Tristen Rouse
Photographer & Photo Editor

Dylan Pierson fluffs their mullet after getting a fresh trim on Dec. 6, 2023, at Chop Shop East in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood of St. Louis. Pierson first got a mullet after having a pompadour for a long time. “I needed a big change,” Pierson said. “And I wanted something edgy, that still showed the artistic side of myself.”

Ella Teresa has her mullet dried and curled on  Dec. 7, 2023, at Chop Shop East in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood of St. Louis. Teresa says mullets have “already made their comeback. They’re here and they’re riding the wave. But also with the age of the internet, with fashion, there’s no real trends anymore. Every trend is happening at once. So I doubt the mullet with disappear.”

Ella Teresa has her mullet dried and curled on Dec. 7, 2023, at Chop Shop East in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood of St. Louis. “[A mullet] is what I was asking for, but didn’t realize what I was asking for, my entire childhood,” Teresa said. “So when I figured it out, it was the greatest thing.”

Tylr Cailyn’s mullet features a pair of long braids coming out from underneath, photographed on Dec. 11, 2023, at their home in Maplewood, Mo. “As somebody who works a lot with alternative cuts, I thought for sure this trend would be over by now,” said Cailyn, who studied as a hairstylist and is now studying tattooing. “And so far, it’s just not slowing down. I think we’ll get more angular with it, as opposed to the softer style.” 

Marcy Wiegert is photographed on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023, at Locke Hair in the Webster Groves neighborhood of St. Louis. “I didn’t realize that a hairstyle could make me feel the most like myself,” Wiegert said. “Even though I’m a hairstylist. I hadn’t discovered that yet, for myself.” 

Jack Reid, photographed on Dec. 14, 2023, at his home in the Dogtown neighborhood of St. Louis, got his first mullet on accident. “I wanted a haircut that was all the same length, and ended up with a mullet. But I stuck with it. And then at my next appointment, I asked for a mullet, and make it even more mullet-y,” he said. To him, mullets are “a movement that I hopped on, just like the mustache.”

Tylr Cailyn’s hair products, see inside a bathroom cabinet on Dec. 11, 2023, at their home in Maplewood, Mo. Cailyn said that, with their hair, they tend to look to Japan to see what hair styles and fashion trends may soon be crossing over into the U.S. 

Emma Tiemann shows off her mullet’s “business in the front” on Dec. 14, 2023, at her home in the Boulevard Heights neighborhood of St. Louis. “I feel like they’re having a moment,” Tiemann said, of mullets. “I also feel like they never left, but they’re at the top of a wave right now.” 

Ella Teresa’s freshly dried and curled mullet is photographed on Dec. 7, 2023, at Chop Shop East in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood of St. Louis. 

The disconnect between the front and back of Ella Teresa’s mullet, photographed during a haircut on Dec. 7, 2023, at Chop Shop East in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood of St. Louis. 

Hairstylist Onawa Brown’s feet is surrounded by fallen hair during a mullet-trimming appointment on Dec. 7, 2023, at Chop Shop East in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood of St. Louis. 

Emma Tiemann is photographed on Dec. 14, 2023, in the bathroom of her home in the Boulevard Heights neighborhood of St. Louis. “I do think it came from being a little punk kid, and like I said, moving from a mohawk to finding a slightly less aggressive haircut,” said of her mullet.

Hairstylist Onaway Brown trims Dylan Pierson’s mullet on Dec. 6, 2023, at Chop Shop East in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood of St. Louis. Brown noted that, as the mullet has increased in popularity, there’s been an increase in the kinds of mullets people are growing. They noted that Pierson’s mullet takes inspiration from the 80’s, but has a modern fade up the sides. 

Tylr Cailyn s photographed on Dec. 11, 2023, at their home in Maplewood, Mo. “The world can be cruel, and it’s the little things that bring me joy,” said of their mullet. “And my mom hated it, so I have to have it. She like it now, in case you’re wondering.” 

Ella Teresa shows off her mullet’s disconnected front and back on Dec. 7, 2023, at Chop Shop East in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood of St. Louis.

Ellis Basil takes much of their fashion inspiration from country, including his mullet, photographed on Dec. 22, 2023, at his home in the Benton Park neighborhood of St. Louis. Baril says he has had a mullet, on and off, since the summer of 2022. “It’s the ‘y’all’ of haircuts,” Baril said. “I see lots of people doing it but they’re coming at it from different perspectives.” 

Aaron Latal kept his hair long until he was ready for a change and decided to shorten it to a mullet. Soon after, at a real estate convention he attended, he saw someone offering headshots and decided to get professional photographs and business cards, rocking his new cut.

Aaron Latal is photographed in his home on Dec. 11, 2023, at his home in the Tower Grove South neighborhood of St. Louis. “I think I got a fun personality,” Latal said. “Tryin’ to have a lot of fun while I can, so I got a fun haircut.” 

Tony Donaby, 4, is photographed on Dec. 18, 2023, at his family’s home in Caseyville, Ill. “It was his dad’s idea. But it seems to fit his personality pretty good. ,” said Donaby’s mother, Alicia Weber. “He’s got lots of energy, he’s wild and I feel like it’s a hairstyle that fits that type of personality.”