Bardot Bangs Are Back: Here’s How to Master the 1960s-Inspired Trend

Is everyone getting Bardot bangs without me? Because it certainly seems like it.

In just the past week, not one, not two, but three timeless beauty icons—Selena Gomez, Lana Del Rey, and Julia Roberts to be specific—confirmed that full-frontal fringe is indeed in for spring.

And while I’m personally pleased, I’m not at all surprised. It’s the perfect time for full-frontal Bardot bangs to make their mainstream comeback. In fact, it’s the natural progression of things. (Nature is healing!)

Middle parts and sleek side tendrils, which pulled inspiration from early aughts style (think Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie in The Simple Life), have already had their retro moment. Meanwhile, swooped side bangs, like those literally everyone had in 2009, have been resurrected so many times it’s hard to keep count.

But the trademark mid-2010s, full-frontal fringe, popularized by Tumblr-era queens Alexa Chung, Zooey Deschanel, and Rashida Jones, had yet to have its full-fledged comeback. Until now.

Of course, even that era was influenced by an earlier time: that of 1960s mod style. Almost every major girl group of the time, such as The Supremes (hello, Diana Ross!), The Ronettes, Martha and the Vandellas, The Marvelettes, and more rocked full-frontal fringe.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Brigitte Bardot, Jane Birkin, and Anna Karina sported similar styles. And the French influence was and is remains strong: a Google search for “1960s bangs” almost exclusively produces images of the three French actors.

Thus it’s no surprise that Julia Roberts’s hairstylist, Serge Normant, tells Glamour that 1960s France influenced her recent bangs as well. Normant points to Parisian 1960s pop singer Françoise Hardy as the blueprint (which, same).

“For Julia’s bangs, I was going for the Françoise Hardy full, heavy bangs,” he says.

As for why bangs—and all the variations of them—never seem to go out of style?

“Bangs have always been a great way to change a hairstyle without fully committing to an all-new haircut,” Normant says. “You can keep the same length by just adding a more graphic touch and sophistication to your look.”