Q: How did the Piggy Tail and the Pony Tail get their names for girls hairstyles?
A: Well, as we discussed previously, pig
tails are called such because of their resemblance to, well, pigs’ tails. The style – commonly worn by little girls - was often seen to
curl up into coils and ringlets. Because these tails were smaller than the single pony tail, and resembled the little corkscrew tail
of the pig, the name stuck.
By the same token, the pony tail is called thus because it brought to mind the long flowing tail
of the horse.
In both cases, the name of the particular hairstyle comes from a descriptive for the appearance of
the style. There are lots of other hairstyles that are named the same way: for example, the “Bowl Cut”, the “Mop Top”, the “Rattail”,
and the “Beehive”.
