Topsy-Tail

Fashion Synopsis

“If you can ponytail, you can Topsy-Tail.”

The crazy wire contraption known as the Topsy-Tail turned heads and the hair-care industry upside down when it arrived on the market (via infomercials and mail-order) in 1991. Tomina Edmark was the genius behind the simple but surprising tool that created the coolest in ponytail style.

The Topsy-Tail was a simple monofilament wire with handle that created a striking inverted ponytail with a flip of the wrist. Topsy-Tail created a cornucopia of creative hairstyles with little more effort than pulling hair through the plastic tool, then twisting it to reveal a sophisticated style. No more boring ponytails when the Topsy-Tail was around, and no longer was an updo the only option for elegant evening styles. Not since the miraculous scrunchy had hair care been so much fun.

Topsy-Tail, Inc. is a part of Accessory Brainstorms, a business founded by Jan Lefkowitz and devoted to novelty hair items and their inventors. The Topsy-Tail joined other ingenious hair fare like Hairdini, a magic styling wand for French twists, and the Whirl-a-Bun, another plastic contraption to make Princess Leia-style buns anywhere on the head.

The miraculous Topsy-Tail has grossed more than $100 million during its lifetime, and that amount continues to grow as a younger generation discovers the wonders of the plastic loop hairstyling tool.