vintage haircut middy 1950

There is so much talk on the vintage pages of the internet about “what is the perfect hair cut for vintage“? While there is no single answer, given we all have preferences for different eras, different hair types and different lifestyles; the most often recommended style is The Middy Cut.  There are original cutting diagrams floating around of these, and so many of you will have already taken these to your hairdressers, often with disappointing results. You can read more in last week’s post about my new 1950’s Middy hair cut here.

The Middy Hair Cut

In the wake of showing you those photos and telling my story, I’ve received a flood of messages from ladies wanting to get the same hair cut. I have sent my hairdressers details to a number of you in Melbourne, but it must come with a word of warning. This is NOT a wash and wear hair cut. You must be committed to styling it every day.  This isn’t necessarily time consuming, but you need to have the skills to do it.  In fact, it takes me about ten minutes each evening to roll this up, then about five or less in the morning to style it. And so, today’s tutorial is designed to help set you on the right path and show you how I style my Middy Cut with a simple pin curl set.

This set is all rolled in a downwards direction from the centre part and takes about 2-3 hours to set, or even better, can be done over night. The key to this style is knowing how to do a good comb out. You’ll see how with the same pin curl set I’ve achieved quite a variety of looks, from the soft and sexy, to the sleek and classic.

Please feel free to ask me comments on the video (so everyone can benefit from seeing the answers there) and make sure to share this tutorial as it is one of the keys to success in understanding why Middy Cuts and vintage styling isn’t just a one step solution.