Pompadour (hairstyle)

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Porter Wagoner was famous for his blonde pompadour hairstyle.
Porter Wagoner was famous for his blonde pompadour hairstyle.

Pompadour is a style of haircut which takes its name from Madame de Pompadour.

The pompadour was a fashion trend in the 1950s among male rockabilly artists and actors like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Little Richard, Marlon Brando (The Wild One) and James Dean (Rebel Without a Cause). In the late twentieth century, rockabilly revival musicians such as The Stray Cats with Brian Setzer, The Pole Cats, The Rockats and other musicians in the punk scene such as Pretenders bassist Pete Farndon, members of the band The Clash and Social Distortion were known for wearing this style at times. Morrissey, formerly of the band The Smiths, has also worn a pompadour hair style throughout his career. Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis has had a pompadour for most of his adult life. The pompadour was also an integral part of the image of 1980s pop star Rick Astley.

There are also Latin variants of the hair style more associated with European and Argentine tango fashion trends and occasionally with late twentieth century musical genres such rockabilly and country.

In recent years the pompadour hair style has also been adopted by those enamoured with vintage culture of the late 50s and early 1960s that includes antique cars, hot rods, American folk music, rockabilly bands, and Elvis Presley. The pompadour is the trademark hairstyle for Latin superstar Luis Miguel. Talk show host Conan O'Brien is also famous for his hybrid (half pompadour, half comb over) version. In 1981, new wave group Devo wore black plastic pompadour hairstyles with their costumes.

In the 'HBO' (Home Box Office) series The Sopranos, character Silvio Dante, played by American actor and musician Steven Van Zandt, has worn a customized pompadour hairpiece in all 6 seasons since the show's inception.

This style has become popular among Italian-Americans and the "goombah" or "Guido" subculture. Many Mexican-American in the "Cholo" subculture also sport pompadours.

In modern Japanese popular culture, the pompadour is a stereotypical hairstyle often worn by gang members, thugs, members of the yakuza and its junior counterpart bōsōzoku, and other similar groups such as the yankii (high-school hoodlums). In Japan the style is known as the "Regent" hairstyle, and is often caricatured in various forms of entertainment media such as anime, manga, television, and music videos. The musical group Kishidan is known for their large "Regent" hairstyles.

[edit] Creation

A pompadour is often created by combing the sides of the hair back, while fanning the top of the hair forward and curling over itself. There are numerous ways to sculpt a pompadour. Some only curl the front few inches of their hair up, while others comb their hair back and use their hands to "push" it into its desired place. Occasionally hair is kept relatively short and cut into the desired look, and pompadours are created through standing the hair straight up, retaining a "spiked" quality. Variations on exact style vary from a straight front to a more rounded and organic look. The quiff also exists. Step-by-step instructions for making a pompadour.

For women, the hairstyle has become marginally popular again in the first few years of the twenty-first century. It can be created by ratting at the roots of the hair on the sides of the pompadour towards the top of the head. Then the hair is combed up and over the ratted hair, off the forehead, the front up in a curl straight back, and the sides pulled back towards the center.

In Japan, there is the Punch perm which appears to combine elements of the flattop hairstyle and the traditional pompadour. This hairstyle is stereotypically worn by shady members of society such as the yakuza, bōsōzoku and chinpira (street thugs).

In the Psychobilly subculture, the pompadour is slightly modified to form the Psychobilly Wedge. The Psychobilly Wedge (sometimes known as the 'Vamp Ramp') is a hairstyle worn by Psychobilly fans and musicians (Kim Nekroman frontman of Nekromantix for example). The Psychobilly Wedge is a sort of mix between a mohawk hairstyle and the pompadour, where the hair along the side of the head is shaved and the middle isn't spiked but slicked back and stood up like a pompadour.

Often many hair-care products are employed in the creation of a pompadour. Commonly seen are wax and gel pomades, held in high regard for their durability. Sometimes they are created solely with the use of hair spray, hair gel, or even glue.

[edit] References

Definition

Rockabilly connection

Setzer connection (many more available on Web)

Examples of nonrockabilly male musicians with pompadours

Tango and Latin connection