I remember the first time….I saw a blow dryer. Had you going with that title, eh?

Growing up, a hair dryer was something that came in a pink, always pink, round zippered hat box shaped container. It had a plastic bonnet and a clear hose attaching it to the case. When it heated up it stunk like melting plastic.

Just after high school in New York, best friend Rosie and I hit the nearby Max Hair Studio for our first shag cuts, the stylists brandishing the newfangled blow dryers. So excited were we to be free of bonnets and juice cans as rollers, and unable to buy such an exciting tool without professional hair stylist status, we were determined to improvise. Out came the Electrolux vacuum, set on reverse, with a piece of panty hose rubber banded to the end to act as a filter, lest the previous night's sucked up spiders splatter our locks, and – voila (!) our own homemade blow dryer.

As long as we're talking about youthful heads, I can relate this to knitting. Surprised? Here are some eggplant and strawberry hats for a baby shower stash for daughters' friends:

IMG_0758

Posted in

12 responses to “I remember the first time”

  1. sherry Avatar

    Daughter+ baby shower?? Grandma?? did I miss something?? Love the colors you used.

    Like

  2. Li_B Avatar

    Thanks, Sherry, for pointing that out – I’ve clarified my sentence 😉 No Grandma here.

    Like

  3. Jo Avatar

    Willow loves your hats!

    Like

  4. Dorothy Avatar

    I just love those berry hats. You can never have too many in your stash. I really had to laugh at the blow dryer thing. Did you ever iron your hair? I didn’t – it wasn’t long enough, but it was all the rage when I was in high school. However, I did sit under a dryer with juice cans on my head!!

    Like

  5. Chris Avatar

    I remember those pink cases! I don’t remember seeing my first hair dryer, but I remember buying my last, most recent one. It was just 2 weeks ago. I burn through them!

    Like

  6. Charlotte Avatar

    I think I still have one of those bonnet hair dryers around here somewhere. I also have a blow dryer. But the way my sister and I dried our hair before the blow dryer was to sit in the hall in front of the furnace vent which was low in the wall and let the furnace blower dry our hair.

    Like

  7. crzjane Avatar

    Wow, you bring back memories of those bonnet hairdryers. They could get hot!
    Thank you for the idea of hats for baby shower gifts. I have a shower to go to in January for a fellow worker and a little hat would be just right!
    I love the watermelon hat. So cute.

    Like

  8. Chrissy Avatar
    Chrissy

    I completely forgot about using the vacuum cleaner hose as a hair dryer during my childhood! I haven’t thought about that for a long time. My mom still insists on using the same kind of vacuum cleaner that drags behind you as you vacuum. No uprights for her. I lovingly refer to it as dragging along the dead pig.

    Like

  9. Lorette Avatar

    Oh man, I can smell that hot plastic bonnet dryer smell just by reading this. And the juice cans! The things we did (and still do) to be beautiful! I will never forget the one and only attempt I made at waxing my legs. 😦

    Like

  10. Angie Avatar

    I got my first blow dryer in grade 7. I still haven’t mastered the use of one. Perhaps I should just wear a berry hat.

    Like

  11. Lynn Avatar

    Oh yes, those hair dryers with the plastic bonnets….. We had one of those. I was very happy to have the actual blow dryer, it took 1/2 the time to dry your hair!!! And you could get a Farrah Faucett style to boot!! LOL
    Hey where did you get those hat patterns? I would love to make some for my little niece!

    Like

  12. Kathy Avatar

    I’ve been knitting those hats too — love them!

    Like

Leave a comment