pixie cut

English

Blonde woman with a pixie cut

Etymology

From traditional depictions of mythological pixies. First popularized in the 1950s by Audrey Hepburn and later by Jean Seberg.

Noun

pixie cut (plural pixie cuts)

1. A women's hairstyle, generally short on the back and sides of the head and slightly longer on the top.

   Synonym: pixie

   • 1955, Adah Broadbent, Teen-Age Glamor, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, page 59:

     Whether your hair covers your head in short curls, a pert pixie cut, smooth braids, or a long bob, do yourself a good turn by finding the styles which are most becoming to you.

   • 2010, Mary Beth Klatt, Chicago's Fashion History: 1865–1945, page 111:

     Shoulder-length, curled hair was ideal, although some women would wear braids tied with rubber bands for the games. Pixie cuts for women were still at least a decade away […]