Hairspray… check.
Hair dryer… check.
Round brush… check.
Curling iron… check.
Find picture of Farrah Fawcett online for reference… check.
Now, you’re ready for feathered hair!

Nothing screams late 70s – early 80s quite like feathered hair.  The iconic hairstyle was at once glamorous and edgy, leaving the wearer with so many options.  Of course, the most impressive of all feathered hair belonged to the one and only, Farrah Fawcett.  Would Charlie’s Angels have been quite as angelic without their golden-winged gal?  Even the others (oh… who can remember their names with you have Farrah hair on the brain!) had a bit of feathery action going on with their dos.  Farrah’s infamous 1976 swimsuit poster turned the boys on and got the girls buying hairspray and hot rollers all in the hopes of emulating her perfect golden wings.

Farrah, for sure, was all glamour.  Luscious waves and a seductive look was what it was all about, but it was nearly impossible to maintain such a glorious mane.  High school girls spent their time between bells in restrooms, touching up their hair, only to have to do it all over again after the next period.  The real trick was to find that happy land between getting your hairspray to hold it all together while maintaining that soft, touchable look – even when there was no way you’d let anyone get away with touching, a.k.a. messing up, your hair. 

One important component to the look was having the proper cut.  Girls who could get the look with as little product as possible were practically goddesses.  Pfft, who needs to glue your wings back when you’ve got hair like this? (Insert hair-flip here)  Pity the girl who had stick-straight hair, for no matter how hard they might have tried, after a few happy moments of feathery bliss the gig was up and the wing would flop itself down.  Giving up was never in the cards, especially not back then.  There was really only one style to have, and that was it, come hell or high water.

One choice straight-haired girls had, if they so chose it, was the feathered rocker chick look.  Just get a decent cut, part it on the side, brush it back and leave it alone.  Defy the status quo! (All while remaining perfectly stylish, of course!)  The look was sharp, a la Joan Jett, and really, it was pretty perfect for those who didn’t want to deal with all the product.

Boys even got in on the act, a la Shaun and David Cassidy.  Even Eric Idle of Monty Python sported a feathery do in the late 60s.  Though the boys may have shunned the spray, they kept their back-pocket combs at the ready for a touch up.  And not just any comb would do.  It needed to have wide teeth and a great handle to get a tight grip.  Oh, and it had to look cool, too.  You know, because cool-looking combs help keep your hair in place better than the un-cool ones.

Few hairstyles have been so widely emulated throughout the years; the most recent craze being the Friends “Rachel” fringe cut… but other than that… nada.  Given pop culture’s retro-love-fest and the emergence of 80s-inspired fashion, there might be little surprise if the feathered look makes a comeback.  Just remember, when you’re washing out all that Aqua Net out in the shower, close your eyes and your mouth, because that style comes with a bad flavor!