Alert Your Hairstylist: The '90s-Inspired Heartthrob Bob Is Making a 2025 Comeback
It's the most nostalgic bob trend of the year.


If there’s one hair trend currently sweeping my feeds as a beauty editor, it’s the “heartthrob bob”. The charmingly androgynous, delightfully floppy style is equal parts ‘90s boy band member and modern, cool-girl short hair trend. Think Leonardo DiCaprio in Romeo + Juliet, Nick Carter in his Backstreet Boys era, or a young Brad Pitt with his tousled, middle-parted locks.
Yes, the latest bob hair trend takes from the dreamboats of a '90s teenager's bedroom wall. Given our current obsession with ‘90s beauty aesthetics that has welcomed the return of skinny brows and lip liner, this boy-band bob was arguably on the cards for a comeback too.
What Is the Heartthrob Bob?
At its core, the heartthrob bob is a cropped, chin-skimming bob haircut with soft layers and a curtain fringe that effortlessly swoops across the face. It boasts volume without being fussy, and sits somewhere between a grown-out pixie cut and a breezy shag haircut. The look oozes low-maintenance effortlessness, like you’ve just stepped off the set of a 1997 Calvin Klein campaign.
While we've seen razor sharp bob silhouettes of late (such as the blunt bob and laser cut bob) the heatthrob bob is deliberately undone. It’s all about movement and texture and doesn’t try too hard. It’s playful, it’s soft. The comeback hair trend has been given a modern update for 2025, with celebrities such as Ariana Greenblatt, Emma Chamberlain and Taylor Hill flirting with variations of the trend by each adding their own twist, whether it’s with a swooping fringe or choppy layers.
How To Style the Heartthrob Bob
The beauty of the heartthrob bob is that it’s incredibly versatile. Air-dry it for that slept-in, skater-boy feel. Or, use a round brush and mousse for a retro blowout. Or scrunch in some texture spray for a lived-in, post-concert vibe. The key is to keep it soft—think natural bends over poker-straight strands. And don’t forget the fringe. Whether you go full curtain fringe or a subtle side-swoop, it’s the face-framing detail that brings the look together.
Ready to embrace the heartthrob bob? Scroll ahead for all the inspiration you could need to take to the salon.
Heartthrob Bob Haircut Ideas
The effortlessly tousled hair and fringe combo makes me want to take this picture of Taylor Hill straight to my hairdresser.
Emma Chamberlain's bob is so boy-band coded.
The modern take keeps the trend feeling fresh with a choppy curtain fringe and layers.
Those with curly hair textures can get in on the action by working with your hair's natural texture.
Proof that this trend can look incredibly chic—I love Loïcka Grâce's cropped heartthrob bob-pixie hybrid with that iconic face-framing swoosh.
Adding a curtain fringe is the easiest way to update your bob and lean into the '90s look.
I'm swooning over this wavy bob and curtain fringe combo.
Shop the Trend:

Eleanor Vousden is the beauty editor for Who What Wear UK. She was previously deputy editor at Hairdressers Journal, health writer at Woman & Home and junior beauty editor at Powder. She has also contributed to Wallpaper and Elle Collections.With a degree in fashion journalism from the London College of Fashion, she has 10 years of industry experience and has been highly commended at the BSME Talent Awards for her work on Powder and also contributed to the title winning Website of the Year at the PPA Awards.Eleanor’s journalistic focus is providing readers with honest and helpful beauty content. She has interviewed celebrity makeup artists, hairstylists and dermatologists throughout her career, as well as celebrities such as Hailey Bieber, Sarah Jessica Parker and Scarlett Johansson.
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