If not the mum bob, then what haircut can I have?

[Rathkelter]

Another poster was on about cutting their hair short recently and was told to avoid a frumpy bob at all costs.
Now here's the dilemma: if your face isn't pixie/elfin/cheekbone/pretty enough for the crop then what do have?
I have fine hair that doesn't grow well and quickly looks tatty when it gets below chin. There's a stubborn middle parting and a high forehead to contend with. It's fairly straight but can be scrunched with product but then tends to flop after a few hours.
Are there other options? Every time I go to the salon I ask for something edgy but I always come out looking the same: with a boring, pristine tidy bob!

Air dry not hair dry....

I like these shorter cuts. Have kept them on my phone for ages but, in reality, my hair is very fine and would just be so flat. Not sure I have a good enough jawline either.

Love that blonde one, bagel. Do you think it looks particularly good because her hair looks thick and peroxide?

Surely it's only a mum Bob if it doesn't suit you, or the rest of your look is a bit mum

Of course.
Mumbob is just a throwaway remark. If it looks good it looks good.

I'm sure those things help! And probably som products to give it all that texture. I look at my hair and just know it would like flat as a pancake if I had it like that. Not fair

I've had this cut a few times. Used a product to make it a bit more textured - bed head or shebangabang. Might that shaoe work for you?

'Shape' that should be

I have a blunt bob, slightly a-line with a centre parted fringe. I straighten it every day to avoid mum-bob. It was more a-line last time and a bit longer and I think I prefer that. I use a dry texturiser which helps tremendously with volume. I highly recommend the Davines one.

Following with interest

Planning a haircut soon.
So following fo ideas.

My hair was butchered by the last hairdresser. Have since found out that she lied about her hairdressing capabilities. Anyway, this is the style I'm going for next time, (the shorter cut)

That cut is fabulous.
I'm to fat in the face to carry that off though!

When I got a bob cut I also got slices of bright pink put in. Which I feel mitigated the 'mum' aspect of it a bit 😁

I have very straight hair so I don't have short layers put into the bob (thus avoiding the mushroom head look) and when I've straightened it, I use wax on the ends to give it a bit of definition. I was sort of growing it out, but I'm now considering going really short, having seen some of these pictures 😁

Mine is similar in shape to the blonde one bagel posted but with a choppy fringe. Not blonde though currently warm chocolate with violet tones. Previously dark chocolate with caramel. (Bloody hell why does my hair sound edible?!) I went through a phase of reds but they didn't suit me.

Love that one, Folly!

Want2 I think the short cut is great but what does it look like when the wind blows all those lovely strands out of place?! With me, they end up stuck to the side of my head and thst sense of casual disarray is a distant mirage!

Loyau is the fringe annoying?

I had my very fine, firmly center parted hair cut into a style similar to what Bagel posted and was surprised at how much volume it ended up having once the length was taken off and how it was able to be coaxed into a side part. My hair is so fine that it tends to have a mind of its own so I've figured out that I need to put something in it to help give it a little bit of weight. For me, finding a hair dresser that really tailors the cut to MY hair and routine was key. I don't spend much time of styling and am out and about a lot, so I need a cut to work even when it's not pristine.

What about a very light perm then a shaggy bob? I dd something like that years ago after pregnancy wrecked my hair. (Amazingly, now in my 60s hair is in better condition than ever with no thinning...)

Never thought of that OP. Plenty of wax on the ends?

Gotakeahike that's very interesting. I already have a side parting so I might just show that blonde cut to my hairdresser next time and see what she thinks.

Do you have to use product in your hair each time you style it - and does it mean you always have to blow dry it?