Bangs parted down the middle, AKA curtain bangs, were a popular haircut option during the '70s, and we've seen this look resurfacing as of late. They beautifully frame your face and are easy to style, so the curtain bangs resurgence makes plenty of sense.
1970s: The aesthetic was very long, loose, and flowing in the 70s, and bangs were no exception. Jane Birkin's delicate, piece-y fringe was just as iconic as the Hermés bag she inspired (and recently rejected). Farrah Fawcett's feathered hair was a high-volume approach to bangs that carried into the 80s, hard.
Feathered Front
A 70-inspired feathery look. The most quintessential of all the '70s hairstyles is the feathered haircut. The “feathers” were actually just constructed layers that were cut into the front of the hair. Use a large-barrel curling iron to get the feathered look and curl your hair away from the face.
Curtain bangs, for the uninitiated, are those shaggy, effortless bangs that—as the name suggests—frame your face perfectly, much like a curtain does with a window.
While punks wore black leather jackets in the '70s, everyone else with an eye for fashion was wearing brown fringe. The popularity of these garments—also known as buckskins—accompanied the rise in popularity of western wear at the time, with bolo ties and embroidered button-ups also becoming major trends.
That's right, if you're from a country that uses American English, like Canada and of course, America, the preferred and more commonly used term would be bangs. Anywhere else, like here in Australia, for example, then fringe should be your choice of word as it's the more commonly used term.
The 1920s were a time of great style experimentation for women, featuring short dresses, dark lipstick, and new hairstyles. This is when bangs first became popular — due to flappers' style as a whole, but especially due to film star and dancer Louise Brooks, whose bobbed hair and blunt bangs are iconic.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, curly, teased bangs were in fashion, often held very big or high in place with copious amounts of hair spray. This style was called "mall bangs". In 2007, bangs saw another massive revival as a hair trend, this time thick, deep and blunt-cut.
The most popular hairstyles in the 70's
Feathery, wide curls, and so full of volume. The shag + mullet – this cut was made popular by actresses such as Jane Fonda. But was really popular with men, think Mick Jagger. The afro – seen a lot in the disco scene.
In the 70s, color was just important as style. Just as the vibrant mod clothing trends of the 60s were replaced by browns and neutrals, women adopted frosty blonde highlights to breathe new life into dark brown base shades.
Classic movies of the '70s led to the emergence of the trend of adding highlights to your hair. People with naturally light hair started adding different shades of brown hair color. They usually opted for golden-toned brown hair color as it would blend easily with their natural hair color.
What are curtain bangs? As we all know this face framing style first became popular in the 1970s. Imagine a longer fringe parted down the middle, framing both sides of the face – voilà, you have the curtain bang! The curtain bang style gives an effortless, sweet, younger look.
The main difference between bangs and fringes is that the terms are typically used in various places across the world. 'Bangs' is a very American term, whereas everywhere else tends to use 'fringe'. That being said, you'll probably hear 'bangs' being used across the UK, and you can thank American YouTubers for that!
Following antiquity, historians date the first traceable roots of bangs to Medieval Spain. More than 1,000 years ago, an influential musician by the name of Ziryab popularized bangs. Ancient Egyptians were onto this trend even earlier than that, using blunt styles cut across the forehead for natural hair and for wigs.
Adding bangs to the hairstyle will help shape your face and make you appear much younger. The best part about layers and bangs is that they work for any type of hairstyle, from long locks to shorter styles. Either way, with the right cut, they will add personality to your look and highlights your best features.
Square or heart-shaped faces look best with wispier, feathered fringe to add softness. Oblong face shapes are a perfect match for blunt-cut bangs. Round faces can get added dimension from side-swept or curtain bangs. Oval-shaped faces can pull off just about any type of bang.
The word bangtail, which means to cut the hair of a horsetail horizontally so it has a flat, tassel-like end, is the origin of the word bang—the term we use to describe the fringe on your forehead.
Bangs (aka Fringe) : Face-framing layer of hair cut over the eyes. Can be side-swept and blended into layers with the rest of your hair, blunt and heavy, cut straight-across, or light and wispy/choppy through point-cutting.
"It's universally flattering to have a few pieces that sit on your cheeks to prevent your profile from being visually cut off," he says. When you have finer hair, getting bangs can create instant volume—simply because the front section of hair appears thicker.
Popular styles included bell bottom pants, frayed jeans, midi skirts, maxi dresses, tie-dye, peasant blouses, and ponchos. Some accessories that will help pull together your early '70s Hippie outfits are chokers, headbands, scarves, and jewelry made of wood, stones, feathers, and beads.
The 1970s began with a continuation of the hippie look from the 1960s, giving a distinct ethnic flavor. Popular early 1970s fashions for women included Tie dye shirts, Mexican 'peasant' blouses, folk-embroidered Hungarian blouses, ponchos, capes, and military surplus clothing.