Get The Wedge in: The Casual Connection of The Classic Cut
We take a trip down memory lane to look at the wedge haircut's origins and its connection to the Casual subculture of the late 1970s & early 1980s.
Subculture has always been associated with a distinct style whether its clothes, footwear or haircuts. The Mods had their bowl cuts, the Punks had their mohawks, the Teddy Boys had their quiffs & the Skinheads had their buzz cuts. For the Casuals it was all about the wedge haircut, described as a lop-sided style with a side part, short on one side with an extra long fringe to the other. The fringe was also grown down to cover one eye so it would have to be flicked out of the eye to be able to see. Fila clad teenagers flicking their hair became all the rage in the late 1970s & the early 1980s as youth culture went crazy for sports-wear & wedge haircuts. It wasn't just the wedge haircut however that was big in the 1980s. Youth culture also adopted the whole heavy hairspray look of 'big hair', perms & mullets as seen on 80s pop icons like Kajagoogoo, Spandau Ballet & Duran Duran.
Above: David Bowie on the album cover of Low from 1977 sporting a wedge haircut.
The wedge was invented by Trevor Sorbie at the Vidal Sasoon salon in London in 1974 and would feature as part of a two page spread in Vogue magazine. Originally designed as a women's cut in a pre-social media world it was arguably the front cover of David Bowie's 'Low' album from 1977 that really introduced the cut to the UK's youth culture. A popular style in the US in the late 1970s, the wedge was also adopted by the US athlete, Dorothy Hill, who won gold at the Winter Olympics in 1976, further leading to its popularity among young women in the states.
Above: Kevin Sampson's 'Awaydays' highlighted the significance of the wedge to Merseyside in the late 1970s.
Closer to home the wedge really found its home across the clubs & pubs of Merseyside in the late 1970s. Kevin Sampson's epic novel 'Awaydays' describes in detail the early Casuals fascination with the wedge, with characters like Elvis even dyeing his wedge purple. The famous flick gave the Casuals a unique look, and when teamed up with the latest sportswear from Lacoste, Fila & Sergio Tacchini it was just like nothing before it. The stereotypical 'bovver boy' look of the terraces had been replaced with a women's haircut and sportswear worn by playboys & elite tennis stars. Also adopted by Manchester's Perry Boys & London's Soul Boys, the wedge quickly became the haircut of choice for 80s youth, just like David Beckham's Bryclreemed curtains did in the 90s.
Above: A group of 80s Casuals sporting the classic wedge haircut.
Just like any other style or trend, the wedge would start to "fade" during the mid to late 80s. Rave culture started to sweep the nation replacing 80s cuts with longer "hippy" styles as seen on the likes of Shaun Ryder & Ian Brown. The wedge's significance to the Casual scene is like nothing else. As far as classic haircuts go they don't really get much more "casual" than the wedge. The little flick let others know you were a die hard dresser and as ageing Casuals from the original 80s era probably wish now they had more hair, the wedge will go down in history as one of the greatest haircuts of all time.