Think back to secondary school and how you styled your hair. And, then look at Margot Robbie and tell me her look isn’t familiar. If your formative tween years were between 1998 and 2007, then you probably know the style well - your hair scraped back, most likely into a ponytail or a bun, with two whispy strands of hair left orphaned at the front.
We’ve lived through the return of brown lipstick, sticky lip gloss and chainmail dresses so it seems only natural that this forgotten style would make a comeback. Just last night Margot Robbie, who I think we can all agree is stylish but no trendsetter donned this very look. She follows in the footsteps of Kendall Jenner, Emily Ratajkowski, Charlie XCX and Hari Nef who have all shown their support for the whisp this year.
Etymologically speaking, the trend for these pervasive strands of hair date back to the Graeco-Roman era. Though, like the past decade, they fell out of fashion. It wasn’t until the Regency period, which came after the powdered wigs and excessive coiffure’s of the Baroque and Elizabethan age that women began growing out their natural hair and rediscovered their tendrils. After decades in darkness, they took peoples fancy once again in the ‘90s when the mussy, bedhead look was in.
Though ubiquitous in the early Noughties, they fell out of favour around 2007. Why do you ask? After Kate Moss debuted a heavy fringe following her cocaine scandal, everyone dropped tools and followed suit. And, God knows there’s no way of having tendrils and a fringe, so it was one or the other. The whip was over. Now, after a decade of growing out these high-maintenance sweaty fringes, the tide has turned, and it seems the world of celebrity are ready to reconsider these tendrils.
While this style may have a long history, we’re still stuck for a name. Some people call them ‘front-bits’, others tendrils, I’ve even heard them named wispies. Like parentheses framing the face, these yanked-free pieces may never get a moniker but that doesn't stop them riding the merry-go-round of trends.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.