Times change and so, inevitably, do hairstyles. In the 1990s it was the “Rachel,” Jennifer Aniston’s long aerated shag. Before that, it was the “Farrah Fawcett,” a leonine mane synonymous with the disco era. In the late ’60s, it was “the Sassoon,” a boyishly short bob created by Vidal Sassoon and popularized by Swinging London’s ultra-gamine Twiggy. And before that, it was Jackie’s bouffant, the lacquered crown of the queen of Camelot.
Now, the “Pob” is poised to become the It do, thanks to Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham, wife of L.A.’s hot new soccer saviour.
Though few Canadians may have heard of the term — a handy hybrid of Posh and bob — the hair-obsessed will tell you that Beckham looks gorgeous in her gleaming asymmetrical topper. And though she may have dibs on the one and only Becks, her hairstyle is now anyone’s for the snipping.
Ian Daburn of i. daburn salon in Vancouver has been tailoring the Pob for eight to 12 customers a day for the past few months. And The Loft for Hair in Gastown has customers of all ages asking for it.
“We figure it’s probably going to be the next big one,” says Franco Peta, owner of Vancouver’s Alta Moda Hair. “Not everyone can wear it. You’ve got to have the hair and you’ve got to have the face for it. It’s courageous.”
Perhaps the Pob is a western craze, provoked by all the feverish hype about the Beckhams’ recent move to L.A. Certainly, the hairstylists at Calgary’s Ginger Group have been buzzing about it.
In Toronto, however, there seems to be some skepticism. No demand has been detected so far at Civello Salon & Spa, though the co-ordinator at Fiorio Salon & Spa will admit, “It is catching on.”
“Definitely, some people are coming in for it,” says Nicole Charles of Toronto’s Angst Hair, “and some of the stylists are laughing about it because they did it in the ’80s.”
Daburn agrees that the asymmetrical look has a long history. Today’s version is more commonly known as a “soft graduation.”
Daburn is an alumnus of London’s Toni & Guy, where one of his teachers in the early ’90s was Ben Cooke. Cooke was taking the scissors to Posh back when she was just the poutiest Spice Girl. Daburn was amazed to see him still tending Beckham’s locks on her recent reality TV series. Could he recognize the scissor-sculpting of the master in Posh’s latest do?
“The cut definitely has his flair,” he says. “I could spot it a mile away. It’s basically a Toni & Guy haircut.”
In this case, the hair has been skilfully designed to suit Beckham’s face, with layers cut in to show off her jaw, cheekbones and eyes. Daburn thinks it’s extremely becoming, because “she’s very petite and elflike and it has an elfish look to it. “It’s definitely a chic shape,” he says. And, though it can look thoroughly elegant, the Pob can be made to seem rock ’n’ roll — “almost punky,” Daburn says. “It’s a top one for her, for sure.
“I’m not sure it’s going to be as big as ‘the Jennifer Aniston’ was, because it’s shorter, and people are reluctant to go short. But this is definitely the biggest we’ve seen since then.”
Daburn believes almost anyone can wear the Pob, as long as it’s modified to play up a person’s most attractive features by cutting the layers to fall toward them. Extremely curly hair forced into a Pob would wind up looking more “abstract,” he says tactfully, but even women with a bit of a wave can manage it, if they’re reasonably skilled with a straightening iron.
Singer-songwriter Laurell Barker recently ambled into Daburn’s salon with shoulder-length dark-brown hair, and danced out of it with a spiky cap of blond. She describes her Pob as “edgy,” sort of “funky California surferchick.”
