Hairstyles of the 1940s

Men’s hairstyles during this time seem timeless; they are still used today with some variations from how they were originally used back in that decade.  The resilience of these looks may come from the fact that they evoke a sense of manly elegance and seriousness not captured in today’s hairstyles. 

This post will try to explain some of the salient features of this hairstyle as well as how the look is achieved.

The first half of the 1940s was wartime; the second half was a time of reconstruction in Europe and Asia and prosperity in the Americas.  Because men were generally too busy fighting and killing during this time, men’s hairstyles did not change much from the hairstyles of the 1930s.  Of course, later in the decade, innovations began to emerge such as the rockabilly and greasier hairstyles that would become prevalent in the 1950s.

As mentioned earlier, the 1940s was wartime and the hairstyles during these days were acceptable in the regular army (in contrast to today).  Soldiers back then had longer hair than they do in armies today, but at the same time they needed their hair not to get in the way, thus, hair was always short for men in the back and sides and the face was always clean shaven or otherwise had a well-groomed moustache or beard.  Men went to the barber regularly usually every 3 to 6 weeks or whenever the hair on the back of the head already touched the collar.  In European fashion, it was not rare to see a man with the sides of his head shaved with a razor (just look at pictures of German soldiers and politicians and Even Adolf Hilter as an example). 

The German Fashion

  
The top of their head, in contrast to the back and sides, was left long, especially the bangs.  This was intentionally done so that the hair can be brushed straight back.  It gives one the illusion that the hair is short but the lie is soon revealed when an individual, sporting the said hairstyle, gets into strenuous physical activity which throws hairstyle into disarray revealing long bangs that cover the forehead and sometimes over the eyes.  Just watch Godfather I where Don Vito Corleone is gunned down – look closely at his hair.



As mentioned earlier, the preference was to have the hair brushed backwards.  This was not the only way to do it.  More frequently, the hair was parted at the sides or at the center.  The center part hairstyle in those days was a little different.  It looks a bit like how Sergio Osmeña looked like in his younger days.  Needless to say, one rarely sees this style anymore. 

Sergio Osmeña 

Men used a variety of oils and pomades to achieve this.  One product was used above others – Bryllcreem – a kind of oil based, greasy hair cream.  It was invented in the 1920s and worn de rigueur by gentlemen up to the 1960s.  Indeed, it was fashionable to have shiny hair back then without comb marks and so Bryllcreem or pomade was used in conjunction with a military hair brush (which shows the military origins of this look) which is a fine brush and the use of which is to prevent comb marks on hair. 

Thus one can see that the men’s hairstyles of the 1940s combined wartime propriety and masculinity with a certain elegance that has not been captured in decades since.  This may partly explain why the style still remains popular to this day, coexisting with more modern looks.

Originally posted here:  http://proactivewriters.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/hairstyles-of-the-1940s/