1984

1984 saw a lot of growth for Madonna's hair. 1983 went from medium pixie to short bob, and what it quite interesting to me is he hair in the Borderline video when shooting began January 30, 1984, according to wikipedia. (again, if I have wrong dates, Madonna aficionados, please let me know, I want this hair timeline to be the most accurate. I wasn't a full blown fan until 1990, but I did follower her from 1985 on loosely observing)

Okay, so the Borderline video I find very interesting regarding her length. In the beginning of the video, it looks much shorter than the end of the video. I know a few tricks, and it appears here, she wanted her bob to be shorter, and now was using her bow to hike it up to appear shorter, but when it is worn down, it is shoulder length.  There is also an evolution going on, as well.  I remember back in the early interent days, a few websites documenting her looks saying that she tended to "whisper" her future looks.  Borderline is a good example of this.  While we have the bob of the Madonna album era, we are starting to see the birth of the Like A Virgin era, where her hair was more natural (not teased up or spiked), and french twists.

(above: Borderline still having the "Madonna" teased up bob, below, Borderline with "Like A Virgin" more relaxed shoulder length bob.)

more Borderline:

Here are examples of her hair in a French twist.  This is more of a Like A Virgin look, to me, but it started here.  French twists have been a staple updo through Madonna's career, and this is the first video to feature one.  I remember girls doing french BRAIDS stating they had Madonna's hairstyle...and in all of the pictures I have seen, studied, I have not seen Madonna wear a french braid, so I always found that fascinating how her hairstyle translated.  I saw plenty of french braids with the top teased through the 80's, but rarely did I see French twists, and yet, the French braid was referred to as a Madonna hairstyle (along with bobs, bows, scrunching, gelled).  

Though Madonna's hair is covered in this picture, we see how versatile it is through the video, from the teased bob to the French Twist with volumized bangs to the side over one ye, to these looser bangs. I have to admit, I adore this look most of all in this video, and though I know her style was important through the whole video, and it caused a huge fashion movement, I will have loved to have had a version of the video with this look alone, but with her hair down.  The reason is, it is the most different look she had during the "Madonna" era, and I love when she looks completely different...and the concept that she never repeats herself (even though she does, but I like to go with the no repeat story line in my mind).  Had she come out for a section in the Virgin Tour like this, I feel like the songs will have been : Borderline, Think of Me, Pretender, and Shoo Be Doo.  This look feels like that artsie contrast with sad/you won't fool me/I look cheerful, but I have pain inside portrayal.  

I obviously have to include this. Though most of her hair is being covered by her iconic hat, I do see the as the hair for the previous picture if that look was used for the whole video (along with the loose style I was contrasting in the start of this entry (teased bob vs relaxed bob).  Now that 1984 has begun, there are quite a few interesting things that happen with her hair, but it does remain the same style with variants through the year. I will cover the ones from Lucky Star, Like A Virgin, and Desperately Seeking Susan, and the Pink wig, which I loved.

Lucky Star:

 

I first saw the Lucky Star video in 1988 during Friday Night Rock Blocks. They used to say "from 1983", and sometimes 1984. So, for the longest time, I thought 1983, because it was closer looking to the Burning Up hair.  It wasn't until the internet that started to have more chronological site dating her photos and videos where I found a lot of accurate dates. I still don't have every accurate date, because even the internet will have one date over another.  According to most web sites that have a date for the shooting of Lucky Star, it was after Borderline in February. Her hair looks shorter than Borderline, so it must have been teased up to appear shorter than what it was. I didn't see the "Madonna" album cover until 1990 when a friend gave me a cassette, which I know I blogged about, but I think my perspective in figuring out the Madonna hairstyle puzzle was interesting, before the internet helped me solve many questions, but even now I still have them.  So, when I saw the "Madonna" album cover, I thought though many will say "her iconic look"...I still don't feel the iconicness.  I like that Lucky Star opens appearing like an updated version of her album cover, and it looks more iconic, because now her look is complete. Looking at and comparing it to Like A Virgin and True Blue, if the Lucky Star video look was the cover, the stark contrasts of each album will have been satisfying to my eyes.  I have said that "Madonna" looked a bit too similar to True Blue, especially the back cover.  There is even a photo in 1986 where she has leather gloves on and looks very similar to the back cover.  It is interesting to my that Lucky Star has one hairstyle choice. Everybody appeared to have a hat and a headband at some parts, Burning Up was wet and dry/teased with a bow, Borderline had multiple looks from the French Twist to the teased spikes to hints of Like A Virgin.  Her hair being teased and spiked is the only style that remained through all 4 videos. I may even say won't it be interesting if Burning Up used the wet look, and Borderline didn't use the teased spikes just so all videos had more contrast...I think so.  However, it is interesting to me to see how many times a look is used, and how many looks are only used once.  A lot of times, her one time hairstyles I want more of, not in other videos, but for live, or photoshoots. The same goes for certain photoshoots where the hairstyle is never seen live or in a video.  This happens quite a lot, and I will be covering all of them!

