We first see Tommy and Tuppence when they bump into each other at the entrance to the Dover Street Tube. Agatha Christie describes Tuppence as “elfin” with “black bobbed hair,” a look that was extremely popular in 1922 when the book was published.

While women still get their hair cut into a “bob” today, it was an act of some rebellion in the 1920s. Long hair was considered a woman’s “crowning glory,” which is a reference to a letter from Paul in the Bible’s New Testament. Supposedly, some barbers at the time refused to cut women’s hair because they found the concept so appalling.

Short hair on women became more common during World War I. Women at home were doing men’s work while the soldiers were overseas and shorter hair was not only easier to care for, but a safer option for many jobs. The “bob” trend may have started even earlier, however, depending on which narrative you find more likely.

Some say the fashion was launched by a Parisian barber, while other say it was dancer Irene Castle who initiated the style. If Irene wasn’t the originator, she was certainly a major influencer, so I prefer her story.

American Irene Foote was an amateur dancer who met Vernon Castle, an English actor, in 1910. He helped further her career and the two married the following year. The Castles traveled to Paris as one of the acts in a revue, and when that show folded, they were hired as exhibition dancers at the Café de Paris. Their stylish renditions of ragtime dances were a huge success, and they rode their popularity back to the U.S.

The Castles performed in vaudeville and in films, as well as for private parties. They opened a dance school, a restaurant, and a nightclub. Irene and Vernon embraced music’s development from ragtime to jazz, dancing on Broadway and working with bandleaders such as James Reese Europe and his Society Orchestra.

Some sources say Irene chose to cut her hair short when facing surgery, thinking it would be easier to care for during a long recovery. Or maybe it was because of her busy performance schedule. Either way, she was wearing her iconic bob by 1914, the same year that Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, the impetus that pushed European conflict into world war.

While Vernon had left England in 1906 to pursue his career, he eagerly responded to his homeland’s call to arms. He trained in the U.S. and then joined the Royal Flying Corps. Vernon flew hundreds of missions, earning a medal and a promotion. Toward the end of the war, Vernon was stationed in Texas, instructing other pilots. During one training flight, a maneuver Vernon took to avoid a collision caused his plane to stall and crash. The thirty-year-old was the only fatality.

Irene continued her career as a solo act into the 1920s. She married three more times; the second marriage was just a few months after Vernon’s death and ended in divorce in 1923. Her third marriage took place later that year and ended when she was widowed in 1944. Two children were born to Irene during this third relationship, and she retired from the stage, although she continued to be a popular figure.

In 1946, she married George Enzinger, a Chicagoan who was the founder and first owner of the Blackhawks hockey team. It is said that Irene designed the players’ original uniform sweater.

If you are interested in learning more, you can find clips from Irene and Vernon’s movies online and there is a movie called The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. James Reese Europe’s history and his contribution to American music is also quite interesting.

The definition of “bob,” by the way, has a murky background. It means a “quick, short movement,” which doesn’t directly refer to cutting, but has been used to describe the trimming of horse tails since at least the 1800s. Many of us have grown up with the “bells on bob-tail” ringing at Christmas time or the “bob-tailed nag” from the “Camptown Races” song.

The etymology of “the cat’s pyjamas” is even less clear. One story says that King George III preferred silk sleepwear made by a tailor named E.B. Katz. There are other possible origins of the phrase, but this one, whether true or not, seems to be the most popular. And, as Irene Castle knew, popularity can be very powerful.  

Photo of Vernon Castle and Irene
No known restrictions on publication.