If short back and sides is an expression that you are familiar with, then chances are:

You grew up in a time when men only frequented barbers

You were raised by a man who falls into the previous category

You have had a decent upbringing

This is an expression that doesn’t get used very often but the fact of 2012’s fashion trends is that you’re going to hear a lot more of short back. Your hair stylist is going to whip out the scissors, and attempt to do something that they probably haven’t done in a very long time, a plea of desperation to do the cut will be in order, but let’s discuss why.

Let’s start off by quoting Peter Allen: “everything old is new again.”

The 70’s era is back for those who adore the tastes of American essence, the 60's are swinging and women are working their way through the 50's. As for the gentleman side of trending, Don Draper has revived the 60’s for men, way before women did. Now in the year of 2012 we are seeing the 20's making their mark on 2012′s men’s haircuts – it’s truly one of those rare occasions where men’s fashion is ahead of women’s.

A 1920s / 1930s men’s hairstyle revival:

Haircuts in 2012 will require clippers, so shortage is no option, but they won’t all be influenced by the way men wore their hair in the 1920s and 1930s. There is no talk of one specific style, but variations based on a theme: short back, short sides, and length through the top. The era of this style had many different names, whereby each related to a specific subculture. In the 1980s it was dubbed the synth haircut in Scandanavia due to its association with synth bands of the era. The meaning of this style, where the top is slicked backwards is that of a disconnection between the back, sides and top.

The significant look to the undercut revival is that of James ‘Jimmy’ Darmody (actor Michael Pitt, photographed at top for Interview magazine) in Boardwalk Empire. Pitt has a good hairline, but for those who are thinning on the temple area there are still options:

What to ask for:

The first thing you have to ask your hair dresser / stylist / barber / is whether it’s going to work for your hair. Yes, this is recommended for all hair trends, but a haircut that requires short sides and a long top isn’t going to work for every guy out there.

For those of you that know that this style will work, solicited advice from the Melbourne stylist Annika Bowenon tells us precisely what you should be asking for.

Asking for your sides to be cut, you have two main options:

The first is to have them cut with scissors over a comb.

The second is to have the sides cut short with clippers. Annika recommends this option because it gives a better effect – having the clippers on number 2 is a must for this kind of undercut, however, number 3 will still work for those not wanting to go quite as short.

If you do have a thinner temple, you can choose to have the sides trimmed extra short at the front temple area. But then you should be going for the number 1 cut in front of your ears, with that shortness blended into a number 2 or 3 on the rest of the sides and on the back of your head.

While it has to be left long, you have a few more options when it comes to the top. The key rule to the top within reason "the longer the better".

Unlike most other haircuts for the upcoming seasons that require the use of clippers, this undercut is one that doesn’t require any blending between the sides and the top. You could, however, choose to have the top blend with the crown depending on how your hair sits. But in short, take a picture of the style that you prefer when you go to get your haircut.

Final tip: this is a hair cut that depends on the sharpness of the outline, so when your hair dresser passes the mirror to the sides and back of your head, double check to see that it is precisely finished, particularly on the back of your neck and around your ears. If it’s not, ask them to touch it up.

What to style it with

Annika recommends gel. Specifically a light weight gel such as the likes of Label.M, Tigi Catwalk and Bumble and Bumble all make.

Via: Fashionising.com]

You might also like:

Men's 2012 Rockabilly Hairstyle