{"id":12103,"date":"2020-11-05T18:42:35","date_gmt":"2020-11-05T23:42:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prose.com\/?p=12103"},"modified":"2025-06-24T15:18:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T19:18:58","slug":"mullet-through-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prose.com\/blog\/mullet-through-history","title":{"rendered":"Calendarizing the Always Iconic Mullet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ben was actually just bald on top, though his \u201cclass rebellion\u201d sentiments were on brand. Bono? Well, Bono doesn\u2019t know why he rocked a frosted mullet. He said, \u201cI have an erase button on the mullet hairdo. Many lay claim to the mullet. I\u2019m trying to think of the guy who invented it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m sure a lot of what the unlikely pair represent are two of the most classic associations with the great hairstyle, depending on who you ask: rebellion or mistake. Whichever way you shake it, the mullet is more than just a haircut. More than just cheap beer and Def Leppard. It\u2019s weird and winding history is also cultural history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term mullet was coined by the Beastie Boys in their 1994 song “Mullet Head.” The style transcends terms, though. It\u2019s been called \u201cKentucky Waterfall,\u201d \u201cThe Mississippi Mudflap,\u201d \u201cHockey Hair.\u201d And I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard the phrase \u201cbusiness in the front, party in the back.\u201d So, who did popularize the style? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The consensus is none other than pop-legend David Bowie, whose iconic orange mullet not only shook up the hair world, but set the stage for punk rockers to challenge gender norms. With his Ziggy Stardust persona, Bowie heralded in a new era. It was one dominated by white men with some exceptions. Yes, it\u2019s true\u2013even in the 80\u2019s the mullet had not realized it\u2019s full cultural potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite that, I\u2019m not mad at the men who rocked it. Billy Ray Cyrus gets the top of the list because he\u2019s been loyal his entire life<\/i>. John Stamos, tennis star Andre Agassi, Mario Lopez, Rob Lowe, the entire cast of Lost Boys, and of course, Patrick Swayze.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Jane Fonda\u2019s 70\u2019s mullet to Scarlett Johansen in 2003, women have been rocking mullets far outside of the trendy times of the 80\u2019s. For early punk rock girls like Joan Jett and Cher, the mullet was a way of rejecting outdated ideas of femininity. I could write an entire book celebrating the female mullet and it\u2019s a part of queer history as well. In the documentary American Mullet<\/i><\/a>, by Jennifer Arnold, one subject says, ” I absolutely think [the mullet is] a lesbian haircut because it\u2019s always my hair that gives me away. It\u2019s the dyke cut, the lesbian cut, it\u2019s butch.\u201d Black icons have also made the style their own. Miles Davis, Barry White, Eddie Murphy, Lionel Richie and even Kanye West. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As time went on and the 90\u2019s began, celebrities stopped rocking mullets and the style became associated with uneducated, low income white men. Ridiculed by the public eye as trashy and vulgar, the mullet was forced to go underground\u2014a long fall from such high heads. Through the early 2000\u2019s the mullet made random appearances. And then, a light in the distance. Rihanna rocks a mullet at NYFW in 2013! BUT WAIT\u2013headlines hate it. For the next five years mullets make more sporadic appearances. Zendaya wears a mullet at the 2016 Grammys, Vigil Abloh styles his runway with them in 2017, and then…2018 hits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s some movement in the scene. Cowboy boots are everywhere and what\u2019s this? People are getting mullets again! September 2018, Vogue marks the mullet as \u201cstreet style\u2019s unlikely new star,\u201d solidifying its re-entry into popular culture. This time the resurgence of the mullet is not triggered by an onslaught of celebrity and media validation, but a bunch of New York art and fashion kids who realized, \u201cHey this is actually kinda cool.\u201d <\/i> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suddenly, the pages of magazines are filled with mullets. Hair salons soon catch up as well. Salons like Shizen<\/a> and Vacancy Project<\/a> specialize in mullets and the many iterations that have developed like the step mullet, and the shag mullet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like any other trend, the snobby kids who started it now look down on the late bloomers, except this time it\u2019s not because they think they look poor, but that they\u2019re unoriginal. \u201cThe Bushwick mullet\u201d is a term used to describe the kind of Brooklyn art school student who cut a mullet because it was, literally, in vogue. <\/i>Thankfully, that hasn\u2019t stopped anyone and it definitely didn\u2019t stop me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a typical Tuesday night and I was halfway through a bottle of red. Cutting bangs had lost its edge and as I peered into the mirror looking more \u201cbasic\u201d than I felt inside, I turned to my friend and told her, \u201cgive me a mullet.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she was done, I felt like I looked how I was meant to. Apparently the way I was meant to look was pretty shabby. A professional hair stylist from Shizen approached me at a fashion party, and practically begged me to let him fix it! Under his vision, I went from brown mullet, to pink mullet, to blonde mullet. After a year, it turned out I wasn\u2019t meant to look like that forever. Maybe I was just another Bushwick trend hopper?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, while the rage has tapered out a bit and my hair is long again, the mullet remains. That\u2019s because the mullet doesn\u2019t care about celebrities, class associations, or trendy hipsters. Now, the mullet is limitless. All the glorious fashion from decades\u2019 past has blended to create a new decade of rad. Free from shoulder pads and bike shorts, stylish kids are pairing mullets with everything from rhinestones and low rise jeans to cottage core billowy blouses. If there\u2019s any word to describe the glorious journey of the mullet in all its various decades, it\u2019s definitely \u201cfree.\u201d I know that\u2019s how it made me feel.<\/p>

 <\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>

Featured image photography courtesy of: Todd Midler<\/a><\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An old favorite.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":12151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[399,395],"tags":[260,479,258,259,257],"class_list":["post-12103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-haircuts","category-category-inspiration","tag-long","tag-new","tag-short","tag-shoulder","tag-very-short"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Rise of the Mullet |<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Love it or hate it, the mullet is back in a big way. 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