Margaret Vinci Heldt places a fez-style hat on a mannequin's head.
Long before Marge Simpson or Amy Winehouse created a buzz sporting beehive hairdos, it had to be invented.
And that’s how Margaret Vinci Heldt, a star in the world of hair design, made her name.
The iconic style first fashioned in 1960 by Heldt, now a spry and vivacious 92-year-old who now lives at Lexington Square Retirement Community in Elmhurst, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2010.
From 1950 through the ’70s, Heldt operated Margaret Vinci Coiffures on Michigan Avenue. Editors at Modern Beauty Salon magazine had noticed things were getting a bit dull and lank in the hair scene so they turned to Heldt, known as an innovator, to come up with a new style to turn heads.
“Nothing much had happened since the French twist, the page boy and the flip,” Heldt said. “They told me, ‘We want you to come up with something really different.’”
For inspiration, Heldt needed to look no further than a black velvet fez-style cap she owned with two beaded decorations that look like bees. The hat inspired her to create a style that would not need a lot of maintenance.
“I liked that hat because, when I took it off, my hairstyle stayed in place,” Heldt said.
The style’s impact is being acknowledged by the Chicago History Museum, which is working with Heldt on adding the famous fez to its collection.
In addition, Cosmetologists Chicago, a trade association with 60,000 members, recently created a scholarship in Heldt’s name that will be awarded for the first time in March.
Back in the days when women made weekly visits to the hair salon, Heldt said a style that could be easily maintained between visits appealed to women. And they swarmed to the beehive.
“It stayed in good,” she said. “You could re-comb the style and it would come right back.”
Though the beehive was easy to keep up — even when women slept with it in place — the style had its limits.
“I used to tell my clients ‘I don’t care what your husband does from the neck down, but I don’t want him to touch you from the neck up,’” Heldt joked.
She also is credited with mentoring and teaching some of the leaders in the hair design field including Mario Tricoci and John Amico.
“Margaret Vinci Heldt is not only Cosmetologists Chicago’s longest standing member, but also she is without a doubt our most celebrated,” said Paul Dykstra, vice president of SmithBucklin Services, which manages the association and its annual trade show at McCormick Place.
“(Heldt) is credited worldwide for her innovative “beehive” hairstyle, which revolutionized styling and created a decade-long fashion trend,” Dykstra added.
Growing up during the Depression on Chicago’s west side, Heldt knew from a very young age that she wanted to be a hair stylist.
After her first visit at 6 or 7 to a hair salon “I didn’t care about dolls anymore. All I wanted to do was play beauty shop,” she said.
She looked upon hair design as an art, and if the test of a masterpiece is how it stands the test of time, then the beehive has yet to unravel.
The beehive has had such an impact on the world of style that Heldt still marvels at it.
“Who knew what a phenomenon it would become?” said Heldt. “It was worn by millions of women.”
