• Most women's hairstyles of the '50s required the careful arrangement of numerous hair curlersCurlers image by Mykola Velychko from Fotolia.com
  
  The 1950s offered a variety of hairstyles for men and women, which can be worn today at costume parties, or updated for a cool retro look. Women's styles in the 50s emphasized glamor and curls, while men's were often kept short, neat and slicked back.
  
  

The Ponytail

• Early in the decade, the ponytail was a common daytime hairstyle. All a ponytail requires is hair long enough to be pulled back with some sort of hair tie, and can be accessorized in many different ways. For a more authentic look, wear the ponytail high, and pull it back with a cute scarf or ribbon.
  
  

Curls

• In the '50s, curls were all the rage amongst stylish women. The curls were loose and flowing. Marilyn Monroe serves as a good example of the style. Whether short or long, hair was teased into luscious waves. At the time, women would wear curlers overnight to achieve the desired look, but women of today have the option of blow-drying their hair to more easily achieve a similar look.
  
  

Men's Styles

• Elvis Presley helped popularize several hairstyles, including the pompadour and the ducktail. In a pompadour the hair is combed into a high mound on the top, but kept neatly off of the forehead. Ducktails are combed towards the back, then parted in the center back of the head, while kept messy on top. Both looks require large amounts of grease, and were somewhat outside the norm but considered very cool and rebellious. Mainstream youth were more likely to wear a crew cut, where the hair is shaved to one even length on the whole head. Adult men typically kept their hair short and neat.