"Let it fly in the breeze and get caught in the trees..."

[swordznsorcery]

What happened in the 1980s, exactly? Was it something to do with the air pollution? Some freak event in around 1981, that changed atmospheric conditions? Because at some point in the early 1980s, hair grew. And I don't just mean that it grew longer - the 70s were filled with long hair after all. I mean that it grew. In every conceivable dimension. Maybe it was all those aerosols that people used to use, reaching peak saturation levels prior to their removal from sale? I've been watching Remington Steele recently (I may have mentioned that here and there), and the hair is a constant source of fascination. Not the stars, so much. Pierce Brosnan is a bit of a hairspray disaster area to begin with, although fortunately he soon gets liberated, but Stephanie Zimbalist always has very sensible hair (as you'd expect from Laura Holt). But the guest cast...

Here's Cassie Brosnan as Anna Simpson, one of Steele's former dodgy associates:



I would never say a word against Cassie, but blimey! Usually she plays Felicia, who's altogether more sensible in the hair department (well - usually), but Anna appears to be going for the alarmingly-blow-dried-spaniel look.

And then here's Shannon Wilson as raunchy novelist Charlotte Knight:



Her curls have curls. And her curls' curls have curls. Did she stick her fingers in an electrical socket? Does she have some sort of alien being on her head? This may be the case, as she seems to be trying to conceal it under a hat.

And here's Rebecca Holden as wannabe crusading reporter Windsor Thomas:



Her hair is the biggest so far. It just seems to explode out of her head in every direction. She accompanies it with some gloriously eighties jewellery, just in case there might be any doubt as to which decade she's living in.

I am agog. I know that I managed to live through the eighties without my hair growing to catastrophic proportions, so possibly it was just an American thing? Something related to the LA smog? A side-effect of all the chemicals in Hershey's 'chocolate'?

I await further examples of the phenomenon with breath suitably bated. But not baited, 'cause that would be weird.

Comments

[kis]

My theory is that it was largely a by-product of Thatcherism. Everyone got all thrusting and business-minded and started donning Power Suits - especially ones with padded shoulders. People needed something to balance the wide shoulders so they floofed up their hair.

[swordznsorcery]

That's actually a very reasonable hypothesis. Substituting Reaganism in the States, I guess. Power was quite the thing in the eighties, and the hair does certainly match all those big shoulders.