Why do Peaky Blinders have that haircut? According to historians, shaved hairstyles were common among criminals during the early 20th century. Longer hair had the potential to get in the way during fights and shorter styles made gangsters look tougher. Plus, the cut made them harder to identify when wearing hats.
Despite the fire risk, much paraffin wax was used to keep the hair in place. Other gangs who favored this haircut were the Scuttlers of Manchester and the Peaky Blinders of Birmingham, because longer hair put the wearer at a disadvantage in a street fight.
Members of this gang dressed in a particular fashion: tailored jackets, waistcoats, overcoats, and topped with a signature flat cap. The name “Peaky Blinders” was the nickname given to the gang because they stitched razor blades into the peaks of their caps to be used as a weapon in fights with competing gangs.
Star Cillian Murphy and his on-screen brothers wear three-piece tweed suits with flat caps that only grow more fashionable with every passing year — not to mention their haircuts, which have had fans going gaga ever since the show kicked off in 2013. The "Peaky Blinders" haircut is historically accurate, too.
The Peaky Blinder's Arthur Shelby haircut is a disconnected undercut. The sides and back are cut short using a #1 guard and the top is slicked back.
The Shelby family: Fictional! Cillian Murphy's Thomas Shelby tragically exists only in our dreams.
When Shelby has given birth, she decides to have her long hair cut off “to make things as simple as possible”. But when she sees herself in the mirror without her long locks, she starts to cry, knowing she has left behind part of her pre-motherhood self and must now be sensible, with a sensible hair-do to match.
Ask the barber: Ask for a "crop" but indicate you would like to have the fringe sweeping to the right or left and short around the back and sides with extra length left on top.
Birmingham historian Carl Chinn believes the name is actually a reference to the gang's sartorial elegance. He says the popular usage of "peaky" at the time referred to any flat cap with a peak. "Blinder" was a familiar Birmingham slang term (still used today) to describe something or someone of dapper appearance.
One viewer even asked: "Sorry did they change the actor that plays curly? #PeakyBlinders". In fact, according to the programme's credits, Ian Peck did return to season five to play Curly - he has simply lost some weight since fans last laid eyes on him.
Tommy and others are seen smoking Opium throughout the series as a coping mechanism. Over 5000 cigarettes were smoked on the show. Characters drink frequently on-screen, become drunk, and act violent and clumsy. One character has an opium habit, and a 10-year-old child smokes a cigarette on-screen.
Tommy Shelby and his kin are Irish-Romani (sometimes spelled Romany) Gypsies, a unique cultural and ethnic group present in Britain since the 1500s. The award-winning Peaky Blinders is directed by Steven Knight and has run for 6 seasons, the most recent hitting U.S. Netflix in June 2022.
If you've ever noticed that Shelby never eats on the show, that's because it was an accidental choice that later turned into an intentional decision. Once fans noticed this quirk, Murphy and Knight decided to turn it into a “Tommy thing,” which added to the character's obsessive industriousness.
Shelby's hairstyle is easy to achieve and can be very stylish. This style suits gents with oval faces or defined cheekbones. For an original Tom Shelby look, ask your barber for a number three on the back and sides. You can request a cropped, textured cut with some extra length left at the front.
In Fury, Brad Pitt has a slicked back pompadour with an undercut. The sides are kept very short to create contrast to a timeless looking cut. The back of the hair is kept longer and tapered off to a zero through the neck.
Piecey pixie
Catwoman's chosen hairstyle for the majority of the film, this short pixie cut was created by celebrity hairstylist Nikki Nelms. The fringe, which was accompanied by sweet, curled sideburns (much more aesthetic than they sound), lay high and short on the forehead, ending in piecey points.
Will there be a Peaky Blinders season 7? Unfortunately, no, Peaky Blinders season 6 is the final season of the British drama series, but creator Steven Knight confirmed that in place of a seventh season, they're making a Peaky Blinders movie.
Members of the Peaky Blinders gang in their typical garb of muted, dark suits, detachable collar shirts with exposed studs, and iconic peaked caps.
From the beginning, Tommy has struggled with what we now understand as post-traumatic stress disorder, stemming from his time in World War I. In Season 6, he suffers from seizures, with his body reflecting the inner turmoil wrought from fighting at home and abroad.
Cillian Murphy, who plays Tommy, was asked about this very topic during an interview with BBC Radio One. The actor explained: "That comes from the fact that the cigarettes, we cut the filter off or do we leave the filter on I cannot recall, but anyway if you don't rub them across your lips initially, they will stick.
That whisper is the semi-public admission that Tommy is shaking his blood-stained hands with Duke, and expecting him to carry on his dark deeds.