The Middy Thread

I wanted to post my experience on getting the middy cut. My hair was well past my shoulders and a few weeks before starting a new job assignment I decided to try out the middy cut and took the longer cut version to my hairdresser. My hairdresser understood the cut having done it for other clients before and sat me down and really really asked me if I wanted it. I told her I had the same long length hair for years and I was ready to get the cut. After the cut, my stylist was able to blow dry and style it very modern looking and it was great.

Overnight foam roller curls worked great and so much easier to do with the style. What worked and looked even better was using hot rollers the morning of and even styling with a curling iron and mixing it up.

What DIDN'T look good was the days I didn't style it. I really had to work at doing something with it. I couldn't wake up, brush it out, and leave. I had to style or refresh it every morning. That's all fine and dandy when my family morning routine goes off like a charm, but on mornings my kids were not getting ready like a well oiled machine, I would run out of time to style some day or risk being very late for work.

Did I keep the middy cut? No. I moved to the new job, which happens to be in the North of England and I wasn't prepared for the high wind speeds on a daily basis coupled with the misty rain and sometimes random sleet/snow storms in the Spring. No amount of Motions wrapping lotion with Elnet was going to keep my curls or set in place when the daily walk from my car to work consists of 40 mph and upward winds coupled with precipitation. No matter how well I covered my head, the wind speeds would whip my head covering around.

I have learned to live with the weather and it stops for the summer, but when I arrived, I was stuck with a middy cut that I couldn't keep the set in with the current weather conditions. I found a wonderful hairdresser who has worked with me to grow the middy out and blend in the layers and I'm back to an almost same-length cut. I just have to be realistic that the middy is not for me.

Would I do it again? Yes, but not where I currently live. Perhaps when I return back to the States or a more temperate climate I will. It was a fun experiment and with a good hairdresser, easy to grow back out.

Middy update: first stylist I found turned out to have no idea what they were doing and made an absolute mess of my hair. Looked further afield and found a hair angel in Nottingham. Miss Whitley Belle is a stylist at The Little Vintage Beauty Parlour and knows exactly what she's talking about. I'd highly recommend her! She fixed my disaster with an excellent haircut and understood my needs perfectly. She cut with the final, curled result in mind. Cannot recommend enough!

KittyTwoShoes: You know what? The more I've looked at the middy, the more I realized I prefer shoulder length hair in a cut that closely follows a middy. If we can call it the super duper long femme fatale, that would be it. Lauren Bacall and Gene Tierney's haircuts made me realize that what seemed like the most famous cuts & styles were actually very simple, and probably didn't look so bad when straight. Both women had sleek, wavy styles with only 2 rows of curls set. When I decided to stick with that, styling wasn't such a nightmare. As for windy days, I highly suggest hairspray like L'Oreal's Lock It. I am prone to spraying my hair so that it won't move, but isn't overpowered with hairspray. I was quite impressed last spring when the wind went crazy. Also, did you try something like this?

Now, for the real reason I came here to post. I lurked this thread trying hard to find the post I'd bookmarked that had reuploads of C-Dot's photos. I forgot that the forum was updated & my bookmark was useless. Then I remembered how, in another historical circle I'm in, we do a lot of PDF tutorials that we pass around for free. So I compiled a 3 page tutorial that has the steps exactly as C-Dot wrote it. I also have her clearly marked as the tutorial author. As long as it doesn't make her or anyone else angry, I have it uploaded to DropBox here. The last page just has a blown up version of the photos for an easier reference. If I need to take it down for any reason, I won't be angry at all; I just wanted to offer an easier version to pass around.

Ava, what a brilliant idea with the PDF!! Well done!

First, thanks Alice. I'll try to always keep a couple copies in different places in case people need it, that way if for some reason the link doesn't work, I can re-upload it. C-Dot gave us a great tutorial, I just wanted to make a print-friendly version.

Now, I'm a bit curious about a theory I have with C-Dot's method working for a more modern bob. If angling your fingertips toward your head offers the U shape, would the opposite offer an A-line bob? Or almost straight fingers offer a blunt cut? I could grow my hair out, test it on a longer scale before trimming it back, but I figure another's feedback may help. I'm no pro, and I've only ever cut my hair when it's been longer.

Edit: I took the plunge and tried it myself. Yes, it does offer a good alternative to cutting your own bob. But more importantly, you can maintain your bob, if you choose to make one. Angle the direct opposite of C-Dot's advice, and angle more deeply. The method for the sides, take out the pigtail & line it up with what you did in the back.

