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A swinging, anecdotal biography of the internationally, famous hairdresser — or crimper, as they are called in London — that tells in delightful fashion how he became one of the most in-demand hairstylists in the world.
Sassoon, who originated some of the modest of mod hairstyles, is patronized by celebrated women (and some men, too) of society, stage, and screen on two continents. In 1967, he was paid $5,000 to fly from London to Hollywood just to cut Mia Farrow’s hair!
Vidal Sassoon was pushed, with great reluctance, into the hairdressing business by his mother, who insisted that he learn a trade. (He was fourteen years old.) He decided that if he were stuck with it, he’d better do it well. He picked up new techniques, taught in the evenings — and was hit by the startlingly original idea that the new, starker fashions needed swinging hairstyles to complement them. While Mary Quant was opening Bazaar in the King’s Road, Vidal’s two third-floor rooms in Bond Street, so poky that the clients often had to wait on the stairs, saw a revolution equally exciting. Georgia Brown was his first client, and Margaret Leighton, Dorothy Turin, Jill Bennett, Fennella Fielding, Diane Cilento, Claire Bloom, and Adrienne Corri were among the earliest to discover him.
In 1963 he devised a completely new style of cutting — the short back, long sides. It was an instant success. The publicity spread through magazines all over the world. Then came a scintillating stream of new ideas — the geometric cut, the “one-eyed girl,“ the asymmetric, the square curls, the Greek goddess. The boy who didn’t want to be a crimper had rocked to the top of his profession.
The book is rich in behind the scenes lore of the hairdresser’s world (with financial details), also rollicking anecdotes — some quite outrageous — of female behavior in the haircutter’s hands.
This is a story For every woman who feels herself part of the swinging scene of today; it is a diverting success, story of interest and value to professional hairdressers as well.
Sassoon, who originated some of the modest of mod hairstyles, is patronized by celebrated women (and some men, too) of society, stage, and screen on two continents. In 1967, he was paid $5,000 to fly from London to Hollywood just to cut Mia Farrow’s hair!
Vidal Sassoon was pushed, with great reluctance, into the hairdressing business by his mother, who insisted that he learn a trade. (He was fourteen years old.) He decided that if he were stuck with it, he’d better do it well. He picked up new techniques, taught in the evenings — and was hit by the startlingly original idea that the new, starker fashions needed swinging hairstyles to complement them. While Mary Quant was opening Bazaar in the King’s Road, Vidal’s two third-floor rooms in Bond Street, so poky that the clients often had to wait on the stairs, saw a revolution equally exciting. Georgia Brown was his first client, and Margaret Leighton, Dorothy Turin, Jill Bennett, Fennella Fielding, Diane Cilento, Claire Bloom, and Adrienne Corri were among the earliest to discover him.
In 1963 he devised a completely new style of cutting — the short back, long sides. It was an instant success. The publicity spread through magazines all over the world. Then came a scintillating stream of new ideas — the geometric cut, the “one-eyed girl,“ the asymmetric, the square curls, the Greek goddess. The boy who didn’t want to be a crimper had rocked to the top of his profession.
The book is rich in behind the scenes lore of the hairdresser’s world (with financial details), also rollicking anecdotes — some quite outrageous — of female behavior in the haircutter’s hands.
This is a story For every woman who feels herself part of the swinging scene of today; it is a diverting success, story of interest and value to professional hairdressers as well.
- GenresBiography Memoir
204 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1968
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 17, 2025
I think I heard about this book from the legendary Simon Doonan, and I had an alert on Abebooks to email me when an edition became available under $50, because this was very hard to find. My copy, torn dust jacket (now safely protected) notwithstanding, looks as if it’s never been read.
A time capsule look at the life of the innovative hair genius as he began to expand his empire. At this writing, he had but two salons in London, one in New York, and was on wife number two. He wrote a second volume in the 2010s, but this one, with its mod photos, is really the fun one, wouldn’t you think?
A time capsule look at the life of the innovative hair genius as he began to expand his empire. At this writing, he had but two salons in London, one in New York, and was on wife number two. He wrote a second volume in the 2010s, but this one, with its mod photos, is really the fun one, wouldn’t you think?
August 27, 2013
Non-fiction. As a child, I was always memorized by the hair models on the Vidal Sassoon shampoo commercials. Their hair was so smooth and straight! Didn't realize there was a man behind the product! The title of the book is perfect - very clever! He is from London and wrote the book in 1967.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews