Shag

Fashion Synopsis

Invented by hairstylist Paul McGregor in 1965, the streamlined style called the shag cropped the hair close to the head, leaving longer wispy pieces at the sides and nape of the neck. A daring style twist from the long-haired hippie or the mop-top mods, the shag was quickly adopted by glam rockers for its dandy, androgynous look.

Rockers like the Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart quickly cropped their manes into this effeminate style, as did legendary glamster David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust. While variations abounded, Ziggy’s shocking red plumage was the most extreme, sporting an ultra-short spiked top that influenced a new trend of dyed shags.

Women sheared their locks after seeing Jane Fonda’s sexy shag in Klute, and even Mrs. Brady of The Brady Bunch is best remembered with her blonde shag from the early seventies.

The shag’s companion, the mullet, proliferated during the hard rock eighties, and the shag seemed to fade from view before it experienced a short but much-loved revival in the early nineties.

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