The wings haircut, also known the Mod haircut, flippies, flow, Justin Bieber haircut, or skater hair is a popular hairstyle used in the

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a ...

, surfer,

mod Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...

, and

preppy Preppy (also spelled preppie) or prep (all abbreviations of the word ''preparatory'') is a subculture in the United States associated with the alumni of old private Northeastern college preparatory schools. The terms are used to denote a perso ...

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

Origins

This hairstyle was first worn by

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

gentlemen from the 1830s until the 1890s, usually with a beard or

muttonchop 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 ...

sideburns. From the end of World War I until the pompadour became popular in the 1950s younger men cut their hair very short for an athletic look although the longer hair continued to be worn by some older men born before 1890, such as Western actor George "Gabby" Hayes. During the 1920s the wings haircut was worn as an alternative to the bob cut and pageboy hairstyle by

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee height was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptab ...

s and young children of both sexes. It remained popular during the war years for its practicality when women worked in the factories. After the war, women's hair grew increasingly longer until the 1960s when it made a comeback among younger women like

Twiggy Dame Lesley Lawson (''née'' Hornby; born 19 September 1949) is an English model, actress, and singer, widely known by the nickname Twiggy. She was a British cultural icon and a prominent teenaged model during the swinging '60s in London. ...

and continued to be worn into the 1970s.

Popularity among youth subcultures

In the early 1960s the wings haircut made a comeback among the

Beatnik Beatniks were members of a social movement in the 1950s that subscribed to an anti-materialistic lifestyle. History In 1948, Jack Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation", generalizing from his social circle to characterize the undergr ...

and surfer subcultures who allowed their hair to grow out bushy and unstyled. Rock bands like

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

and

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

copied this look, which spread to America during the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on b ...

and was worn by bands like the Monkees and

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

. By the mid-1960s the wings haircut was worn by the mod subculture to set them apart from the older generation and from the Rockers who favored Brylcreemed hair like the pompadour. In the late 1960s

hippies A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

grew their hair shoulder-length in protest against the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Wings or flows were often seen sported by North American

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

players, especially during the 1970s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. From the early 1970s until it was supplanted by the quiff in the early-1980s, the wings hairstyle was common among teenagers and young men, while those with curly hair wore afros.Garland, Phyl, "Is The Afro On Its Way Out?"
''Ebony'', Feb 1973 Last retrieved February 20, 2010 By the 1990s, however, hair was buzzed short, remaining so for teenagers until the mid-2000s when the wings haircut, together with 1960s inspired

vintage clothing Vintage clothing is a generic term for garments originating from a previous era, as recent as the 1990s. The term can also be applied in reference to second hand retail outlets, e.g. i''n vintage clothing store''. While the concept originated ...

, made a comeback among fans of

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

Scene kids The scene subculture is a youth subculture that emerged during the early 2000s in the United States from the pre-existing emo subculture. The subculture became popular with adolescents from the mid-2000s to early 2010s. Members of the scene subc ...

imitated the look, dyeing their hair with bright-colored streaks and growing the back longer."The Scene Kid Subculture vs. Emos - News Article"
''Absolute Punk'', retrieved 2008-10-18

Emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

s incorporated a fringe or

bangs Bang or bangs may refer to: Products * M1922 Bang rifle, a US semi-automatic rifle designed by Søren Hansen Bang * Bang, a List of model car brands, model car brand * Bang (beverage), an energy drink Geography * Bang, Lorestan, a village in I ...

and dyed their hair black while

preppies Preppy (also spelled preppie) or prep (all abbreviations of the word ''preparatory'') is a subculture in the United States associated with the alumni of old private education, private Northeastern United States, Northeastern college preparator ...

copied the neater, more styled version worn by pop singers such as

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

Harry Styles Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His musical career began in 2010 as a solo contestant on the British music competition series ''The X Factor (UK TV series), The X Factor''. Following hi ...

from

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the gr ...

Gallery

File:Giuseppe Verdi by Giovanni Boldini.jpg, Mid-length wings haircut worn by Classical composer

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

, 1886 File:Justin Bieber.jpg,

eponymous hairstyle An eponymous hairstyle is a particular hairstyle that has become fashionable during a certain period of time through its association with a prominent individual. Women 1920–1950 In the early 20th century, the "Louise Brooks bob" (Paramount ...

in 2009 File:WingsHaircut.jpg, Wings hairstyle (2006)

References

External links

* {{Human hair 1960s fashion 1970s fashion 2000s fashion 2010s fashion 19th-century fashion Hairstyles Harry Styles

Origins

Popularity among youth subcultures

Gallery

See also

References

External links