Figure 1.--These Greek children in the 1940s after World War II all have close-cropped or shaved hair. Note several boys wear various style caps to keep their heads warm.

There is a great contrast in how Greek boys wore their hair in the first and second halves of the 20th century. Greek boys for the first half of the 20th century wore very short hair. There was little change in the style until well after the end of World War II. While close-cropped or shaved heads were not uncommon in Europe during the eraly 20th-century, they became much less common in most countries after World War I (1914-18). Boys' hair styles in Greece, however, did not change much in Greece. Often their hair was shaved at school. During the 40s and the 50s it was mandatory in (most) schools for the boys to have a buzz cut. In some cases the barber visited schools on their first day and gave all the boys a buzz cut with clippers. After the 1950s, the short cropped hair has become unfashionable. This was in part due to economic conditions. Greek boys began wearing their hair like boys in the rest of Europe without any destinguishable national style. Strangely, the hated buzz-cut actually became fashionable in the 1990s.

1900-1919

Boys' hair styles in Greece did not change much in the early 20h century. Most boys have closed-cropped hair. Boys in several other European countries (Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, and others) in which boys often had their heair cropped. Often it was the schools which insisted on it.

1920s-30s

We note that most Greek boys in available images continue to have have closed-cropped hair. This style, however, becomes much less common in other European countries, especially after the mid-1920s. We are not sure why hair styles did not change in Greece as well. We believe that the poverty still prevalent in Greece may have been a factor. Short hair as a sanitation measure at school may have been more necessary than in some other countries.

1940s-50s

During the 40s and the 50s it was mandatory in (most) schools for the boys to have a buzz cut. (We believe that the same was true in eraly decades, but we have more information on the 40s and 50s.) In some cases the barber visited schools on their first day and gave all the boys a buzz cut with clippers. Especially in demotiko (elementary school). Dionysis Savvopoulos (the pioneer of Greek rock music in the 60s and 70s) remembers in a 1996 interview: "They were clipping our hair all those years at school. It was horrible! All the kids of my generation looked like they were punished... Then we made long hair fashionable as an opposing action. I was one of the first who did that. I am bald now but I still have some long forelocks to remind me of these times"

1960s

During the 1960s the short hair rule somewhat faded. This was in part due to economic conditions. As family income improved, sanitation became less of a problem at school. Also with more desposable family income, interest in fashion grew. This included hair styling. Fewer parents wanted to see their boys with cropped hair. In addition the boys came to dislike the style, especially as they saw the trendy longer styles being worn by boys in other countries. At some schools, the buzz cut was given to boys as a punishment. Sassy and disobedient students were sentenced to a buzz cut.

1970s

Things changed in the 70s. At that time long hair were very fashionable and young men in school insisted on having their hair if not long, then certainly not clipped. Unfortunately the Colonel Junta (1967-74) didnt like this trend. Sometimes students chose to opently protest in improvised demonstrations with the risk of being beaten by the police.

1980s

Students earned their right to choose their haircuts during the 1980s. But still, some old fashioned principals asked their long haired students to cut their hair. Sometimes they would threaten them with expulsion and other times they would allure them by giving them an extra grade.

1990s

Strange enough buzz cuts became quite fashionable in the 90s.

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Created: April 27, 2002
Last updated: May 28, 2002