By Lauren Gunn

What is it about a shag haircut? It lurks both in the grubby fringes of popular culture and front and centre on the red carpet. Bipolar by nature it switches effortlessly between bad girl/bad boy and break-the-internet chic. Left undone and unwashed it embodies anarchy, but a little shampoo and an expensive blowout transforms the shag into a holy grail hairstyle, smelling sweetly of affluence and a very expensive hairdresser.

The rich history of the shag begins with Jane Fonda and the Klute cut. Klute is an iconic seventies cinematic masterpiece with Jane playing high-end call girl Bree Daniels. The image of the cool, self-assured, sex worker in a shag provided an alternative to the Hollywood starlet stereotype. And then of course Jane was arrested and booked on charges of drug smuggling and the haircut became synonymous with counterculture.

Beloved by indie musicians then adopted by every altie girl ever. The shag is super functional if you want to look cool while getting sweaty on stage and smashing out riff after riff on your guitar. It’s equally at home in a Gucci dress and a Cartier necklace.

Are you a teenage dirtbag shag or more the rich lister type? Maybe you’re a switch. As we used to say – You do you.