Really how old is the Mullet hairstyle? I read it was fashionable in the 19th century…
Hockey’s been around since the 19th century. So I concur 
Well, when was Indiana first colonised? There you go.
But seriously, while the 19th century did have its fashions of long hair in the back and short in the front, they were not identical to the mullet. The mullet, if done correctly, looks straggly and unkempt. The French fashion of the mid-1800’s called for consistent flowing hair in the back, perhaps even curled.
UnuMondo
I have to disagree with this statement. That is just one type of mullet. I remember many fine mullets that were very well kept and orderly. You can click here:
or here:
to view mullets in all their glory.
David Bowie, in his Ziggy Stardust pesona, displayed the modern ‘Proto-Mullet’.
Can anyone point me to a cite for the term mullet way back when?
I never heard it of it until a few years ago, and then it was everywhere, like the White Stripes.
We’d made fun of the hairstyle, and the people who wear them, for decades.
Bowie has a straight shag, by the way. Like Mrs. Brady’s style without benefit of curling iron.
Yes, Bowie’s was a Shag.
I invented the Mullet in 1980, but I didn’t call it that; the Beastie Boys usage was the first I was aware of.
I, too, would like to know when the term was coined. I have unfortunately vivid memories of when this particular hairstyle was popular in the 80s, and I am ashamed to admit that even I sported one circa 1987 (not the proudest year of my life).
But I never heard it called the mullet back then.
I have no cites for when the term was coined, but there may have even been a SD discussion of it. The first time I heard the word, mullet, was actually in reference to a fish. A mullet is a decent sized fish that is pretty fun to catch.
There are only so many ways to cut your hair. I’d be willing to bet that the mullet has been around forever, even if the term hasn’t been.
I have done some pretty tight lib and Nexis searches, and got squat.
But reputable sources usually doesn’t catalog dirt bike magazines, or hot rod magazines… or goofy early metal head zines. That’s where I’d expect the term to show up first.
I think outlaw bikers might have led the way on this one. Sonny Barger’s memoir mentions a few members of the Hells Angels who were wearing their hair really long well before rock musicians and hippies began to do so. Moreover, in the 1950’s, judging from the pictures in the book, most of the HA’s still combed it back in the front, so combined with the long hair in back…voila, mullets!
The Mullet has a long and distinguished history. It was worn byPresident James K. Polk in the white house during the 1840s.
It was first invented by the “Incroyables” in 1797. Part of the “Directoire” style.
My guess is the late 1970s. It was a very popular hairstyle among Buffalo’s groder/hesher crowd at the time. Thing is … that crowd is still around, trapped in time.
Come on people! Into the attic!! Shuffle through those pack rat piles!!
Let’s find the earliest published reference for “mullet” as the hair style. Perhaps it’s in an old union bulletin, perhaps a 1978 issue of “Big 'Uns” magazine, a Buffalo zine.
Seriously. When did this hairstyle - which IS stupid and very ugly, yes - become the funniest thing in the world? They’re making a damn TV show out of it, for crying out loud!!
I don’t think it’s stupid. The do we now call a “mullet” allows blue collar workers to have a presentable face for the factory floor, while allowing their freak flag to fly (or to be tucked into the back of their shirt during the day.)
Trashy. Well, it is that.
As a fish biologist, I’m disappointed that this thread does not include a discussion of scale annuli. But I never could see what was so silly or stupid about a mullet hairstyle anyway. Had one myself long before the style got a fishy name and became the butt of so many jokesters. It allowed me to have long hair without getting hair in my eyes, which I’ve always hated. Prior to the mullet cut, I just let my hair grow wild and used my dad’s marine corps belt as a headband. The metal bit on the end used to hit me in the face on every swing when I played tennis. After a summer of that, I cut off the hangy part, which was not as long as the hair.