Figure 1.--This photo of a group of Amish teenage boys looks to have been taken in the 1980s because the hair looksca little longer than we often see Amish boys wearing their hair. It gives a good idea of the bowl haircuts that are still common with Amish families. Mother puts a bowl on the head of her sons and fashions the hair around the bowl. It produces something like bangs. The boys are also wearing the typical black vests and long trousers with white shirts although one boy has a brown shirt on. Notice the boy (without a vest) showing his very thin black suspenders. Amish boys nearly all wear suspenders rather than belts for trouser suspension. These boys seem to be in their middle teens. A reader writes, "I often go on Saturdays to a local produce market in southern Indiana and see boys dressed like this with similar haircuts. They are always very well mannered and polite." Click on the image for a fuller discussion.

There is no definitive Amish hair style. This would be difficult because peoples heads and hair are different. There is, however, a very common style with Amish boys. We commonly see boys wearing their hair cut even with the earlobe. This might be called a bowl cut which is how many mothers cut their sons' hair. This was how many boys in rural areas had their hair cut during the 19th century which is presumably why it became so common among the Amish. It was a simple practical sollution which further recommended it to the Amish. A very large number of Amish boys wear their hair in this style and even some teenagers. The hair is not parted. Boys commonly wear bangs cut about half way down the forehead. The basic style seems unchanged since the 19th century. Popular fashions, however, can affect hair length, especially with teenagers. The basis styles, however, do not change. Amish men do not have mustaches, but they grow beards after they marry. Men do not wear mustaches because in the 19th century they were associasted witn soldiers and the military. [Kraybill, p. 63.]

Sources

Kraybill, Donalf B. The Riddle of Amish Culture.

Created: 8:43 PM 11/12/2010
Last updated: 6:43 PM 11/13/2010