London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

The ‘Heartthrob’ Bob? Here’s What to Know About the ’90s Haircut Taking Over This Spring

The ‘Heartthrob’ Bob? Here’s What to Know About the ’90s Haircut Taking Over This Spring

Meet the ’90s heartthrob haircut, a nostalgia-stoking style that’s primed to be everywhere this spring.

Each year, spring invites meditations on renewal. And since hair is an agent of self-expression (one that’s ever growing and changing), a fresh chop can be particularly inspiring as the season turns. In this spirit, a recent upload on Instagram by hairstylist Mara Roszak stopped me in my scrolling tracks.

“The 90s heartthrob haircut,” read the caption of Roszak’s snap, which showed 25-year-old L.A.-based artist Mariah Krey with her cool blonde lengths sheared into a choppy, layered bob featuring close-cropped layers at the nape of the neck and then longer, cheekbone-sweeping ones at the front. “I’m drawn to the way the hair falls—it feels lived in,” says Krey. “I was going for that ease.”


Per the nostalgia-stoking name coined by Roszak, the references Krey brought to her appointment were Leonardo DiCaprio in Romeo + Juliet, Cameron Diaz in There’s Something About Mary, and Gwyneth Paltrow in Sliding Doors. “It brought me back to my adolescence in all the right ways,” says Roszak of the process, which found her assessing what version of the cut would work best on Krey’s natural texture. “In the ’90s, many of the boys had this cut—my first crush definitely did!” For Krey, her individualized crop transcends constructs. “I feel free with this cut,” she says, “free of expectations, free of perceptions, and free of conventional beauty standards. I can confidently be me without much thought or effort.”

As someone with 3B curls now feeling the urge to lop off a couple of inches myself, I wondered how a cut like this would suit more textured hair. I got my answer upon seeing Zazie Beetz’s latest look, a cheekbone-carving crop of ringlets. “Zazie has gorgeous hair on her own, but the fun of hair is that you can play with it, and we wanted to see her differently than we’ve ever seen her before,” explains her hairstylist Lacy Redway, who at the request of stylist Jessica Willis for a shoot, crafted a curly bob wig. “We wanted to keep the neckline really clean and have the sharp line of the bob mirror her jawline and accentuate the beautiful shape of her face.” Beetz went on to sport the look on the red carpet, styled fittingly ’90s with a crop top, body chains, and a choker necklace. “For textured girls, it’s nice to play with the shape before actually committing,” Redway notes. According to the pro, that could entail test-driving with a wig à la Beetz or pinning the underlayers of your hair to simulate a bob. If you like what you see, work with a hairstylist to execute your vision.

Beetz sporting her bob.


As demonstrated by the work of both pros, a ’90s-style bob is versatile. To make it natural and air-dried, Roszak uses her lightweight Rōz Santa Lucia styling oil to add shine and definition. To achieve a more wet-look approach, as demonstrated on Beetz, Redway preps hair with Tresemme 5-in-1 texture spray and adds the glossy effect with Dove’s Hair Therapy Brilliant Gloss and Repair. If ever there was a time to go for the chop, it’s this spring. “When the weather changes, [people crave] fresh beginnings,” insists Roszak. And Redway agrees: “You’re shedding the winter layers off of you,” she says. “It’s nice to get the hair off your shoulders and start new.” If all goes according to plan in cut and styling, get ready for your new look to be met with enthusiasm. “This has been my only haircut where I’ve been stopped and gassed up by a stranger on the street,” says Krey. “I can’t help but to blush when it happens!”


What you might find is that an androgynous ’90s bob will not only be transformative above the neck but below it too. For Krey, her relaxed, unfussy chop has also become inextricably linked to the evolution of her personal style. “It’s given me the permission to play with duality, exploring both my feminine and masculine side,” she says. Precut, she leaned into baggy, more shapeless silhouettes, but after she’s been drawn to her own sense of femininity. “It’s taken me a moment to figure out what that looks like since I can no longer rely on my hair to signal it for me,” she says. “But now I am finding myself gravitating toward tighter silhouettes, sheer fabrics, and more delicate lacy things. Even when I just throw on jeans and a white tank, it feels different.” Redway also appreciates the juxtaposition that this type of cut presents. “I love seeing genderfluidity cross over into the hair space and people being more free about how they wanna express themselves,” she says.

While nostalgia is a major factor at play in the current ’90s redux, Krey has found the easy authenticity of this cut to be its biggest allure. “There is such an obsession with ’90s looks, partly because there was such an effortless, laissez-faire vibe to them,” says Krey. “People weren’t really trying to be cool—it was just them.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
×