What Do You Call a Hairstyle with Small Ponytails on Each Side?

The term you#39;re looking for might vary based on region and personal experience, but one common name for a hairstyle with small ponytails on each side, where most of the hair is left down, is feather dusters. This playful nickname has a rich history and cultural significance, especially in the Southern United States.

The Evolution of Feather Dusters

Feather dusters, a style reminiscent of pigtails but with more hair left down, have a long history dating back to the early 1970s. In West Virginia, where I was raised, we called them dog ears. I can recall my friend Kathy Mattea sporting this style at a photo taken at her 14th birthday party. It was a distinctive look that stuck out in my mind, marking it as a unique hairstyle of the era.

Regional Nicknames

In the South, the style was often referred to as feather dusters. My mother, with her meticulous approach to styling, would meticulously comb and create these iconic hairstyles. The style was so particular that she went as far as to part my hair from the forehead to the nape of my neck and meticulously gather the hair on each side to form high ponytails, often adorned with bows that would make even Ford bow makers proud.

My mother had a wide array of hair bows and ribbons: real silk, texture variations, and eventually bows that felt like yarn and came in a kaleidoscope of colors. The result was a glamorous look that often clashed with my younger years of wearing cute big collared dresses and matching sweaters, and even leotards by 7:30 AM in the morning.

Style and Legacy

Despite its comical appearance, the feather dusters were often meticulously styled. Still, the result was not always perfect. My mother would often come to pick me up from nursery school after work to find that my leotards were torn, my sweater mis-buttoned, and even a piece of typing paper safety-pinned to it, evidencing my adventures of the day. Of course, this was never a win for my mother, who always frowned. The cherry on top was often a pair of crooked feather dusters or occasionally just one standing with its bows and ribbons.

It was during these moments that I began to dream of a day when my mother would stay on the bus and ride by, pretending not to know me—though that day never came. Regardless, I was the only child in my family, yet I was never the favorite, a curious fact given my unique and perhaps contradictory status.