The Mom Bun: An Age Old Tradition

  Mom buns. They're everywhere. At the supermarket. At church. Across the street sifting through the mail. Standing in front of you in line at Starbucks. Maybe you're the one sporting the mom bun. My point is, they might just be THE hairstyle of this era. They're so popular they have even graced t-shirts, mugs, and wall art. But is it really anything new?
   Now buns have nothing really to do with motherhood. Ballerinas wear 'em (proud ballerina here!), people wanting to save time, people wanting to try something new with their hair, even men have gotten in on the hairstyle. Still the term "mom bun" gains popularity. For the obvious reason of buns projecting someone wishing to save time, and moms being a major people group always looking for a few extra minutes.
   It wasn't until a few months back though that it hit me. Mom buns aren't just a trendy thing to iron on your t-shirt(although I think it's super cute haha), they're something moms and women in general have been doing since prairie days. As in Little House on the Prairie. Ma Ingalls.

    As someone who used to love watching the Ingalls, and still does, I find that extremely funny. That today in such "modern" times as these we "modern" women don something that in some minds would make people think of log cabins and no electricity. I'm always trickled by deja vu moments like this. It's little things like this that reminds us that we're not all that far from our ancestors or foremothers in a good way.
    There's a lot of trends in style or lifestyle that are throwbacks to our pioneer ancestors. Maxi shirts, I'm pretty sure our great grandmothers would rock one. Chicken in the backyard, no home was complete without them. Freezer meal cooking, our great grandmother would make enough sausage to feed a family of 5 for the whole winter.
    Now we have plenty of conveniences they didn't. The world wide web couldn't even be imagined in that time. Can you picture Ma on Pinterest? She would have probably put a intricate braid in her mom bun with one of Pinterest's many hair tutorials. Or maybe she would have finally figured out the best way to get grease stains out of her pans. If she had had Starbucks she might have taken a part time job as a barista instead of  working at the restaurant in season 6 (okay I know that wasn't real life, just for the show). Or maybe she would be a online Avon representative like me. I really wanna know how she got her buns so perfect back before elastic hair ties. I can't get them right WITH one. FYI the scrunchie was patented in 1986. You're welcome.
    I don't sport a mom bun as much as media and advertising might suggest moms do or should, I actually wore my hair in a bun more when I was a early teen. But that bun was much more polished. I'd say I wear my hair up 50 percent of the time. Keep in mind though I used to work in a salon. I learned a lot about taking care of your hair, and got used to having to have my hair styled for my job.
Although I've noticed that in friends and family that I knew before they were moms they wear their hair up exponentially more than they did pre-kids. I guess the cliché is true after all.
    Whether you're a mom or not are you a fan of the "mom bun"? Or more of a unwilling participant in the trend?

 Linking up with Annie and Natalie