I’ve worn a middle parting since I was a teenager. Never a side part. On very rare occasions, I’ve ever-so-slightly tilted it to one side, as a tentative way of switching it up. Legendary French hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai once told me that “changing the direction of the parting can completely transform a woman’s look,” and I kept that in the back of my mind—not that I was ready for it, yet. Any experiments I had with my parting over the years were short-lived. Very short-lived. I’ve always been a stickler for my own beauty and glam routine—from skincare to bodycare—so moving the parting a few centimeters was as far as I’d go.
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In the last few weeks, Scarlett Johansson and Hunter Schafer have brought back the ’90s bombshell hair: a sharp side parting that, when you move, flows dramatically. The dimension and body is brilliant. Somehow, it makes your hair look even more glossy and shimmering, with a simple flick. Then came the Victoria’s Secret fashion show, and the supermodel side part was enjoyed by Adriana Lima, Bella Hadid, and Gigi Hadid.
It’s also been enjoying more time on the runways, from Chanel’s deep and gritty side parts that hit at the browbone, to Dior’s romantic, side-swept bobs. Now we’re officially in fall and heading to winter, the side part feels like a glamorous, festive new setting.
So, I thought, maybe now I could allow myself to play with my hair. Experiment. Take a risk, even. It sounds hyperbolic, but I’m also someone who has worn black for years and rarely deviate from my yogurt and granola breakfast. Sweeping my hair to the side feels major. This was to be a big step out of my beauty comfort zone .
This decision came even though beauty theory says the opposite. Let me explain: hairstylist Maria Baras told me that this type of hairstyle especially favors rounded faces, because they provide some necessary volume at the top. In a display of beauty bravery, I decided, still, to give it a try. But when I let Baras know, she actually encouraged me: “When you wear your hair in a center part, you’ll be used to that flatter, sleeker, more polished look. A side part will feel strange at first, btu I advise that you give it some time to live with.”
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I chose to do it on a Sunday, when I have the least social contact outside of my family. If it looked terrible, I was in my safe zone: my own bathroom, with my own brushes, my trusty Dyson Airwrap, and dry shampoo. If my boyfriend did a double take, I could do a 180—or a 90.
While it might surprise you, I’m not a Hailey Bieber, Zoe Kravitz, or a Hadid sister, people who’ll have superstar stylists like Marc Mena, Bobby Elliot, Bryce Scarlett, or Rena Calhoun on-hand for their sweeping superstar side parts. But I got to work: this wasn’t about recreating the extreme partings of ’90s and ’00s, but something more refined. Softer, wearable, with subtle volume. I flipped my hair to its heavier side, and softly backcombed the roots, pulling my shorter, grown-out bangs behind my ears. I was surprised by the immediate effect. My jaw actually looked sharper, my face longer.
Aesthetic test tentatively passed, I then had to get used to my new side parting’s logistics. I felt very conscious of keeping my head at an angle to keep the side part clear, and kept moving my head quickly, like a horse with a thick mane, to steady it. Would I end up with severe torticollis? Honestly, I didn’t feel entirely comfortable. The hair kept falling into my eyes when I was going about my day to day life. Keeping the hairstyle looking as natural as the hair references that inspired me—Scarlett, Bella, and Hunter—didn’t seem completely compatible with my real life.
If you’re willing to commit, the side part can work with pretty much any cut and hairstyle: for those on team bob, or with a pendant for a bouncy blowout, and chic chignons. It’s a simple styling trick for balancing out thick hair, redistributing the mass of a mane, but it’s also ideal for anyone with thin hair. For square faces, it can soften jawlines and broad foreheads, while heart and diamond-shaped visages can benefit from balancing the forehead and accentuating high cheekbones.
How to do it exactly? Test out which side of your face it feels most flattering and comfortable on. (No one is totally symmetrical, so you’ll want to work out your best side). Place your comb in the center of one eyebrow, and run it back in one fell swoop, before tidying it up with your fingers. Consider a beauty bag with a pin comb to make the parting precise, dry shampoo for extra texture and volume, and a good hairspray or mousse for hold. You might do as the supermodels do, and pair it with voluminous waves, but the move for fall 2025 seems to veer on the more slick, gelled version to exaggerate the sharp, “snatched” lines of the face.
So while a side part isn’t making it into my tried-and-true routine, it might become my own beauty little black dress. When I want to reinvent myself for a special occasion this fall, I will think of this updated ’90s hair, and take it on like a red lip. There’s plenty of celebrity beauty muses to take to your next hair appointment too, or place on your phone screen in front of the bathroom mirror. See you on the flip side!
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