--- description: Get a TIME tutorial on the vintage style named after the late, great designer Oscar de la Renta title: How to Create "Oscar's Hairdo" image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d553e2b46325456/6987620ca988ca593c6a9f41/society.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Style](/tag/style/) ## Style Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 'Oscar's Hairdo’: How to Create de la Renta's Signature 1969 Updo  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Oct 21, 2014 4:47 PM CUT  The society ball at the Plaza Hotel in New York City on Jan. 19, 1970\. A woman wears "Oscar's Hairdo." The society ball at the Plaza Hotel in New York City on Jan. 19, 1970\. A woman wears "Oscar's Hairdo."Ron Frehm—AP  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Oct 21, 2014 4:47 PM CUT Oscar de la Renta, the acclaimed fashion designer who [died Monday at 82](http://time.com/3526248/world-renowned-fashion-designer-oscar-de-la-renta-dies-aged-82/ "undefined"), will likely be best remembered for providing dresses for First Ladies and movie stars alike. In the late 1960s, however, he was also famous for something that was a lot less complicated than a couture gown: a messy hairdo. The style — what might be called a “messy bun” in today’s YouTube hair tutorial lingo — was known in the U.S. as “Oscar’s hairdo” because, in November 1969, he had every model in his spring collection wear the style. The look, which TIME described as “skillfully composed to look as if it had been dragged through a thornbush backward” was alternately known as Belle Époque (because it resembled ‘dos of that era), the Onion (for British fashionistas), the Char (because it made you look like a charwoman, or cleaning lady), Concierge (in France) or Goulue (after the can-can dancer). LIFE Magazine even [added](http://books.google.com/books?id=yFAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA57&lpg=PA57&dq=hairdo+1969+concierge&source=bl&ots=3GRw08rtpt&sig=xUaXGbtCvq9EZ5Hmqp1jDy0aw0E&hl=en&sa=X&ei=B3BGVN%5F0IuuLsQTth4KwDA&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false "undefined") it could be called “The Washerwoman.” It was originally conceived by Paris _coiffeur_ Christophe Carita in 1968, perhaps inspired by Brigitte Bardot, and New York hairdresser Kenneth told TIME that its sex appeal may have come from the idea that if you could find the hairpin that’s holding it up “in a matter of seconds it will all be out on the pillow.” Here’s how you create the look, [as per TIME](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,901663,00.html "undefined"): --- > “” --- Despite the many ironic names for the style, and this magazine’s implication that it was a ridiculous idea to pay to end up with messy hair — $17.50 at a Manhattan salon, a price that might cause today’s New Yorkers to faint in gratitude — Oscar’s Hairdo has proved to have staying power: _Glamour_ has [declared](http://www.glamour.com/lipstick/2014/09/spring-2015-makeup-hair-and-nail-trends-to-start-wearing-now/6 "undefined") that the “coming-undone style” will be one of next spring’s hottest looks. **_Read TIME’s review of Oscar de la Renta’s 1993 debut as the first American designer to head a Paris couture house, here in the archives:_** [Mais Oui, Oscar!](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,977671,00.html "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3528548/oscar-de-la-renta-hairdo/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3528548/oscar-de-la-renta-hairdo/"},"headline":"'Oscar's Hairdo’: How to Create de la Renta's Signature 1969 Updo","datePublished":"2014-10-21T16:47:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:55:02.970Z","description":"Get a TIME tutorial on the vintage style named after the late, great designer","url":"https://time.com/3528548/oscar-de-la-renta-hairdo/","keywords":["Style","remembrance"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d553e2b46325456/6987620ca988ca593c6a9f41/society.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d553e2b46325456/6987620ca988ca593c6a9f41/society.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Society Ball New York","caption":"Society Ball New York","creditText":"Ron Frehm—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/style/","name":"Style"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3528548/oscar-de-la-renta-hairdo/","name":"'Oscar's Hairdo’: How to Create de la Renta's Signature 1969 Updo"}}]}] ```