What do Anna Wintour, Alice Glass, Mia Wallace from Pulp Fiction and probably five-year old you have in common? Besides a keen sense of fashion and cool attitude (Anna has a cool personality deep down, I’m sure), that iconic bob haircut seems to unite them all. Bob haircuts have a reputation for adorning chic women everywhere, framing a face for a powerful statement and creating a statement of its own in a sea of long, dull hairstyles. This week’s icon is no less fashionable than statement-making. In fact, she popularized the bob haircut — she’s no other than Louise Brooks.
Born in Cherryvale, Kansas, Louise grew up in a dysfunctional family yet was inspired by her mother’s talents as a pianist and avid book lover. Being disconnected from her family, she grew up to be very independent and invested in her own interests, particulary musicals and dancing. In 1922, she joined the Denishawn dance company in Los Angeles and even landed a starring role in her second season. After personal conflicts, however, she was fired and forced to look for employment elsewhere. She was quickly hired as a chorus girl on Broadway in George White’s Scandals, a long-running string of Broadway shows that brought fame to several entertainers including the Three Stooges. As a featured dancer, she was discovered by Paramount Pictures and was given a five-year contract in 1925.
By this time, she had already cut her hair in a wide-bob, looking almost triangular in shape. As the years progressed, she began to style her hair in a sleeker and shorter way, giving herself blunt bangs and tapered ends. Her look captured the attention of film producers and gave her more opportunities to play leading roles. Women began to imitate her look, along with fellow film star Colleen Moore. When Paramount Pictures pressured Louise to participate in more sound films, she left to pursue her dreams in more silent films overseas, a move that placed her as a legendary silent film star and independent woman. During her time in the U.S., she starred in what is known as her best American movie, Beggars of Life (1928), which was the first film to ever use the boom operator, otherwise known to us as the “long microphone,” specifically invented for her talking scenes.
After playing several shocking yet successful roles in Europe, she was invited back by the producer of Beggars of Life for the leading role in The Public Enemy. She refused to play the role and it was given to Jean Harlow, who rose to fame as a result. Louise’s choices defined her as a woman who not only knew what she wanted but stayed true to herself all the way, embodying a sense of confidence from her sleek bob to her defined clothing silhouette. She hated Hollywood, loved spending money on lavish clothing and kept her image alive even after her film career.
Today, her performances have been regarded as iconic in film history, some even commenting that she is more of an icon than Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich. “There is no Garbo! There is no Dietrich! There is only Louise Brooks!” (Henri Langlois, 1953). She was a star who “vanished too early from the movies,” one who has shaped other fashion icons like Liza Minnelli, who was told to study everything about her for her role in Cabaret. Louise will not only be remembered by her iconic bob hairstyle but her richly elegant pieces that defined 1930s glamour and confidence.