Men’s indie hairstyle examples

Dubbing this the ‘Brit’ rock hairstyle for 2011 / 2012 may seem to unfairly weight it as appealing to only a certain type of guy. And it really shouldn’t. While it’s not a fringed men’s hairstyle that is going to work for everyone, neither is it a hair style that’s only going to work for the British male. Or rockers. It just so happens that British bands and British fashion labels Burberry Prorsum have done more to popularise this fringed hairstyle than anybody else; the latter so much so that if you took the musicians out of the equation you could almost call this autumn 2011/ spring 2012‘s Burberry hairstyle.

This interpretation is short on the sides and more clean cut. It’s likely that this would be cut with scissors over a comb, but it wouldn’t be uncommon for your hair dresser to use clippers. They real key to this interpretation of the style is that the length throughout the top is blended into the shorter sides. In styling it, the fringe can be treated as a separate part: it can be left longer or cut differently, preferably sliced to give it more texture and to prevent it from being too heavy and thus sitting flat. Like the interpretation above, this is another great cut if you’ve got thick hair that is likely to sit up and make your head look large.

This mopped interpretation of the hairstyle is one you might consider a modern update on the Beatles. It features a swept fringe with length kept on sides and works best for guys with straight hair. This style can be cut quite uniformed or cut square on the sides to heighten the sense of masculinity. Given it’s for straight hair you need to have irregular lengths throughout to create texture and take out weight, without that it will be too blunt. Your hairdresser will be able to slice or deep-point cut to create the irregular lengths. If you’re looking for examples off of the catwalk we could recommend any number of British indie bands. In fact, if one looks to the bands coming forth from British Isles it would appear that some governmental edict has been issued dictating precisely what indie hairstyles are allowed and which are not. Agreeing with said imaginary edict are the likes of The Kooks, The Horrors, the Arctic Monkeys, The View, and the Klaxons. So there you have it: this the hairstyle for you if you like or you play in a band whose moniker requires a ‘The’.
Prior to 2011 / 2012 we saw Bottega Veneta feature the men’s fringe on the catwalk, something that has left us with two clear examples of a do and don’t for this year and next. In the photo below the left is the do and the right is the don’t. The left is a do because it sets clean-cut sides against a purposefully disheveled top. The right is a don’t as it’s just too neat, too school boy, too devoid of attitude. In short: to nail the modern men’s fringe it’s best to avoid the straight, side swept fringe and ensure that it’s instead worn with plenty of texture.

While the above picture serves as a do and a don’t, the following serves solely as a don’t for the hairstyle as it’s evolved. Commit this to memory: the men’s fringe shouldn’t be worn with a wet finish in 2011 / 2012. A healthy shine is okay, wet is not.

The hair cut.

For most guys the length and cut of their existing hair style isn’t going to be suited to the Brit rock hairstyle – you might be able to experiment with it, but to get it perfect it’s going to take a trip to a hair dresser / hair stylist. Here’s how you get the hair cut.

1. Understand what you want

   As you can see  in the photos above, there’s more than one way to interpret this forward men’s swept hairstyle. Slick, messy, short, neat, rugged, relaxed. We could go on. But with so many options, ensure that you have a clear sense of the particular interpretation of this hairstyle (or a small selection of styles) that appeals to you. The two things that you should consider in advance is the length of the fringe that you want, and whether or not you want a neat interpretation of the hairstyle. The descriptions that go with each of the pictures above should also give you a pretty clear idea of any other attributes you may want.

2. Converse

   Once you know what you want, make sure that you can communicate it to your hair dresser. And make sure they listen. Explain to them what you like about the Brit rock hairstyle, what you don’t like, and what you’re ambivalent about. Doing so will allow them to tailor an interpretation of it that suits your particular face shape and lifestyle. It’ll also allow them to create a one-off interpretation that you’re happy with.
   Don’t be afraid to save the pictures in this ‘hair how to’ and take them with you. If you can’t print them out, put them on your smart phone. The majority of men don’t explain themselves all that well when they visit the hairdresser – if you’re one of them, let a picture do the talking for you.

3. Be informed

   Once your hair cut is done and dusted pay careful attention to the way it’s styled. If you’re not sure about any of the styling steps, ask – you want to know that once you leave the salon you can recreate the look yourself. Things that you want to be sure about are the right product to use, the way you dry your hair after it’s been washed, and the way you move your hands through it to place product.
   A good hairdresser will automatically explain all of this, but if they dont you have every right to ask – you’re paying for it to look good even once you’ve left the salon.