What about Bob?

I love getting up in the morning. Really. The smell of Coffee at the 11th Street Café is extremely invigorating on my way to work. Breakfast foods beat any other meal of the day and my rush to the internet to read the latest headlines; there's never a dull moment. So, why is it that day after day, the same thing over and over never annoys me? My strongest conviction has always been that variety is the spice of life. Change is inevitable and our taste matures over time. Yet some things will never tarnish or cloud. Is it ever possible that we must separate those things in life that have a short life span with those that continue to please? Diamonds, Pearls, a vintage car perhaps or an old trunk. It is certain that sky is the limit when trying to tally the countless things in life that makes us smile. But as fashion choices come and go, how can we properly assess what is timeless and what has an expiration date? In the world of hairstyles, fashion turns even faster. A certain style can come and go as many as 20 times in one century. The one choice that remains on the fence between tragically overdone and a timeless classic is the bob. Simple.

So what about a bob makes women smile? This classic style reintroduces itself almost every season. Some of the world's most
notable women in fashion history can be seen donning a bob so vogue, it's as if you have never seen it before!
To the left is legendary fashion house founder Coco Chanel. Ingenious in her talents as well as her willingness to jump on the bandwagon for this trend. In an ever-changing industry, we find that the elements that stand out the most usually lie in those things that change the least. Calvin Klein has built his fashion empire on structure and simplicity. Underwear and Calvin Klein are synonymous at this point. Levi's specializes in jeans. Styles of Levi's have come and gone, yet, by popular demand, we are reintroduced to 501's. The classic never dies. Such, in the same respects, do we fall back on a more traditional hair style. We've done the hipster mullet, teased our hair to look like Debbie Harry and got a blowout that brought Farah Fawcett to shame. Yet, we've come full circle to a more simple time. 1915.

In the wake of the twentieth century, women were wearing lengthier hair. It wasn't until Irene Castle, a famous ballroom dancer had cut her her for the purpose of convenience. It was layered and short. Younger generations had embraced the look and began cutting their hair to show off their new locks.The picture on the right shows an advertisement for bobbie pins, an invention only created after the bob became popular. Imagine that! Still with every great trend, there was also the skeptical crowd; those who prefer to stick to their traditional do's found the bob to be very controversial. In the early 1920's, women started wearing their hair in that very fashion that Irene Castle had introduced, years before. Still, controversy over this new style brought about a wave of problems. Concerned mothers were bothered by the similarities between men's cuts and women's cuts. A school teacher in New Jersey was even ordered by the Board of Education to grow her hair out, as the look was still not widely accepted. These times were not easy for those who aspired to present themselves in a fashion unlike anything anyone has ever seen. Beaded necklaces, short dresses, scantily-clad women with their short haircuts. The bob had set a new standard for women.

Ever since, the bob has made its way into mainstream fashion, ever present in advertisements, movies, Broadway shows, etc. To this day, we witness an alarming rate of bobbed cuts for women. It's almost as if nothing has changed. Yet, the return of the bob has been a big hit, a frenzy of celebrity women gave into the bob and it only continues to gain popularity.

So, how about you? Have you tried the bob? Ever wonder what it's like to sport a do that requires less maintenance and widens more eyes? Change is inevitable. Change is what keeps our blood pumping through our veins, what helps us wake up in the morning and keep a bright smile on our face. Yet, could you stand to make a change that speaks a classic look with a somewhat original flare?