The forgotten ‘60s beauty look that’s making a comeback

When thinking of ‘60s beauty trends, often our minds go to the polished, doll-like looks that were heavily present throughout the decade. We’re talking sleekly blow-dried hair (not a hair out of place!) and colourful, heavily accentuated eye makeup with pumped-up lashes.

But there was another, lesser-known style subculture present in the ‘60s that has largely been forgotten. You’ll probably remember the Teddy Boys or Teds who were known for their Edwardian-era influenced attire, but have you ever seen snaps of their female counterparts?

Their dapper, boyish clothing was often paired with a hardened stare and slightly dishevelled hair – life wasn’t easy for the Teddy Girl generation with many being sent into the workforce in their early teens during the post-World War II years.

But they didn’t let this dampen their spirit, or evidently, their style. The phrase cool-girl gets flung around like it’s going out of fashion, but we’d like to put forward an argument that the Teddy Girl gangs were modern history’s original cool-girls. 

So when we spotted the Teddy Girls’ 2019 reincarnation stomping down the runway at Alice McCall’s MBFWA 2019 show, we were totally into it.

“This year’s inspiration is like a ‘60s Teddy Girl. Some of them have got short bangs and kind of sweaty, textured hair, like they’ve been at a party all night,” says Wella Professionals Guest Artist Keiren Street. “She’s a cool girl, she’s effortless, she loves a party.” 

Quite frankly, we’d like to be her.

If you’re keen on giving the look a go, Street has some tips.

“To get the look, I would invest in a clip-in fringe. They’re so much fun, you can mix your look up by adding pieces and having a little play. It’s a lot more fun than straight old standard hair!” says Street.

To grunge up the rest of your hair, Street says to first prep the hair using Wella Professionals EIMI Perfect Me Cream (it tames frizz and protects hair from heat styling), then use Wella Professionals EIMI Perfect Setting to blow-dry the hair until it appears thick, dry and has an almost wig-like appearance.

To finish, “spray [Wella Profesionals EIMI Glam Mist] into the hair. Put your heated stylers through it. It kind of gives it that ribbony, sexy kinda lived-in feel,” says Street.

So. Cool.

It’s equal parts pretty and grungy and we’re all about it. Anyone else thinking they’ll have a crack at tapping into their inner-Teddy Girl this weekend?

If you’d like more beauty inspo from the Alice McCall MBFWA show, check out our guide to nailing the grungy, live-in eyeliner look.

Would you try Alice McCall’s Teddy Girl hair look yourself? Let us know in the comments.

Main image credit: Getty