In 1994, Friends became one of the biggest sitcoms of our generation. Each and every one of the characters had something that we could relate to and could always make us laugh. One character in particular—Rachel Green—had hair that we all just had to have. Rachel’s haircut, simply known as the Rachel, was a bouncy, square-layered medium cut that had many shorter, face-framing layers with messy or zigzag side part. According to Jennifer Aniston’s stylist Chris McMillan, the Rachel originated when McMillan layered the hair around Anniston’s grown-out bangs. Aniston had the cut for the first two seasons of Friends, and the style quickly became an icon. Like the Farrah, Aniston’s haircut took the public by storm and women were all asking for the Rachel. A joke about the popularity of the haircut was even written into an episode of the second season, when Rachel complains about her mother trying to take over her life, she says, ”Couldn’t she just copy my haircut?”
Despite millions of fans who liked the Rachel, Aniston herself was not a fan of the style, calling it the “ugliest cut [she’s] ever seen.” She switched to a longer hairstyle for the third season of Friends, but the Rachel continued to be popular in the U.S. and even the U.K. More than 15 years later, women continue to wear modern versions of the style. Supermodel Kate Moss tried out a variation of the Rachel in 2010, so we may still see more from the Rachel in the near future. Aniston herself has not had a shorter layered cut since, tending to favor long hair and longer layers. But she has gone on to have the most successful acting career out of her Friends cast mates. The power of a haircut? Possibly.
Jennifer Aniston: The Rachel
In 1994, Friends became one of the biggest sitcoms of our generation. Each and every one of the characters had something that we could relate to and could always make us laugh. One character in particular—Rachel Green—had hair that we all just had to have. Rachel’s haircut, simply known as the Rachel, was a bouncy, square-layered medium cut that had many shorter, face-framing layers with messy or zigzag side part. According to Jennifer Aniston’s stylist Chris McMillan, the Rachel originated when McMillan layered the hair around Anniston’s grown-out bangs. Aniston had the cut for the first two seasons of Friends, and the style quickly became an icon. Like the Farrah, Aniston’s haircut took the public by storm and women were all asking for the Rachel. A joke about the popularity of the haircut was even written into an episode of the second season, when Rachel complains about her mother trying to take over her life, she says, ”Couldn’t she just copy my haircut?”
Despite millions of fans who liked the Rachel, Aniston herself was not a fan of the style, calling it the “ugliest cut [she’s] ever seen.” She switched to a longer hairstyle for the third season of Friends, but the Rachel continued to be popular in the U.S. and even the U.K. More than 15 years later, women continue to wear modern versions of the style. Supermodel Kate Moss tried out a variation of the Rachel in 2010, so we may still see more from the Rachel in the near future. Aniston herself has not had a shorter layered cut since, tending to favor long hair and longer layers. But she has gone on to have the most successful acting career out of her Friends cast mates. The power of a haircut? Possibly.
Photo Credits:
Jennifer Aniston: http://vyanks.blogspot.com, In Style
Kate Moss: Pacific Coast News Online