, often with a fringe at the front. The standard bob cut exposes the back of the neck and keeps all of the hair well above the shoulders.
The high and tight is a military variant of the crew cut. It is a very short hairstyle, characterized by the back and sides of the head being shaved to the skin and the option for the top to be blended or faded into slightly longer hair. It is most commonly worn by men in the U.S. armed forces. It is also popular with law enforcement officers and other public safety personnel. Although "high and tight" is the primary term used in military and law enforcement, the same haircut is sometimes referred to by civilians as a "walker".
The ducktail is a men's haircut style popular during the 1950s. It is also called the duck's tail, duck's ass, duck's arse, or simply D.A. and is also described as slicked back hair. The hair is pomaded (greased), combed back around the sides, and parted centrally down the back of the head.
A flattop is a classic hairstyle characterized by short hair on the sides and back of the head, with the top hair cut short and styled to stand upright in a flat, level plane.
Layered hair is a hairstyle that gives the illusion of length and volume at the same time, using long hair for the illusion of length, and short hair for volume, as an easy style to manage. Hair is arranged into layers, with the top layers cut shorter than the layers beneath. This allows the tips of the top layers to blend seamlessly with layers beneath.
The wings haircut, also known the Mod haircut, Mop top, flippies, flow, Justin Bieber haircut, or skater hair is a popular hairstyle used in the skateboarding, surfer, mod, and preppy community. Typically long, the style can range from long and drooping below the eyes, to a shorter length. The haircut is typically wavy and, if straight, the length comes to halfway down the ears. Instead of lying on the wearer's ears, the hair flips up and comes straight out like an airplane wing, hence the name. The hairstyle was popular among men in the 1960s, 1970s, mid-late 2000s, early 2010s and 2020s.
The temple fade, also known as a Brooklyn fade, taper fade, and blowout, is a haircut that first gained popularity in the late 90s and early 2000s in African American, Italian American, and Hispanic American barbershops as a variation of the bald fade, originating primarily in the Northeastern United States, particularly in New York City and especially Brooklyn.
The pompadour is a hairstyle named after Madame de Pompadour (1721–1764), a mistress of King Louis XV of France. Although there are numerous variations of the style for men, women, and children, the basic concept is having a large volume of hair swept upwards from the face and worn high over the forehead, and sometimes upswept around the sides and back as well.
A shag cut is a hairstyle that has been layered to various lengths. It was created by the barber Paul McGregor. The layers are often feathered at the top and sides. The layers make the hair full around the crown, and the hair thins to fringes around the edges. This unisex style became popular after being worn by various celebrities, including Joan Jett, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart, David Cassidy, Jane Fonda, Stevie Nicks and Florence Henderson in the early 1970s. During the 1990s, Jennifer Aniston popularized "The Rachel" hairstyle, and Meg Ryan wore a shag in the early 2000s. The haircut had a resurgence in popularity during the early 2020s.
Short hair refers to any haircut with little length. It may vary from above the ears to below the chin. If a man's hair reaches the chin, it may not be considered short. For a woman, however, short varies from close-cropped to just above the shoulders. This varies from culture to culture, in more traditional societies in Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Islamic world, short hair on women means anything shorter than chest length with chest length to elbow length being considered medium-length. However, among more progressive societies with far less structured gender norms, the classic bob is considered medium-length with "short hair" referring to pixie cuts and similar hairstyles. Different styles of short hair include the bob cut, the crop and the pixie cut.
A brush cut is a type of haircut in which the hair on the top of the head is cut short in every dimension. The top and the upper portion of the back and sides are cut the same length, generally between 1⁄4 and 1⁄2 inch, following the contour of the head. The hair below the upper portion of the sides and back of the head is tapered short or semi-short with a clipper, in the same manner as a crew cut. A variant form may have a slight graduation of the top hair longer from back to front or a quickly graduated bit of hair at the front hairline to achieve a little flip up of the hair at the forehead. A brush that is cut at less than 1⁄4 inch on top may be referred to as a burr. A brush that is cut at 1⁄4 inch or longer on top, and especially one that shows natural curl, depending on length, may be referred to as a short brush cut or brush cut. Brush cuts are traditionally groomed with hair control wax, commonly referred to as brush wax.
The undercut is a hairstyle that was fashionable from the 1910s to the 1940s, predominantly among men, and saw a steadily growing revival in the 1980s before becoming fully fashionable again in the 2010s. Typically, the hair on the top of the head is long and is often parted on either the side or center, while the back and sides are buzzed very shorter or shaved. It is closely related to the curtained hair of the mid-to-late 1990s, although those with undercuts during the 2010s tended to slick back and top gelled up the bangs away from the face.
Hairstyles in the 1980s included the mullet, tall mohawk hairstyles, jheri curls, flattops, and hi-top fades, which became popular styles. Amongst women, large hair-dos, puffed-up styles, permanent waves, and softer cuts typified the decade. Big hair that was "often permed to achieve the desired volume" is especially associated with women of the mid 1980s as well as male rockstars of that era, especially of the glam metal genre. Television shows such as Dynasty helped popularize the high volume bouffant and glamorous image associated with it.
An Ivy League, also known as a Harvard Clip or Princeton, is a type of crew cut in which the hair on the top front of the head is long enough to style with a side part, while the crown of the head is cut short. The length of the top hair and the degree of graduation shorter, from the front hairline back, varies with the shape of the skull, density and coarseness of the hair, and the styling preferences of the individual: side-parted crew cut, standard crew cut, brushed forward, etc.
In the Western world, the 1950s were a decade known for experimentation with new styles and culture. Following World War II and the austerity years of the post-war period, the 1950s were a time of comparative prosperity, which influenced fashion and the concept of glamour. Hairstylists invented new hairstyles for wealthy patrons. Influential hairstylists of the period include Sydney Guilaroff, Alexandre of Paris and Raymond Bessone, who took French hair fashion to Hollywood, New York and London, popularising the pickle cut, the pixie cut and bouffant hairstyles.
A regularhaircut in Western fashion is a men's and boys' hairstyle featuring hair long enough to comb on top, with a defined or deconstructed side part, and back and sides that vary in length from short, semi-short, medium, long, to extra long. The style is also known by other names including taper cut, regular taper cut, side-part and standard haircut; as well as short back and sides, business-man cut and professional cut, subject to varying national, regional, and local interpretations of the specific taper for the back and sides.
Shanghai-Style Barber Shop is a barber shop opened by a group of Shanghai barbers coming to Hong Kong mainly in the 1950s to give classical Shanghai haircuts. It is popular in Hong Kong among higher class people in the period of 1950s-1970s, offering a range of classical haircut until today. Other than hair-cutting, Shanghai style barber shops provide different unique services include trimming, massaging, nails clipping, etc. Despite the sunset of Shanghai style barber shop in Hong Kong in the modern days, it still attracts loyal customers, especially among males, and costs around HK$70 for a haircut and shave using traditional clippers.
The Edgar hairstyle, otherwise known as the Edgar or the Edgar haircut, is a hairstyle often associated with Latino culture. In the 2010s and 2020s, the haircut became popular with members of Generation Z and Millennials. The haircut first became popular in US border states in the Southwest such as Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. The haircut has been compared to a bowl cut, a similar haircut with a straight fringe.