The Top 10 Most Iconic Hairstyles Of All Time

Ah Jen A, aka Rachel Greene from the hit TV show Friends. There’s no way to accurately capture exactly how huge the phenomenon of this style was, but if you were a teen/young adult in the mid 90s and you didn’t once ask your hairdresser for this cut - may we be so polite as to ask if your house was under a rock?

From layers upon layers, to textured, chopped ends - it’s a bit difficult to describe what the cut actually was. But it was different, new, exciting (and perhaps a long way from the hair of the 80s?). And with Friends as one of the most loved shows of the decade, it’s no wonder everyone wanted to look like Rachel Karen Greene. But while we all loved it, apparently Jen wasn’t a fan, saying it was really hard to style. Oh dear.    

From long hair to short - we can wear it anyway we want today. But back in the 1960s, the world was a little more conservative. So when up-and-coming UK model Twiggy (real name Lesley Lawson) set the fashion and beauty world alight with her ‘pixie’ cut, everyone stood up and took notice - and many followed suit.

Short and cropped, with a part to the side, Twiggy’s cut wasn’t planned by the model, who explained that it came about from a visit to a fancy hair salon and being too shy to turn down the request from Leonard, the hairdresser and salon owner, to give her a haircut. Reportedly taking around seven hours for a cut, recut and colour, the experimental style was a winner and Twiggy became a style icon of the 60s.    

Oh Princess Di, what a wonderful lady you were. And what lovely, bouncy hair you had! When everyone in the 80s was off growing long hair and getting perms, you were repping a shorter coif (fancy hairdo) consisting of a flippable fringe and feathery-like layers.

And did the world love it? Of course they did. In fact, everyone loved it so much that when the royal wanted to cut her hair shorter for a visit to Africa, it had to be done in absolute secret so it wouldn’t arouse suspicion in the media. Her hairdresser painstakingly cut around a one quarter of an inch at a time over a period of several weeks, so it would gradually get shorter - minus the frenzy that would result if there was a sudden, dramatic change in length.      

One word: volume. Farrah’s mane was certainly a sight to behold - with it somehow effortlessly blending that ‘windblown’ look with style (and probably a whole heap of hairspray.) Girls wanted to be her, and guys wanted to be with her. And who could blame them? Those ash blonde locks with feathered layers were feminine yet powerful, epitomising everything about her role in the OG Charlie’s Angels.  

Just can’t get Kylie Minogue’s hairstyle out of your head? Was it love at first sight and you’re thinking that you’d be so lucky to have hair like hers? Well, you’re not wrong there. Sure, the Aussie music superstar has had plenty of hit hairstyles over the years (as well as hit songs) but it’s hard to go past the tightly permed hair she rocked in the 80s while belting out bangers like ‘Locomotion’ and ‘Tears on my Pillow’.

Sultry, sleek and seductive, Marilyn Monroe’s strikingly blonde, roller-curled hair was 1950s Hollywood. Whether it was a little bit tight, close to the nap of her neck, or loosely tousled for that ‘just out of bed but glamorous’ look, the lady formerly known as Norma Jeane is still a style icon today nearly 60 years after her passing.

When describing the hair of the 1950s and 60s actress, two words that come to mind are classic and sophisticated. Because while Audrey did have a number of coveted hairstyles - from a short pixie cut to a sleek mid-length bob - there were perhaps none more famous than the updo that she wore in the movie Breakfast at Tiffanys. And although it’s probably not an everyday look for folk today, there’s no doubt it is still a popular ‘go-to’ style for occasions that call for elegant glam.

While it may seem that ‘The Rachel’ dominated the hairdressing world in the 90s, Meg Ryan’s shorter (and shaggier) look was definitely a close second. Layers, and lots of them, were key, as well as being worn ‘messy’. The funny thing is, the style was actually a total accident. Meg’s hairdresser singed a large chunk of her hair off with a curling tong, and to cover up the faux pas, she had to chop it off in such a way that looked trendy and stylish - as Meg was already on the set of a movie at the time.  

With a haircut so iconic it has its own name - the pob (posh bob) - there’s no going past Mrs Beckham’s contribution to the world of hairstyles. Allowing ‘wearers’ to have a bit of length at the front, while keeping it shorter at the back, the asymmetrical look was a much sought-after look for both the young and the mums in the mid 00s.  

The former First Lady debuted her ‘bouffant’ to the world in 1961 - at President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration - and even to this day she is known for her chic style and grace. From the French word for ‘swelling’, the hairstyle is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as ‘styled so as to stand out from the head in a rounded shape’.