The Crew Cut is one of the most popular haircuts to get in the United States. It's safe, mainstream, and accepted in most workplaces. When you go to your barber and say "I want it short on the sides and a little bit on the top" they will give you a crew cut. It's what you've seen people on TV with, maybe your relatives have this haircut, and it's what you know.
This haircut mandated by the US Military of course. During World War 1 US Naval commanders were impressed by the German hairstyles, and mandated it for the US Navy in years to come for it's simplistic maintenance and hygienic advantages living in close quarters on a battleship in the 20's and 30's. the name "crew" was derived because of the popularity of Ivy League Rowing crews wearing this hairstyle which which led to it's mainstream origins to regular civilians outside of the military. Once World War 2 ended, the crew cut was associated with American power and success, and became the mainstream haircut. It was not adopted during the 50's in Europe for that exact reason, it was a very American looking style haircut.
Today there are variations of this cut that are adding individuality and minor differences that can separate you from the guy in the other cubical, but you won't get that treatment at a chain barbershop or salon. You'll have to find a barber or hairstylist in your area that adds their own stamp on haircuts and like to play with classic cuts like this. It all depends on what you're going for. Here is a modern take on the crew cut.
1 comment
Being a Black man, I’ve always been fascinated seeing the Anglo, Latino, or modern Asian hair style cut close like this. When I was in a Lutheran elementary school, back in the 50s/60s, it was a standard for many guys and I used to wonder how they got their hair to ‘spike’ like that on the top of their heads. (A few even allowed me to pat their heads to feel that scrub brush like texture). Then one year, after we all returned from Summer vacation, the older brother of one of my friends, started sporting “Side-winders” hair-do. No side burns and no duck tail. Mind you, we were in a parochial school. Had to keep your hair above the collars. But thats when I started to envy the White Man’s hair. There were a few attempts to transfer this style to Black men and boys as well. (That is, to have back, sides kept short and tamed on top). But we never got to that spikey look.