The ‘man bob’ is the new haircut for the modern man, and it’s surprisingly attractive.
Here is a sentence I did not wake up this morning thinking I might write: I really like the man bob. I personally assumed that the Boardwalk Empire/Macklemore hipster dude haircut had some more life in it, but I gave the fact that the 90s are full-on back with a vengeance, we must say farewell to the crisply cut sides and a pomade-filled combover.
Apparently, guys are getting bob haircuts, which is awesome considering–like French braids–bobs are a style that is typically worn by women more than men. Fashionista quotes Aveda hairstylist Amy Farid explaining the trend while backstage at Hood By Air (a look from which is shown above):
“Man bobs is a moment. It’s here. It’s here. Get ready for it. It’s kind of that ’90s Johnny Depp — remember when Johnny Depp had that look? Like Michael Hutchence, but these kids today are taking it to the [next] level… I think some of it started in the streets, which is always skater boys like, ‘Fuck it, I’m just going to cut my hair,’ and then people in fashion, we see it and we’re like, ‘Oh my god. We love ittt.'”
And then everybody gets it! Because of fashion.
I’ve always admittedly been a little jealous that men’s hair tends to take less work than women’s, and the bob is not really any different. Ever since I chopped off the majority of my hair and went blonde last month, I have realized that long hair actually took less work than short because now, if I don’t style mine, it looks frizzy and puffy, and I can’t put it into a ponytail. If a dude doesn’t put any product in his bob or do any heat styling or set it with rollers, he just looks like he could be Zachary Cole Smith from DIIV:
The inspiration for this cut could be Kurt Cobain, however, whose messy, grungy bob was one of the most iconic looks of the 90s.
While we were initially a little skeptical about the “man bun” (AKA the “mun”) in 2012, the man bob is a little bit more accessible to the everyday dude. All they have to do is not cut their hair! Or if it’s long, cut it to chin-length and let it hang out there.
Now it’s only a matter of time before everyone’s hair idol Jared Leto gets it, and every medium- to a severely-attractive guy you know will have it, and none of us will be able to contain ourselves. It will be what Axe commercials have predicted for years, but instead of clouds of frat boy body spray, we’ll be chasing after dudes whose hair is softer than ours, even though they’ve never used a leave-in conditioner.