According to celebrity hairstylist and beauty expert David Lopez, in the ’60s, the style became even bolder and more original with the fringe being added. “It is the epitome of what we see as ‘chic’ and timeless in Western culture,” he says. “It’s a classic, bold, timeless shape that instantly invokes a sort of romanticism. I love the natural waves and how blunt it was cut. Definitely an iconic haircut.”

Weingarten also says that whether they realized it or not, people probably drew a “visual if not visceral connection” between Amélie and Audrey Hepburn, as Hepburn was one of the original pixie-cut film icons who also starred in Paris-set films. “Amélie’s hair is a cross-generational hybrid of all these influences and eras—the innocent sexuality of the 1950s meeting the dangerous glint of the 1960s and beyond, all summed up by a single, messy bob.” 

Maldonado says that while he hasn’t ever had a client come in and ask for “the Amélie haircut,” he often uses it as a reference when someone wants a bob with bangs. But many fans of the film have copied her haircut on purpose, and some of them never looked back. Suzy Exposito, a 31-year-old music reporter for the L.A. Times, says she loved Amélie because she was such a whimsical but compassionate character who dedicated her time to making other lonely people feel less so. After coming back from studying abroad in Paris, Exposito decided to cut her hair like Amélie’s, herself. “My whole vibe as a teen was ‘indie-rock manic pixie dream girl,’” says Exposito. “So I went to work as a teacher’s assistant at a summer art program in Paris, got a punk boyfriend, and hacked off my hair.” She admits it was “a bitch” to grow out.