 

May 16, 1984:

I find it extremely interesting that Dress You Up and Like A Virgin were all ready so early!  Her hairstyle choice is interesting here.  It is like the Borderline look where she has the cool ruffllie outfit and ruffle hat (not the bow one).  To see her sort of debut these new songs like this (well after the fact..this was another internet discovery).  I was just so used to seeing Dress You Up with her long Virgin Tour hair, and seeing it up looks odd to me for this song.  She really knows how to get me to associate a hairstyle with a song. Dress You Up doesn't feel like an updo song.  It needs the long wild hair. Like A Virgin Had the French twist both in the video and live on the MTV VMAs, but still, I like when she takes it down and lets it loose and free! I have to admit here, I am not much of an updo fan, but it does have its place, and it does work, depending on when she is using them. Even though this hairstyle is similar to one of the hairstyle sin Borderline, I felt this entry was important, because of how early these songs were ready.  I know she mentioned in an interview she was ready to release new music, and she had to wait because Lucky Star was still charting.  Had those days been like now...they will have been released all ready, but that's another  story and imagination.  The way music and video are released now just may have given us a lot more Madonna videos back then.  I did want videos for Physical Attraction,  a proper video for Holiday, and I thought Think of Me was worthy of a video.
 

 

Like A Virgin Album photoshoot:

 

The thing I love most about the album cover is how Madonna's hair is darker and longer than the first album.  There is also a theme with the wedding dress, setting the stage for this evolution. Also notable is her hair is darker than the first album, and she is wearing white...so from lighter hair and a black outfit to darker hair with a white outfit.  These are the differences and contrasts I love to see.  I will love to know the exact date of this photo shoot, because her hair isn't quite reaching her shoulders as it will be when she tilts her head. 

Though this image has the same hair, I wanted to note that the first concept of Madonna's first album, when it was presumed the title "Lucky Star:, had her with a sheet over her, along with darker hair (though short)...so had that been the actual album art for that album, this will have felt redundant, all though the longer hair, earrings and bracelets may have been the only slight differences.  It makes me wonder had that first concept been used if this part of the Virgin photoshoot will have been taken, or if it was, how it will have been used so it doesn't look similar to the first album.  One of the aspects of Madonna's career unique to me is when she contrasts and is different from herself, so there is always something new.  I do think that this particular part of the photoshoot will have made an interesting concept for a video for one of the songs off of Like A Virgin. The question is which song, or add it as an additional scene to the Like A Virgin video, all though as if this song didn't raise enough eyebrows, this may have freaked them out for how the times were with a woman wearing only a sheet in a music video scene.  I know this was used as the Material Girl single artwork, which is an interesting choice.  Clothes being made of material, that which she does not have on. Of course, I am all for the irony that comes with the package. There are also the jewelry that can be the material items, or the satin sheets (and luxury so fine OH YEAH!).   

I know that her hair bow was one of her first iconic staples for her hair, and I LOVE her bows, but I almost think she needed to not use them for this promotion, just for the sake of being different from herself. However, it has a definite purpose, and it just feels a bit funny when looking at the "different" differences between her album hairstyles.  I know this is going to sound funny, because I just had to google what this hairstyle look was used for, because I did not own the Like A Virgin vinyl album or cassette...just the CD when I started to collect her CDs in the 90's. So - it appears this was what the vinyl album sleeve had as its image...just as the "Madonna" album also had a bow in her hair on the album sleeve.  She does look obviously different, but it is funny to see the bow being used in the same place on both albums, and being black and white pictures. Her hair is not teased or spiky in both cases, as well. They both have the scrunched free form look...one is just longer than the other.  I have so many observances!

Center, part!

The most important aspect of this hairstyle is this is the first time Madonna parts her hair down the middle in her career, and it is the only time until the end of 1988 when parting her hair down the middle starts to occur more often each year. It is very interesting to me to see a center part with this hair color and texture.  At this time of her career, it is completely rare.  Her whole hairstyle, itself, is one of a kind at this time.  

Here is another shot from this photoshoot, but the center part is not present.  I still find the hairstyle very interesting in texture, and all around. 

September 1984 : Like A Virgin MTV VMA!

Her hair just unfolds here. It starts with a half up look under the veil.

When I started to braid tulle into my own hair, a lot of the inspiration came from this performance.

Here it comes down now!

