Long Hair With Layers: A Classic for a Reason
A classic look that never goes out of style.
Safe to say most of us have lived through the 1990s, when long hair with layers was the look du jour. It was very much a “thing;” The Rachel was clipped onto every notebook (this was the pre-screenshot era) and bookmarked for our hairstylists to emulate to the best of their ability. Never mind that layers might make our jaws more prominent, or our already thick hair left even heftier—we had to have that trendy, choppy, piecey haircut, practicality be damned.
Long Hair With Layers: A Classic Look
Such was the appeal of long hair with layers: It wasn’t so much how it looked on us more than how it made us feel when it first burst on to the scene—that is, cool and cosmopolitan. Spurning from an era where minimalism was key and blunt haircuts were the name of the game, getting your hair chopped off in seemingly haphazard angles was an act of rebellion, of knowing a thing or two about a thing or two. The fact that it looked particularly fetching matched with our scoop-neck tees and velvet chokers was an awesome bonus! And in true 1990s fashion, nothing came close to the texturizing prowess of Bed Head by TIGI Stick, which is a staple in our kits to this day for this very reason.
Nowadays, as people get more and more particular with the details of their look, long hair with layers has taken on many more interpretations. We have the more subtle varieties, where layers are sheared to chin level and blended to perfection. On the opposite end of the spectrum we have the more daring iterations, with layers so stark as to suggest even a long-haired mullet or shag.
The Bespoke Layered Look
Layers take a one-size-fits-all haircut and customize it to fit your face. It’s that extra piece of oomph that your stylist gives you to make your hairstyle uniquely your own, tailored to flatter your facial features perfectly. To summarize: We’ve certainly come a long way from the optimistic choppiness of The Rachel, and have refined how we want layers to fit on our hair, and therefore, our lives: Sexy in a subtle way, that also makes us stand out from the crowd. A tiny dollop of volumizing mousse, such as Dove Style+Care Volume Amplifier Mousse, helped give us that all-important boost before blow-drying too.
The latter is, ultimately, why a look that features long hair with layers will never completely leave our hair lexicon entirely—it’s one of the most adjustable, democratic looks out there, one that will always be a Plan B in case our first choice doesn’t work out. It’s a classic look that keeps on giving, ready to show us in our best possible light.
Have you ever tried sporting long hair with layers? Check out our other long-tressed looks for hair inspo.