Forget the the Agyness crop or the Nicole Richie fringe. The hairstyle to request at the salon right now is the “Veronica”. Cascading waves and deep side partings, inspired by the 1940s starlet Veronica Lake, were everywhere from Gucci through Valentino to Roberto Cavalli at the autumn/winter 2007 fashion shows, where they were the perfect complement to cinched waists and figure-hugging skirts.

“Fashion has moved towards a more glamorous, structured look, so hair shapes have changed too,” says Zoe Irwin, creative director of Headmasters hair salons. “Tousled hair looks wrong with the gloved-and-booted lady-of-the-manor look that is big now.”

But the revival of 1940s set hair has been stirring for some time. Celebrities such as the burlesque performer Dita Von Teese have championed the shampoo and set (the retro styling technique used to create Lake’s signature blonde waves) for the past few years. Now it has really filtered through to the mainstream.

Indeed, the hairstylist Nina Butkovich-Budden, an aficionado of classic films and looks who has worked with London’s burlesque performers and actors at the Young Vic, has seen a sharp rise in the number of people demanding her specialist “dos”, namely the hairstyles of the pin-up Bettie Page and silver-screen stars such as Lauren Bacall and, of course, Lake. Butkovich-Budden’s retro hair parlour (020 7928 7061) is located in a somewhat antiquated salon in Waterloo, complete with original 1950s conical dryers and paraphernalia such as hair pomades. From here, she serves up her classic hairstyling to everyone from students to teachers, masseurs to TV directors. “Women want to look sexy again,” she says.

The secret to the Veronica, according to Butkovich-Budden, is the right cut. “Women generally had shoulder-length hair in the 1940s and 1950s. The curls will drop if the hair is too long,” she says. At her parlour, the shampoo-and-set experience is authentic. She washes her clients’ hair, coats it in setting lotion while still wet, puts rollers in and then sits them under the dryers “for a very long time” – anything up to an hour and a half, depending on the length of the hair. She then moulds the resulting voluminous, bouncing curls into tumbling waves with her hands.

There are quicker ways to achieve the same effect, however. At the Daniel Hersheson blow-dry bar in Topshop’s Oxford Street store, Alice in Wonderland, a structured, wavy style, takes just half an hour (£21; 020 7927 7888); while the Starlet Siren treatment at the Headmasters blow-dry bar in Fenwick on Bond Street will transform you into a 1940s vixen in 40 minutes (£22; 020 7629 9161). Or see below for how to do the Veronica at home.

THE DIY VERONICA

STEP 1

Zoe Irwin suggests using “a shampoo that gives hair asoft sheen, but won’t weigh it down”. Try Kérastase Bain Satin (£12).

STEP 2

Traditional setting lotions have a tendency to leave hair feeling hard and crisp. Instead, apply a protective styling product that will shield hair from heat and help it to hold on to the curl for longer. Try James Brown London Heat Styling Protector (£6, from larger Boots), or TommyGuns Miraculous Volumising Thickening Styling Mousse (£6.50; 0845 688 0188).

STEP 3

Dry the hair using a hairdryer until it is almost fully dry.

STEP 4

Part the hair in a deep side parting. This gives the signature Veronica Lake “over-one-eye curl”.

STEP 5

Use a wide-barrelled heated tong (Daniel Hersheson Waving Tongs, £71; 020 7434 1747) to curl small sections of hair, starting at the top of the head and working through to the mid layers and underneath. Don’t curl the hair under. “Put the tong on top of the strands of hair close to the root and wrap the hair diagonally, rather than winding it straight, so you get a wave rather than a dodgy party curl,” says session hairstylist Luke Hersheson. Remove the tong, keeping the wound-up hair together and pin close to the head using a small sectioning clip (Teknique Basics Sectioning Clips, £8, from Sally’s Hair and Beauty Supplies; 020 7434 0064). You can also use heated benders (Babyliss Professional Ceramic Hot Sticks, £36, from Sally’s Hair and Beauty Supplies, as before) – follow the instructions above, but you won’t need clips as the benders will hold the hair in place.

STEP 6

When you have completed the whole head, and the hair is cool, remove the clips or benders. Using your fingertips, tease the curls into looser waves. Spritz with hairspray – Elnett Extra Strength Nutri-Protection for dry/damaged hair (from £1.99) keeps hair soft yet in place.

STEP 7

Accessorise with a classic red lipstick – the ultimate partner for femme fatalehair.

Times recommends

• Ask me about sex, not pay
• Culture clubbing
• Honor Blackman: Words from the wise