Origin of beehive hairstyle, B52-The Beehive is a woman's hairstyle that resembles a beehive; it is also known as the B-52, for its similarity to the bulbous nose of the B-52 Stratofortress bomber. It originated as one of a variety of elaborately teased and lacquered versions of "big hair" that developed from earlier pageboy and bouffant styles. It was developed in 1960 by Margaret Vinci Heldt of Elmhurst, Illinois, owner of the Margaret Vinci Coiffures in downtown Chicago, who won the National Coiffure Championship in 1954, and who had been asked by the editors of Modern Beauty Salon magazine to design a new hairstyle that would reflect the coming decade. She originally modelled it on a fez-like hat that she owned. In recognition of her achievement, Cosmetologists Chicago, a trade association with 60,000 members, created a
scholarship in Heldt’s name for creativity in hairdressing. The beehive style was popular throughout the 1960s, particularly in the United States and other Western countries, and remains an enduring symbol of 1960s kitsch. The popular "girl" group, The Ronettes, helped popularize the hairdo.
"We came from Spanish Harlem", recalls the group's veteran lead singer, Veronica "Ronnie" Spector, in a Village Voice interview. " 'We had high hair anyway.' So the Ronettes made their hair still higher—'We used a lot of Aqua Net' ". Audrey Hepburn's character in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) sported a large then-fashionable beehive. Yeoman Janice Rand, from the original 1960s Star Trek TV series, wore a complex, "futuristic" version of a beehive. In the Flintstones episode "Fred's New Boss" (season three), Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble get their hair done in gigantic, elaborate beehives at a salon, and the pair drive their car very slowly to protect their hairdos. Unfortunately, their 'dos are destroyed after a fast-moving dinosaur vehicle passes by and blows them down. '60s singing icon, Dusty Springfield, was known for her trademark beehive and panda eyes look.
The character Flo, a waitress in Martin Sorsese's 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, played by Diane Ladd, wore her hair in a beehive; the 1976 television show based on the film, Alice carried the Flo character (now played by Polly Holliday) over from the film, and she likewise wore her hair in a beehive. The B-52's, a New Wave rock band took their name from the hairstyle which was worn by members Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson. Their music company also plays on the style with the name "Boo-Fant" Records (a parody of bouffant). Many of entertainer Dolly Parton's hairstyles during the 1970s and 1980s (many of which were wigs) were beehive styles. Gary Larson's "The Far Side" series features women who almost exclusively wear the beehive.
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