The beehive: Rock Amy Winehouse’s Look With Celebrity Hair Pieces

A decade of bobs and beehives, the 60’s were known as the era of big hair. Fashion and hair trends in the 1960s were influenced by the working class, music and social movements, and hair stylists transformed styles to suit the Bouffant decade.

The woman behind the iconic beehive look, Margaret Vinci Heldt, was a Chicago-based hairdresser who was inspired by a hat she loved. She wanted to come up with a hairstyle that worked well with the shape of a fez-style hat for women and once she gained the stamp of approval from the Modern Beauty Salon, there was no holding this voluminous look back. Both Margaret and the editor of Modern Beauty Salon agreed that the style, originally inspired by a hat, was too gorgeous to hide underneath one and voila- the style emerged as the most popular look of the decade.

The increasing popularity of the pinup look made the hairstyle popular once again in the last decade. A poster child for the rockabilly trend, Amy Winehouse is the perfect representation of this style. She wears her hair big, makeup bold, and is inked with tattoos to revive the 60’s pinup look.

Of the many styles that can be achieved with the help of celebrity hair pieces, Amy Winehouse’s modern beehive brought back the hairstyle. The talented singer/songwriter wasn’t just known for her deep, contralto vocals, but is remembered for sporting the iconic 60’s hairstyle she wore so well.

Whether you’re a fan of the look or are interested in mastering the beehive as a Winehouse impersonator, we’re here to help. Regardless of how thin or short your hair maybe, celebrity hairpieces can help you rock Amy Winehouse’s look, with the help of a lot of hairspray of course.

Did you know?

• Amy Winehouse’s massive beehive measured 6.5 inches. Since she was only 5 feet 2 inches, the beehive sure did give the pop star some height.
• In 2008, Winehouse broke the record for the most Grammys won by a female artist from the United Kingdom in one night with 5 wins. However, Adele beat her with six grammy wins for Rolling in the Deep in 2012. Winehouse’s  album, Back to Black is still the ninth most honoured album by the Grammy Awards.
• The song that made Winehouse famous, Rehab, was written by accident. She said she “wrote it of the top of her head, I was joking.” She was talking to her producer Mark Ronson about how her friends kept trying to check her into rehab for alcohol abuse when she broke out into the first line of the song.
• Amy got her her first tattoo at 15, an image of Betty Boop, on her bottom. It may look like she’s covered in tattoos but she only had 11.
• Even in the bronze statue dedicated to the artist in Camden, London, Amy Winehouse rocks her famous beehive look with a red flower in her hair.

How to get the look:

Since the beehive requires an excessive amount of backcombing, which can damage your hair, the healthiest solution is to try the style with the help of a wig, hair extensions and of course celebrity hair pieces. Before you come in to consult about purchasing a celebrity hair piece that emulates Winehouse’s look, we’ve highlighted how you can try to achieve the look at home.

   What you’ll need:

• Bobby pins
• Hairbrush
• Comb
• Bobby pins
• A synthetic wig net or hair net that is similar to your natural hair color
• Hair extensions that are close to your natural hair color
• Hairspray

 

1.Brush through your natural hair. If you’ve got shorter hair, clip on your hair extensions and brush through. Both human hair or synthetic hair extensions will do the trick but just make sure they are as close to your natural hair colour has can be. Brush thoroughly to get rid of any tangles.

2.Part and separate half of your hair from the front (closest to your forehead) and use a clip or hair tie to set it aside and get it out of the way. Separate as much as you would if you were putting your hair half up half down.

3.Take your wig and fold it over on itself to make it round and  place it inside the hair net. Tuck it in neatly and make sure the end result is an oval-shaped hair piece.

4.Place the hairnet stuffed with hair at the crown of your head. Basically, this piece should be placed between the two sections of your hair that you’ve parted, right behind the part.

5.In order to hold the hair net and wig in place, use the bobby pins to secure the front, back and side of the hair piece. In order to safely secure the piece, use bobby pins wherever you feel any sort of looseness to ensure the piece is going to stay in place. The more bobby pins the better to keep it in place (You’d rather have too many than too little!)

6.Untie the front section of your hair and smooth it over the piece that you’ve attached. If you feel the need to backcomb to add volume, you only need to do so to the front section since the hair wig gives you the lift you need without having to backcomb all sections of your hair.

7.Once you’ve smoothed over your hair and backcombed the front section, use bobby pins to secure any loose hair strands in place.

8.Take sections from each side and pin them back to really highlight the shape of the beehive. Again, it can look similar to a half up, half down look. Bring forward a few strands and part to the side to have a side-swept bangs look.

9.Amy Winehouse’s beehive never looked perfect, so feel free to mess it up a bit by loosening up some hair strands.

10To hold the look in place, spray hairspray over the beehive.

11.To top off the Winehouse look, add an accessory. You can take a bright hair scarf or bandana and wrap it around the front section of your head. You can tie it at the front or the back but Amy tied it at the front, with the knot off to one side.

This style is a great way to test out Amy Winehouse’s look before you commit to a celebrity hair piece. If you like the style and want to make the beehive apart of your everyday look, 3rd Dimension’s stylists can help. Book a consultation with us to discuss tribute hair pieces to get you closer to looking like your favorite celebrity. From Elvis tribute pieces to a beehive that would make even Margaret Vinci Heldt proud, our stylists can help you get the look you’ve always wanted.