Back To School Hairstyles For All Ages

Remember the thrill of going back to school? Box-fresh Kickers, squeaky clean belt bag and new hair that says 'Yeah I had a great summer holiday, and yeah I’m strongly feeling myself now'. We guessed at the Kickers and belt bag; in our day it was Dolcis loafers and a velcro satchel with a special mobile phone pocket at the front (#FutureWomenInTech), but new hair was still the most obvious way to announce yourself come September.

One easy way to do this, without committing to a Gwyneth Paltrow in Sliding Doors pixie cut or a Toni & Guy blunt fringe that suited less than 1% of the year group, was to go all out on the hair accessories. Think Cher and Dionne’s headbands and scrunchied high ponies in Clueless; Ashley Banks’ butter-wouldn’t-melt bows in Fresh Prince Of Bel Air; and Britney’s plaited bunches in "…Baby One More Time".

Nineties throwbacks were all over the catwalks at London Fashion Week this season, and while designers took inspiration more from '90s rave culture than schoolkids, the message was the same: have fun with your style. The era of minimalism and looking perfectly chic, like you could get a Brexit deal that anyone is happy with, is quickly being usurped by no-deal sparkly dresses, pastels, neons, cowboy boots, animal print, scrunchies and hair clips.

Click through for six back to school styles, created (and explained step by step) by hairstylist Ranelle Chapman, photographed by Lauren Maccabee, and modelled by our junior art editor, Meg O’Donnell.