Rock Of Ages

For some of us, the ’90s grunge era was a huge relief: We could finally give in to our hair’s natural tendency to obey gravity and stop curling, blow-drying, teasing and spraying it in a vain attempt to look like one of the strippers in Motley Crue’s “Girls, Girls, Girls.” For others, like the rock stars attending the premiere of Rock of Ages in Hollywood last week, big, crispy hair is one of the things they miss most about the era. If you weren’t alive or conscious in the ’80s and early ’90s, let us just tell you, there’s a reason they called it “hair metal.”

Through their Rock of Ages characters, Julianne Hough and Russell Brand allow us to look back fondly at some of the best and most embarrassing of styles that took the phrase “The higher the hair, the closer to God” to heart. Tom Cruise‘s Stacee Jaxx, meanwhile, recalls the latter years of Bret Michaels’ ‘do, which traded spiked up locks for the comfort of a bandana and cowboy hat, which to this day, he says, “makes it killer!” Here are some of our faves:

“The hair was so cool,” Lita Ford told VH1 News. “I remember one of the guys had this big old hairdo, and I said to him, ‘How the hell do you get your hair to do that?’ Because I was always with the Aquanet, trying to get my hair to stand straight up, and you can’t get it up enough. So he told me he slept upside down.”

Oh, that’s what we were doing wrong all that time!

As we gear up for the release of Rock of Ages this week, we’ve been looking back at some of the trends the nostalgic musical so lovingly celebrates, like Malin Akerman’s sexy rocker-chick look and Mary J. Blige’s flashy jumpsuits. More than any one fashion, the movie reminds us of one big trend the late ’80s and early ’90s were famous for: the groupie. Not just the girls who flashed their goods from the audience or hung around by the tour buses, either — there were plenty of high-profile ladies who were eager for a backstage pass. And some of them got a lot more than a private concert in the bargain.

As we gathered this list of our favorite celebrity-rocker pairs, from Cher and Gene Simmons to Tommy Lee and Heather Locklear, one other thing became very evident: All of these couples seemed to share taste in makeup, tight pants, big hair and baggy blazers. It even looks like Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli got their hair cut together. And maybe Rod Stewart and Rachel Hunter could swap blazers, while Axl Rose and Stephanie Seymour traded acid-washed jeans. We’re not sure what exactly Melissa Gilbert and Billy Idol had in common, but, yeah, that happened!

[Photos: Getty Images]

Whether or not you’re old enough to have lived through the ’80s hair-band era, you have definitely been subjected to nostalgia for the days of man perms, animal-print spandex and awesome rawk music — especially this week, with the release of Rock of Ages. Suddenly, the styles we once ridiculed (and used for more than one Halloween costume) are back in our closets and on our screens. That’s what prompted VH1 to ask a few of the stars of the movie whether they were tempted to steal their retro costumes and wear them in real, 21st century life. Malin Akerman was quick to admit as much.

There’s a dress that I’m wearing that’s like a black dress with tassles that is incredible,” said Akerman, who plays magazine writer Constance Sack. “I think it was actually from All Saints or something like that. And I was so tempted to bring that one home and go, ‘Oops, I lost it!’ ”

The actress hopes the flick will inspire viewers to embrace their metal fan too. “I want them to go home and put on their leather pants again, and put on their rock songs and have a blast!

If, instead of leather pants, you want to take some fashion inspiration from Constance, who goes from buttoned-up magazine girl to full-on rocker chick, here are a few things that comprise her look.
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