If you’ve not seen the BBC series, you’ve for sure had a glimpse at the haircut. The famous one that went viral and started invading the streets worldwide: the Shelby style. Named after the Peaky Blinder’s main character, Thomas Shelby (Irish actor Cillian Murphy), it seemingly got inspired from the 1920’s Irish haircuts but is actually more trendy now than ever. Join the movement!

This is the latest dandy style, rural and cool at the same time, the perfect haircut fitting every situation… This adaptability might explain its plain success, that still took about two seasons to finally reach its public.

How was it born? In The early 20th, this haircut became quite popular amongst workers and lower class, for barbers were expensive and didn’t take time to blend in the sides. So, when it came to trimming, they buzzed the back and side parts and left the top untouched, for the fashion was all about bangs and side-parting.

Though you might directly ask your barber for “a Shelby”, here is how you can explain him the exact haircut you want.

• The Shelby is a restyled undercut, this famous haircut everybody tends to wear now. Concretely, instead of fading the sides and back as the tendency demands it, you’d have to shave them in the way of a stripped down French crop. The top and the down parts must be fully contrasted.
• Keep extra length on top, and swing the fringe from a side or another (depends on how you usually move your head), not to the back, as football players often do.
• Texturize it. People used to fix their upper-hair volume with paraffin wax a century ago, so that they’d set the perfect movement for the whole day. Use a natural wax or pomade to fix your side swept, as you want to achieve a shiny retro style.
• Take care of your hairstyle, using the Termix Barber Kit for instance if you want to dot it yourself at home.

For a slightly different style, you can try the Arthur Shelby, named after the eldest family character in the same series. There, you can ask for a slightly longer hair on the top, and slick it back instead of sweeping it aside.

These dandy hairstyles can be worn with a nice shirt or a casual chic outfit, that will simply underline it.

Another major reason why boys did wear their hair that short was hair lice! They were so common in working-class neighbourhoods that the younger ones tended to have their head shaved early to prevent the plague.

This might put things back in perspective, right?