ye olde neck warmer

Mullet Madness! author Alan Henderson, the world’s foremost expert in bi-level hairstyles (an admirably niche academic discipline), reckons the mullet’s historic popularity lay in its practicality: a short fringe kept hair out of your eyes, while length at the back protected your neck from the sun. With their locks flowing behind them, men had unimpeded views when hunting or horse riding. Feeling like a badass doesn’t hurt, either. Many Native Americans viewed long hair as a sign of strength and spirituality, and traditions and styles varied from tribe to tribe. During the 1800s, members of the Nez Perce tribe wore their tresses short and spiky at the front, plaited on the sides and long at the back. The look was a point of contention for Chief Joseph, who refused to cut his hair when pressured by Christian missionaries. Many white frontiersmen, who’d developed the unfortunate and enduring habit of appropriating Native culture, eventually adopted the style. Even Benjamin Franklin sported a variation that’s since been dubbed the ‘skullet’ – a portmanteau of skull and mullet – where you’re bald on top and long at the back. The Founding Father even believed his rustic, salt-of-the-earth look helped charm the French into supporting American independence. If you were feeling hyperbolic, you could say the mullet was partially responsible for the American Revolution.