1959 – Winged Back Hairstyle

It’s funny how you can guess the era that a picture was taken by looking at someone’s hair style. The curl and length definitely speaks 50’s. The photo you see was part of an article in the March 1959 edition of McCalls magazine titled, “Nine pretty Hairdos for Spring”. They described this style as a Winged Look.

Elegant winged look and soft, uplifted fullness at back and sides give width to a thin face. If you are blessed with naturally wavy hair that is four to five inches long, you’ll find this one easy to achieve with a simple roller and pin-curl setting.

In a world before blow dryers and curling irons were common, women would wear curlers to achieve a hairstyle such as this. I recall seeing women wearing curlers in their hair on the bus or in the grocery store as a kid in the 1960’s and 1970’s. This was the ultimate faux pas that drove my grandmother crazy. She was a busy woman who raised 10 children, and was near-blind in her later years. But she never left the house without looking perfect.

Here’s more from the article.