History:
- circa 200 AD: women shown with short, bob cuts in Roman paintings of the second century, in imitation of the Roman Emperor Titus
- circa 1900: reappeared as a style for middle-aged women
- 1914: became a sanitary and convenient choice for World War I female ambulance drivers
- gradually women in French civil life, auxiliary military duties, and Red Cross Work adopted the simple, practical hair style.
- 1918: ballroom dancer Mrs. Vernon Castle brought the bob to America, where it was nicknamed the "Castle Bob".
- Shortly after, the comedienne Ina Claire sported an even shorter bob.
- 1923 to 1928: increasing number of girls and women wearing bobs
The free-spirited youth of the day readily accepted the new look. When a woman had her hair cut short, she grew bolder. Soon she began wearing ‘long beads, short skirts, rolled stockings, and rough on her knees,’ an expression synonymous with ¾ the flapper.
The rebellious change in hairstyle was just the beginning of a major change in societal norms and values seen during the 1920s.
Preachers warned parishioners that “a bobbed woman is a disgraced woman.” Men divorced their wives over bobbed hair. In a letter to the editor of a professional hair publication, one parent despaired, “I’ve raised my girls to be women and my boys to be men, but since the advent of this bob, I have to look twice at my own offspring to tell which is which.”.
