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  4. The Greatest Lobs Throughout History

The Greatest Lobs Throughout History

By InStyle Staff
Updated Aug 27, 2016 @ 2:00 pm
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Jean Harlow

Credit: ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images

In the late 1930s, Harlow allowed her signature bob to extend toward her shoulders, and styled the length in tight, defined ringlets.

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Vivien Leigh

Credit: Clarence Sinclair Bull/John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images

Oh, Scarlett—you grow lovelier by the day! While filming Gone With the Wind, Vivien Leigh's lob was styled into a half-updo, featuring a duo of victory rolls on either side of her head.

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Norma Shearer 

Credit: Getty Images

In her film The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Shearer gave her shoulder-length hair a center part with a series of sausage curls.

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Lupe Velez

Credit: Popperfoto/Getty Images

True to the trends of the 1940s, Velez set her crop in gorgeous, cascading pin curls. 

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Bette Davis

Credit: NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images

Sure, Bette Davis' signature stare got immortalized in song thanks to Kim Carnes' '80s single, but we figure the inward curl and choppy, side-swept bangs accenting her lob are worthy of their very own melody.

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Rita Hayworth

Credit: GAB Archive/Redferns

Hayworth's vibrant auburn featured a dramatic swoop at the bang area, creating a squared-off shape, and descended into structured waves.

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Dorothy Dandridge 

Credit: John D. Kisch/Separate Cinema Archive/Getty Images

Dandridge's style hit just below the nape of her neck, and got paired with short layers styled in soft, touchable curls. 

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Li Hua Li

Credit: Gaby/Getty Images

The varied texture of the actress's fringe complemented her shiny length. 

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Lesley Gore

Credit: David Redfern/Redferns

In perfect 1960s fashion, Lesley Gore's voluminous lob was accented by dramatic flipped-in ends.

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Lena Horne

Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Curled, above-the-brow fringe made for the perfect accent to Horne's smooth shoulder-length cut.

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Nancy Sinatra

Credit: GAB Archive/Redferns

Her boots were made for walking—and Nancy Sinatra's flipped-out crop made for some serious hair inspiration for women of the '60s.

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Dionne Warwick

Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

The singer's pitch-perfect 'do showcased the trendy flip of the era, and major height around the crown.

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Elizabeth Taylor

Credit: Popperfoto/Getty Images

Though Taylor wore over 20 wigs for her role in Cleopatra, this tiered lob with baby bangs was an especially regal look the Queen of the Nile would certainly approve of. 

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Jackie Kennedy

Credit: Rolls Press/Popperfoto/Getty Images

Reaching that perfect middle-ground between her chin and shoulders, who knew Jackie O's famed bouffant was decades ahead of the lob trend? 

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Sophia Loren

Credit: Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

Teamed with her signature winged liner, Sophia Loren's curled lob got an ultra-glam twist with a severe side part. 

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Nichelle Nichols

Credit: CBS via Getty Images

The Star Trek beauty styled her shoulder-level 'do with an inward curl, and some gravity-defying volume at the top.

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Diana Ross

Credit: Ron Ron Galella/WireImage

Diana Ross' lob was pure '70s glamour, with its subtle height, center part, and feathered curls.

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Debbie Harry

Credit: MiBrian McLaughlin/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

The original punk rock princess gave her shoulder-skimming layers a two-toned effect with choppy fringe.

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Tina Turner

Credit: Ron Galella/WireImage

Tina Turner's strands later reached new heights in the '80s, when crimped, teased hair became the trend of the moment, but before then, her collarbone-length cut got a sleek texture for the Grammy Awards.

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Farrah Fawcett 

Credit: Ron Galella/WireImage

Fawcett's feathered layers singlehandedly sparked the hair trend of the 1970s, but in '83, she swapped her trademark look for curly, below-the-chin layers.

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Karyn Parsons

Credit: Joseph Del Valle/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images

More often than not, Karyn Parsons—a.k.a. the fresh princess of Bel-Air, Hilary Banks—wore her natural curls at a lob length accented by a trendy, obviously designer, hat.

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Tiffani Thiessen

Credit: Ron Galella/WireImage

After graduating from Bayside High, Kelly Kapowski Tiffani Thiessen celebrated her move off to Beverly Hills 90210—and bad gal on-screen persona Valerie—with a brand new 'do.

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Drew Barrymore

Credit: The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Barrymore's '90s-era lob got a bold auburn tint with a trendy outward curl.

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Uma Thurman

Credit: Pressefoto Kindermann/ullstein bild via Getty Images

As the stylish Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction, Uma Thurman's lengthy bob with airy bangs was the style that launched a thousand copycats. 

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Jennifer Aniston

Credit: NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images

The original "Rachel" crop classified as a shag, but in later seasons of Friends, Aniston grew her strands out into a soft layered look that hit just below the collarbone.

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Victoria Beckham

Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Long before she made the asymmetrical "Pob" cut a trend, Victoria Beckham's very posh cut was her signature look during her days in the Spice Girls.

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Britney Spears 

Credit: Dave Hogan/Getty Images

Almost all of the cool girls in the early '00s rocked a mid-level cut with contrasting blonde highlights, a la Britney Spears. 

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Lucy Liu

Credit: Gary Gershoff/WireImage

In the mid-aughts, Lucy Liu gave her lob a throwback twist with retro finger waves. 

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Jessica Alba 

Credit: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

Styles like Jessica Alba's marked the version of the lob that we know today, which featured leveled-out ends and longer layers all around. 

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Halle Berry 

Credit: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage

The side-swept long bangs and soft, tousled appearance of Halle Berry's lob gave off a cool, effortless vibe. 

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Lauren Conrad 

Credit: Brent N. Clarke/FilmMagic

The exact numbers escape us, but we're willing to bet that Lauren Conrad's Cali-girl lob, with its gradiated ombre effect, is one of the most popular #HairInspo pins on Pinterest.

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