ABSTRACT
The Belle Epoque represented the height of fashion during 1969. Also known as the Char or "Oscar's hairdo", the style epitomized a sort of graceful neglect in hair care. A woman could acquire the look via the following treatment: The front is pulled loosely up and back into a topknot. Underneath, along with the remainder of the hair, can generally be found several ounces of wool twine or a nylon mesh cushion, the better to swell the structure to second-hand proportions. Hanging down at strategic intervals, are separate, curling tendrils of hair. The whole thing may look like the work of a bird who flunked building. The style originated in France where Parisian hairdresser Christophe Carite contrived an early variant in mid-1968. Others credited actress Brigitte Bardot with popularizing it some years earlier in her films. From there, the look was taken up by a string of style-setting clients such as Princess Grace of Monaco and Vicomtesse Jacqueline de Ribes.
