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View Full Version : where did the term classic length originate from?



vdhendrix
August 25th, 2010, 04:42 AM
does anyone know where the term "classic length" originated from?

bumblebums
August 25th, 2010, 04:57 AM
Don't know, but I've wondered about this, too.

constantki
August 25th, 2010, 05:14 AM
That's a very interesting question. My grandmother (who has never been on lhc) knows the term, so it is probably not a new one. My guess is that it may just be that classic is terminal for a lot of people, so in earlier times, when people cut their hair less often, classic length was the most common length.
And the fact that it uses the term "classic" points to Greek and Roman societies, but I don't think they are particularly remembered for long hair..
So my answer is I don't know, but other than that, "Under Buttocks Length" is not exactly appealing. . .

Phexlyn
August 25th, 2010, 07:36 AM
I found an old thread discussing the same question, but there's no definite answer in that either...

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?p=181424

ETA: Here's another one :)
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=17605

eezepeeze
August 25th, 2010, 08:22 AM
I don't know for sure, but my personal opinion is that it comes from "the classics", like literature, fairy tales, etc. Like a princess in a Grimms fairy tale would have had classic princess hair. Just my humble opinion, for what it's worth.

Anje
August 25th, 2010, 08:31 AM
I suspect it was coined by George Michael, though I don't have any evidence of that.

christine1989
August 27th, 2010, 02:41 AM
I have been wondering about this for years. I have always assumed it referred to the popular hair length of the classic period. It seems like many women in "classic" era paintings also have "classic" length hair.

jackiesjottings
August 27th, 2010, 03:49 AM
Another one who has often wondered. I only heard the term for the first time through the long hair community on LJ so had no idea my hair was classic before I cut it in 1995

RadiantNeedle
August 27th, 2010, 04:12 AM
Hmm, that's a tricky one. Sure, Classicism in art often portrayed women with the length hair we refer to as 'classic', but a lot of the themes required their hair to be bound up in Greek or Roman styles. The long styles were normally depictions of more Northern European and Celtic myths and legends and idylls.

In truth Classicism was a dominating force in the arts and philosophy over several centuries, fashion changing throughout. There's not necessarily one hair length in either the art or the fashion of the times that is universal, at least not to my knowledge. But there could be!

Maybe it has more to do with the definition of the word classic? At least, one of them, that being 'standard'. If its quite an old term, say around the turn of the 20th century when the western standard was for women to have very long hair they wore up, then this would fit?

This is a very interesting question.

Igor
August 27th, 2010, 07:00 AM
I once read the explanation that it has to do with the golden ratio (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio) and that makes it the most visually pleasing length which is why it’s so prominent in art

bumblebums
August 27th, 2010, 07:04 AM
Okay, for the sake of thorough research, I looked up "classic" in the Oxford English Dictionary. It does not document this usage--in fact, no mention of hair at all. I am guessing it is a fairly recent coinage and is still quite obscure.

TammySue
August 27th, 2010, 07:32 AM
I suspect it was coined by George Michael, though I don't have any evidence of that.

I don't believe so. I have his book and in it he refers to this length as "buttock length."