Where No Hair Has Gone Before

Inspired by Ask The Cool Cookie's recent invitation for us to join his new venture, The Hair Hall of Fame, we present for your enjoyment our absolute favorite hairhopper look: mid-late period Jayne Mansfield.


Specifically, we're speaking of 1964-1966 Jayne, a period in which she was still clinging to the vestiges of mainstream stardom (touring in stock companies of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Bus Stop, and still making appearances on major television programs like What's My Line? and The Tonight Show) while slipping precipitously down the rabbit hole of Primitive Love (1964) and Las Vegas Hillbillys (1966). This yin-and-yang was reflected in her coiffure choices: her favored look of bangs, and a sideswept bouffant fall (sometimes with a variation on the ponytail switch) was more avant-garde than her classic bombshell look of the 1950's and early 1960's; began taking embryonic form around 1962-3; and was not yet quite as tattered as her look from her final year on this mortal coil. Jayne, vintage 1967, is not for the faint-hearted.

Classic JAYNE MANSFIELD, and as close to classy as she got.

Circa 1962: the beginnings of the bouffant glory to come.

JAYNE '67: Tangerine Dream, or Neon Nightmare?

Jayne's 1964-66 look often incorporated bows, one of her favorite hair accessories:

And, for a swank gig at New York's Latin Quarter, simple, classic pearls made an appearance:


I guess that's the mark of a big ol' 'mo: instead of being fascinated by Jayne Mansfield's boobs, we're utterly obsessed with her hair. We live to love it, and her, more each day.