I did not see this performance until way later, but this is the hairstyle I fell in love with. The texture was just so interesting to me, because I never saw a texture like this.  It wasn't curly or wavy, it just held its unique own texture to me.  The textures I was used to seeing were just dry natural hairstyles..usually feathered.  I had unfortunate short hair at this time, and in September 1984, I had my own style I called, "the wave"...and I used a load of hairspray on it while it was wet, and I combed it all the way over to one side (to portray the long hair version when hair is brushed to one side, where one side is "up", and the other side hangs long....sort of like a side ponytail, but down). So - I had a "new" texture of my own. I didn't discover Madonna quite yet. At this point,  I heard of her. In fact, I used to watch a sitcom called "Gimme A Break", and Nell Carter, who played Nell Harper had an episode where she said "I want to be famous where I am just 'Nell', juts like it's just 'Madonna'". So, it was only a matter of time when I actually see this one named celebrity!  When I did see this hairstyle, my guess was either a lot of hairspray while it was wet, or a lot of gel, because by the end of the school year in 1985, just about every girl had a bob haircut and a similar texture, but never the exact texture.  Some was too curly, and some was too um...just not doing this.  Madonna just looks perfect with her hair like a mane, with some nice size. At this time, many people still had layered feathered hair, and when they were cutting it into the bob style, it self refreshing and new.  

Desperately seeking this hairstyle!

Though mostly everyone thinks of Madonna like this in 1985, it's interesting it is actually 1984. This is the way I first saw Madonna in Spring, 1985.  I thought she was the coolest, hottest girl I ever saw in my life.  This look was my debut to Madonna. It was one day, when one of my older brothers had MTV on in the living room, and Into The Groove came on. I had heard this song, first, before seeing the video, and I loved it. It sounded so cool, so fresh, and it made me dance. All of the different sounds were so perfect together. This song also made me feel like going for walks, but feeling cool when I walked around.  When the video came on, while I was drawing, I must have made the biggest gasp, because that was THE song I kept hearing when the radio was on a modern station. My parents always had the oldies station on, so I didn't hear "modern" music unless one of my brothers played it on their radios, or if someone dared to change my father's radio station from the oldies.  I also had two uncles who I heard new music from, because they listened to modern radio stations. I know it sounds funny for me to say "modern"...but I don't know how else to  put it.  All I know is I thought the music was so cool.  When we went to different places with my father's brother, I used to ask if I can ride with him, so I can hear new music, and because I thought he was so cool to be with, along with my cousin and his wife.  Now, at this time, in Spring 1985, I was 11.  I wasn't into collecting records (that felt funny to type), so the only source of music was usually by chance. Fortunately, Into The Groove without fail was ALWAYS on the radio, and everyone loved it.  I used to also go rollerskating, and it was played multiple times there, too.  It's funny to think of how I was exposed to new music back then.  I also was thrilled when I saw the commercials for Desperately Seeking Susan, and seeing the coolest hottest girl in the world. I have to admit, I also was in love with two other girls at the same time: I had crushes on Tina Turner and Cyndi Lauper - and I went crazy over their hairstyles to the point where I asked to have my hair done like Tina, where I grew my hair out.....for me, it was "long", but it was only 3 inches, but  I hoped the hairdresser was going to be able to stick my 3 inches of hair up like that.  I wound up with a horrifying short spiky haircut, and since I have thick hair, it curled up when I put gel in it.  So, little curly spikes stuck up...but I did start wearing bandanas inspired by Madonna to feel like I had "long hair"....but I wore them around my forehead head, because i was told, "girls wear headbands  the other way.  So, my first influence was a "masculine" version of a headband...but when no one was looking, I adjusted it like Madonna's headband (bow) style.  I really wanted Madonna's hairstyle like this on my own head, and sadly, it never happened.  I always wound up with hard gelled curls...which are not bad...but at the time of my youth, I wanted what I wanted, and usually my texture of hair never matched the hairstyles I craved to wear.  Through puberty, my hair became afro textured hair. At the time, when I didn't understand it, I spent hours styling it.   

One of the misconceptions of Madonna's hair I had when I first saw  her is that I thought her hair was all one length.  As I started to see more images of her, through pictures on magazines, the Into The Groove video, I noticed all these other hairstyles going on, making me question my assumptions of her hair and how it was cut and styled.  The second time I had my hair cut like hers, using the "Healthy" picture, I was mad they cut my bangs, because I had them all grown out , and they were even shorter than Madonna's, and even shorter when my hair dried because of how my hair texture shrinks up.  Looking back, all I really needed to do was stay away from hairdressers, and do a lot of scrunching.  What I find amazing about this particular hairstyle is how Madonna wears her bangs.  They aren't how the girls and everyone else wore them.  For example, a "hole" where it separated the bangs from the top hair, and either was feathered to the side, or spiked to the side, or no part.  Madonna's way looks so easy and effortless.  I do remember a lot of girls perming their hair thinking they were going to achieve this look, but it wound up too curly or frizzy, which were cool looks on their own, but it wasn't this look.  I do love the variety of hairstyles I witnessed from 1985 to 1992 on girls in general.  Madonna was the forerunner of these styles. 

The versatility of her french twists were fascinating.  I still get a kick of how they translated into french braids as I saw most girls do, and the banana clips, too!  Here, some of her bangs are out and side parted.