StoryInColor
1950s-1970s

Brigitte Bardot

The blueprint for French-girl beauty

Brigitte Bardot took the high-glamour Hollywood blonde of the early fifties and gave it the messy, undone French translation that still drives most beauty editorial today. Her thick fringe, voluminous bouffant, smoky eye, and pouty lip became the export-ready version of the French aesthetic that beauty brands still sell decades later. Her style sits at the centre of everything labelled French girl in modern publishing.

Face shape: Heart (see flattering cuts)

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Signature looks

  1. The Bardot bouffant

    Hair piled high at the crown with deliberate volume, then loosely cascading at the back. A messier, more deliberate undone version of the era's bouffants.

    Flatters an oval faceFlatters a heart-shaped face

  2. Thick blunt fringe with long lengths

    A heavy straight fringe at eyebrow level paired with long, loose, slightly tousled hair. The single most-copied hair look attributed to Bardot.

    Flatters an oval faceFlatters a long (oblong) face

  3. Tousled bedhead waves

    Long hair with soft waves and visible bedhead texture, parted in the centre or just off-centre. The casual version of her on-screen styling.

    Flatters a heart-shaped faceFlatters a square face

Fashion signatures

  • Off-the-shoulder gingham (Bardot neckline)
  • Capri pants with ballet flats
  • Boat-neck striped tops
  • Mini dresses with bare legs
  • Smoky eyeliner and pale pink lip

Why their style endures

Bardot's image was constructed and commodified to a degree few of her contemporaries matched, and the export of that image (the off-the-shoulder neckline now carries her name, the smoky eye, the thick fringe) shaped how French beauty has been sold internationally for sixty years. The hair signatures are still cut directly: the heavy fringe with long lengths is one of the most reliably requested salon references, and the modern shag-with-fringe is essentially a tighter version of her sixties shape.

Try Brigitte Bardot’s hair on your face

Hairstyle Analysis renders eight cuts directly onto a selfie of you, including the shapes Brigitte Bardot is most associated with. See which signature suits your features before any salon visit.

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$4.99 one-time, no subscription.

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