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 parted on either the side or center, while the back and sides are buzzed very short. 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 the bangs away from the face.

Origins

Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-217-0465-32A, Russland, Soldaten auf dem Marsch

The "undercut" hairstyle can be dated back to the days of Vikings; however, this style shaved the back of the head with long bangs, not the sides. The purpose was to cool the neck and keep the sun out of the eyes, with the neck also shaven while maintaining a pointy beard on the top. Some Native Americans wore a similar style. Historically, the undercut has been associated with poverty and inability to afford a barber competent enough to blend in the sides, as on a short back and sides haircut. From the turn of the 20th century until the 1920s, the undercut was popular among young working-class men, especially members of street gangs. In interwar Glasgow, the

Neds Ned is a derogatory term applied in Scotland to hooligans, louts or petty criminals.Teddy Boys) favored a haircut that was long on top and cropped at the back and sides. Despite the fire risk, much paraffin wax was used to keep the hair in place. Other gangs who favored this haircut were the

Scuttlers Scuttlers were members of neighbourhood-based youth gangs (known as scuttling gangs) formed in working class areas of Manchester, Salford, and the surrounding townships during the late 19th century. It is possible to draw parallels with th ...

of Manchester and the Peaky Blinders of Birmingham, because longer hair put the wearer at a disadvantage in a street fight. During the jazz age of the 1920s and 1930s, hairstyles of this type were considered mainstream fashion. Military barbers of the World War I era gave short back and sides haircuts as fast as possible because of the numbers, under orders to facilitate personal hygiene in trench warfare, and as nearly uniform as possible, with an eye to appearance on parade. This made the short back and sides style the norm in the UK after 1918, and its variant the

brush 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 , following the contour of the head. The h ...

became common in North America and France. In Nazi Germany, a version of this haircut which was long on top but shaved at the back and sides was popular among '' Wehrmacht'' officers. The undercut remained common in the UK and America until the 1960s, when longer hair such as the wings haircut was popularised by the mod subculture and British Invasion bands such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

Revival

Macklemore Ryan Lewis Live 2016 (4 von 20)

Beginning in the late 1980s, centrally parted undercuts derived from the bowl cut made a comeback among fans of new wave,

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

, and electronic music as an alternative to the mullets and

backcombed hair Backcombing (also known as teasing or ratting) is a way of combing hair which is used to create volume as well as to create certain hairstyles. Backcombing is done by repeatedly combing the hair towards the scalp, causing the hair to tangle and ...

of glam metal bands. A collar-length version of the haircut, known as curtained hair, went mainstream in the early 1990s and was worn by many celebrities, most notably Tom Cruise. Another variant, with a floppy permed fringe, was known as the "meet me at McDonald's haircut" due to its popularity among

fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredien ...

workers during the 1980s. Curtained hair and undercuts went out of style in the early 2000s, but underwent a revival in the early 2010s among hipsters and skaters who imitated the 1930s and 1940s version: longer with pomade in or swept to one side on top and shaved or clipped at the sides. At the time, although the style had many different names, the most controversial were the " Hitler Youth", "Jugend", and "fasci". Some of the most high-profile early adopters of this haircut included Macklemore, Kim Jong Un,

David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...

, and Win Butler. During the late 2000s and early 2010s, undercuts were often associated with villainous movie characters such as Hannibal Lecter in ''

Hannibal Rising ''Hannibal Rising'' is a psychological horror novel by American author Thomas Harris, published in 2006. It is a prequel to his three previous books featuring his most famous character, the cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter. The ...

'',

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

's portrayal of gangster John Dillinger in '' Public Enemies'',

Jared Leto Jared Joseph Leto ( ; born December 26, 1971) is an American actor and musician. Known for his method acting in a variety of roles, he has received numerous accolades over a career spanning three decades, including an Academy Award and a Golde ...

as The Joker in '' Suicide Squad'', Guy Pearce in '' Lawless'', and various German officers in war films. Characters from television series such as Jimmy Darmody on HBO's

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter and broadcast on the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and ...

and various characters from the BBC series Peaky Blinders were also associated with the undercut. By 2014, the haircut had become relatively mainstream in the UK and was worn by people not normally associated with the indie scene, such as reality television stars from shows like '' The Only Way Is Essex''. During the late 2010s, the American and Israeli press associated the undercut with

alt-right The alt-right, an abbreviation of alternative right, is a far-right, white nationalist movement. A largely online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late 2000s before increasing in popularity during the mid-2 ...

agitators such as the American white supremacist Richard Spencer or the British far-right and anti-Islam activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (Tommy Robinson) and with

neofascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration se ...

supporters seeking a less intimidating alternative to the

buzzcut Lovelytheband (stylized in all lowercase) is an American indie pop band that formed in 2016 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The band consists of vocalist Mitchy Collins, guitarist Jordan Greenwald, and drummer Sam Price. The band is ...

. In some Muslim-majority countries such as Saudi Arabia, the undercut is considered controversial and in breach of Islamic teachings governing hairstyles. According to the ''Ḥadīth'' literature, the

Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam ( ar, الأنبياء في الإسلام, translit=al-ʾAnbiyāʾ fī al-ʾIslām) are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God in Islam, God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. So ...

Muhammad forbade traditional Pagan Arab haircuts that were long on top but shaved on the sides as '' makruh''. In the early 2020s, the middle parted undercut is coming back due to the 'E-boys' subculture on the social media network TikTok. Although, in the UK, middle parted undercuts (curtains) have been popular in the Irish Traveller community for years.

Gallery

File:New Romantic photo shoot.jpg,

Alice Bag Alicia "Alice" Armendariz (born November 7, 1958) is an American punk rock singer better known as Alice Bag. She is the lead vocalist and co-founder of the Bags, one of the first punk bands to form in Los Angeles in the mid-1970s. Her first bo ...

in the 1980s File:Skrillex.jpg, Skrillex with an asymmetrical undercut File:Zachary Quinto at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival 2.jpg, Zachary Quinto with an undercut in 2009 File:Rihanna Diamonds World Tour 2013 cropped.jpg,

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

with an undercut in 2013 File:Corey Taylor 2-17-18 The Rave Milwaukee.jpg,

Corey Taylor Corey Todd Taylor (born December 8, 1973) is an American musician, songwriter and actor. He is the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Slipknot (band), Slipknot, in which he is designated #8, as well as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the ...

with a slicked back undercut in 2018

References

External links

* * {{Human hair Hairstyles 20th-century fashion 21st-century fashion