Ducks Tail

Our Definition

The Duck's Ass is a hair cut style that was popular in the 1950s. It's also called the Duck's Tail, the Ducktail, or simply D.A.

Joe Cirello, a barber from Philadelphia, claimed to have invented the Duck's Ass in 1940.[1] an analogous haircut, often called the Argentine Ducktail, composed of greased hair heaped high on top and swept back at the sides to form a ridge or seam at the rear, was at the same time trendy among the Mexican-American Pachucos of Los Angeles.[citation needed] The Duck's tail became an emblematic coiffure of truculent young males across the English-speaking world in the 1950s. In the United Kingdom, it formed part of the visible identity of Teddy Boys and Rockers, along with the Quiff and the Elephant's Trunk. The style needed that the hair be brushed back round the sides of the head. The teeth edge of a brush was then used to outline a central parting running from the crown to the nape at the rear of the head, resembling, to several, the rear end of a duck. The hair on the top front of the head was either purposely disarrayed so that untidy strands hung down over the forehead, or brushed up and then curled down into an 'Elephants trunk' which would hang down so far as the head of the nose. A variant of the style, the Detroit, consisted of the long back and sides mixed with a flattop. The ducktail hair style made a contribution to the term greasers : to do this look, tons of pomade ( hair grease ) was needed to carry the hair in effect. This was still the age of hair creams, so it only needed a rise in the figure to make hair remain in the specified style. To make sure that the hair was just so, the wearer frequently touched up the D.A.

Plenty of times during the day by running his greased brush thru it. The personality "Kookie", played by Edd Byrnes on the 1950s TV drama show 77 Nightfall Strip was continually looking after his hair, leading to Byrnes's 1959 hit song with Connie Stevens, "Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb".

Quickly changed into a stereotypical feature of rebels and nonconformists, and gained popularity particularly after the upward push of rock 'n roll legend Elvis Presley, who sported the same look. Though the ducktail was adopted by Hollywood to represent the wild youth of the 50s , only a small proportion of males basically sported a D.A, even amongst the UK Rockers and Teddy Boys of the same age.