Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new.
- Henry David Thoreau
No matter where you travel in the world, fashion will always be distinct from one country and culture to the next. The differences between the fashions of various countries is sometimes as small as the brand name labels on popular clothes and sometimes as big as the parts of the body that are allowed to be shown in public. In Western countries the fashions have become much more similar to one another thanks to global marketing, but differences in style even between neighboring countries can often be intriguing and humorous.
Ukraine is at a unique point in the evolution of its public fashions. Perhaps due to the influx of old American films shown on television, various old and now forbidden American fashions have begun to reveal themselves in Ukrainian popular culture. The most notorious of these is the infamous 1980’s hairstyle called the “Mullet.”
The “Mullet” is a hairstyle which tried to combine the ease and comfort of short hair with the elegance and beauty of long hair. Unfortunately, it failed miserably in the attempt. The “Mullet” is created by cutting the hair on the sides of the head as short as possible while leaving the hair on the top and back as long as possible. In this way two different looks are created at the same time.
One friend described the “Mullet” as “Business in the front, and party in the back”. His statement refers to the fact that from the front it gives the wearer a clean-cut business look, while the long hair in the back provides just enough flashy character to make the individual appear ready to party at any time.
This half-serious, half-playful hairstyle was very popular in certain parts of America during the 1980’s. It quickly became a symbol of the uncultured, uneducated masses. For the most part the “Mullet” is associated with people who live in trailer parks, which are almost akin to villages in Ukraine; places where there is little work, little education, little culture, and nothing to do. The kind of people that wore “Mullets” in America were often “redneck” boys from a country town where we could imagine them drinking beers and shooting guns in the woods while driving in dirty old pick-up trucks. In America today it would be considered inexcusable for a young man to have this kind of haircut. It would bring back too many hilarious memories from the past.
The “Mullet”, however, is currently very popular with young Ukrainian men and quite a few Ukrainian women. In fact, as my experience has shown me, often the size of a young man’s “Mullet” is in direct proportion to how beautiful his girlfriend is.
It is difficult to describe the level of shock that I experienced when I first saw a beautiful young Ukrainian woman walking arm in arm with a young man with a truly audacious “Mullet”. In America he would have been laughed off the street with such a haircut, but in Ukraine he is rewarded with a beautiful girlfriend. It was like being transported back 20 years in the past.
There are a great variety of shapes, colors, and sizes of “Mullets” here in Kiev. The most extreme “Mullet” seen so far is one called the “Skullet”. The “Skullet” is created by shaving the head completely bald (hence the term skull), but at the back of the head a small section of long hair is left creating a stunning combination of shaved head and “Mullet”. This hair style is not for the faint of heart.
Many other fashion “no’s” in America have made a resurgence in modern day Kiev, such as very short shorts and see through shirts on men, and the 1970’s David Bowie style hair cuts seen on many women. However, living in a foreign country I also get my fair share of stares here in the streets of Kiev wearing my typical American white tennis shoes and white socks. But if there’s one thing about fashion that is the same in every country, it’s that it is always changing.
