The ’90s Bixie Is Back, and It’s THE Short Hairstyle of 2022

Just when I thought we’d figured out what all the big hairstyle trends were going to be in 2022, a familiar look from a few decades ago is throwing a gamine wrench into things. Although I honestly don’t remember it being called this back in the ’90s—and I remember pretty much all the great portmanteaus I’ve encountered in my lifetime—the “bixie” is back, and it’s ready to delight, dazzle, and potentially confuse.

The bixie is called the bixie because it combines elements of two distinctly recognizable hairstyles—the bob and the pixie—and creates a new hairstyle in a gray (but very cute) area. “A bixie cut is equal parts pixie cut and a bob,” says stylist Andrew Fitzsimons. “It’s a shaggy bob with a mix of layers, to add dimension and texture.” Think of the influx of short haircuts in the mid to late ’90s, the ones that weren’t cropped enough to be called pixies but weren’t long enough to be considered bobs. (At the time I think we just called the looks “short hair”…?) So many stars were doing it: Winona Ryder, Meg Ryan, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz, Halle Berry, Rachael Leigh Cook, Neve Campbell, Drew Barrymore, and the Aussie soap opera star turned pop singer who inspired my own college crop, Natalie Imbruglia. 

It was an undeniably adorable look that eventually fell out of favor; my theory is that it evolved from a carefree look to a more heavily styled, extremely angular look that felt pretty cool when Victoria Beckham did it and then a little less so when Kate Gosselin did. (Is there any haircut more indelibly associated with the phrase “I need to speak to your manager”?) But a new wave of celebrities are bringing back that original, lower-key bob-meets-pixie vibe, and with it, an inevitability: We’re all going to be getting bixies in 2022. 

We can credit Rowan Blanchard for getting the ball rolling two years ago while attending Paris Fashion Week with an authentic ’90s bixie, complete with choppiness and different lengths.