UP until about two years ago, I had never heard of Louise Brooks. Yet, throughout most of my High School life I had sported a short blonde bob with a straight fringe clipped just above my eyebrows. Little did I know that the hair cut I loved so much was so influenced by one of the biggest stars of the 1920s.

Born Mary Louise Brooks in 1906 to parents who let Louise and her siblings raise themselves, Louise didn't have the easiest of childhoods. Yet still, she found herself as a model, a showgirl, a dancer, a writer, and a silent film actress. She featured in many films, most famously playing the seductive Lulu in G.W. Pabst's 'Pandora's Box' in 1929.

But, despite Louise being considered one of the first naturalistic actresses in silent film, she is best known for her 'Dutch Boy' hair cut; the perfect accompaniment to her Garçonne image. It wasn't that Louise invented the bob, but she certainly did popularize it. When she emerged with her famous 'black helmet' onto the silver screen, girls and women everywhere were excited to make the hairstyle their own. Her face, sultry but flawless, was truly a face that the camera adored.

In her role as Lulu, Louise found herself wearing a beautiful outfit designed by French fashion designer Jean Patou. This saw Louise decked in a dazzling bronze lamé flaring dress and a coat trimmed with fur, giving her the air of a femme fatale.

Louise's wardrobe consisted mainly of scandalous outfits, from the short flapper dresses to her own twist on the sailor look; a silky cream blouse with very short shorts. Not to mention fur, fur and more fur and other daring designs that only went further to support her notoriety.

But Louise's style was mainly what you would call 'flapper'. This was a popular look with women in the 1920s; no more were women bound by corsets or stuffy Edwardian attire. Hair was cut short, and full bosoms were replaced by flat, boyish chests. Dresses got shorter and lost their shape and women all over felt more liberated and free. Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel and Jean Patou were leaders in the Garçonne style. Chanel's designs were made to be worn free and loose without corsets, which of course, was very inspiring to women out there who just longed for liberation.

Louise was very much a liberated lady, as her affairs with both men and women were no secret. Louise liked to keep people guessing about her sexuality and openly used bad language whenever she pleased. She was the stony beauty who refused to smile on camera unless she genuinely felt like smiling, and blamed her childhood sexual abuse for the reason that she would never love. Therefore, not only do we really have her to thank for the bobs that are so fashionable now and have been for a very long time, but also for leading us ladies into a freer, more exciting life, that we can show off in our fashions, attitudes and lifestyle. And all this she accomplished without saying a word.