The Mullet hairstyle, emblem of the west and hairstyle of the gods, the mullet has created a social phenomenon all its own, reports Iain Sharp for NZhairdressers .

 

PERHAPS it's that the Mullet warms the back of the neck, or gently stroke it with their soft, fluttering waves of hair.  Maybe it's the combination of masculine and feminine - presenting at once a strong, bold face to the world and a softer side once the face has turned. 

 

 

It may be just the simple practicality of a hairstyle embraced by so many generations, so many social spheres. Short at the front and long at the back, the Mullet hairstyle keeps the hair from the eyes even in the midst of battle - certainly no one can wear a mullet quite like a tennis star or league player. 

 

 

From the famous (David Bowie, especially in his Ziggy days), to the fit (Andre Agassi before hair loss ruled out his favourite Mullet style) and the merely frightening (Billy Ray Cyrus), the mullet has graced millions of heads worldwide, all the while skirting around the neck of good taste. 

 

Known variously as the "ape drape", "neck blanket" and "sho-lo", the Mullet's name may have derived not from the fish tail, but an old French word mulet, meaning fool. So says writer Barney Hoskyns, a rock journalist who has seen fit to devote a book to this universal Westie emblem. 

 

"You won't see many mullets in London or Manhattan, or a lot of other supposedly cool places. But you'll see them in the suburbs, and the heartlands. They're all over Latin America and eastern Europe," writes Hoskyns. Obviously he has never visited mainland New Zealand. 

 

 

Hoskyns offers dozens of Neanderthal sketches to illustrate the history ("roots") of the mullet, pointing out that even Gainsborough's Blue Boy shyly wore a mullet as did the impressive Napolean Bonaparte and Buffalo Bill Cody. 

 

Strong women have never denied the top and tail. Martina Navratilova conquered the world in a mullet and our own Shona Laing made it on to Australian charts with a very un-Kennedy bi-leveller. In the early 1980s the mullet rose to new heights thanks to blow-waved popstars such as Duran Duran, Tears for Fears and the ever thinning Michael Bolton. 

 

"The mullet is the perfect do for the new millennium, a time when all the rules of personal appearance have been broken," writes Hoskyns. 

 

While rocker Lou Reed and Aussie beach boy Jason Donovan have copped out and lopped off their locks, celebs such as Liz Taylor's ex Larry Fortensky are proudly taking the mullet into the new century. To help those keeping the faith, Hoskyns offers tips on keeping a spike in your top and silky threads down the back. 

 

"Always remember to keep your mullet squeaky clean and well groomed if you want to attract the babes," he advises "him". "For that seductive bedroom hair look, sweep the top of your mullet forward to frame your face," Hoskyns tells "her". 

 

Yes, this book pushes its point just a little, from superhero comics and ever-so-serious portfolios of arty mullet photos to a diagram showing "the aerodynamics of the mullet". 

 

Not all the jokes work and - like the haircut itself - the idea is probably stretched beyond its natural length. But with photographs linking Hulk Hogan and ancient Egyptian handmaidens, and a subtitle of "Hair of the Gods", there's fun for mullet lover and loather alike.