I figured this is a fun/interesting thing to note about C-Dot's middy tutorial. It has even more uses than I realized. I've seen plenty of ways to cut a bob from long hair, but no way of maintaining it without hassle.

Hello, all
I've searched the thread but unfortunately came up with no results...but do any of you ladies happen to live around the Dallas/Fort Worth area?
I am desperately trying to get a middy but I'm terrified of bad results and was wondering if any of you knew of a salon I could go to.

I have very straight, silky, thin hair that I'm growing out from a mohawk. A big change, I know haha. It's grown out to about 7" in a year so I think it might leave me with a super short middy. But if I get the right shape I can let it grow out a bit with no issues I think.

Anyway, if any of you know of somewhere to go, please let me know!

I asked my hairstylist to do a middy cut. She told me that with my curly hair & St. Louis's humid, hot weather, the layers wouldn't work. So she cut a beautiful "U" shape in back, and just graded the front hair to blend nicely with the side & back. There are no layers. The cut is wonderful (she's really skilled) and works very well even when I don't do much to it. At those times when I can't do a pin curl set, I comb through some setting lotion, put in some side-combs and twirl my back hair in corkscrews. Then I let it air dry. I'm not saying it's a 100 percent authentic hairdo, but it works with my 30s and 40s clothes and looks all right for everyday.

I'm convinced that doing a middy cut without the layers will work for a lot of ladies who are scared of the full-on middy. It's a wonderfully graceful cut, too.

Hi everyone,
I've had a middy for about three years now, but am expanding my dress sense more into the 30s than the 40s. Any advise on whether it would be better to switch to a different cut? What kind?

I love these types of fluffy curls but they seem more accidental than planned wth my current cut.

I’m interested in trying a DIY Middy but the photos have disappeared from @C-dot ‘s tutorial.

Does anyone have a photo for this bit?

“Clamp the ends of your pigtails in an upward angle - that is, the tips of your fingers should be closer to your head than your knuckles. Cut.”

Jly_vintage_newbie said:

I’m interested in trying a DIY Middy but the photos have disappeared from @C-dot ‘s tutorial.

Does anyone have a photo for this bit?

“Clamp the ends of your pigtails in an upward angle - that is, the tips of your fingers should be closer to your head than your knuckles. Cut.”

Click to expand...

I might have them saved on my laptop. I'll go snooping and see if I can find them.

Jly_vintage_newbie said:

I’m interested in trying a DIY Middy but the photos have disappeared from @C-dot ‘s tutorial.

Does anyone have a photo for this bit?

“Clamp the ends of your pigtails in an upward angle - that is, the tips of your fingers should be closer to your head than your knuckles. Cut.”

Click to expand...

I think you missed my earlier reply. I had created a PDF of it. I sadly forget who, but someone had shared the missing photos with me, and I put everything together. I made sure it was print-friendly as well. [Click here]

@AvavanBlythe thank you so much that’s a lot easier!

The bit I was unsure of was the angle for the back hair in step 4

I wasn’t sure if she meant like this

Pulling the ponytail straight up. But the Cdot pic looks like it’s a 45 degree angle out to the side

I see the issue. In the photos, you see that she separated the hair just behind the ears. That section, from the back of the ears to the nape, are meant to be in low ponytails near your nape and closer to your ear. Those ponytails should be held parallel to the floor, and snipped parallel to the line your fingers make.

The top half, which was sectioned in front of your ears, was meant to be split in 3 sections, with the bangs piled on top, and 2 sections that you'd angle along your jaw. The left and right sections are to be cut at an imaginary line from your chin to your collarbone. The bangs are cut to your liking. You can choose short bangs, or long bangs to blend in with the rest of your hair. The length is based on the haircut you're trying to mimic.

I don't mean to necro, but I was checking up on this thread since I was considering doing my own modified middy and forgot a lot about the process.

I've noticed that images previously hosted by CDot's photobucket no longer show up. My printer friendly PDF is still up, and I'll try to keep it hosted as long as possible. Feel free to save it and share around, as it's CDot's initial work, not mine.

Edit: For those wanting to cut a modded middy using longer hair, use this tutorial by Feye at LongHair Community. You can get a deep U shape for your overall length. Then separate your crown & sides by following CDot's method. I like how BSL or nearly mid back length looks on me, and Feye's method for a U shape is very easy.