When boring Bernice visits her extended family, her glamorous cousin Marjorie desides to make her over, if only to keep her from being a drag on her social life. The transformation is successful and Bernice becomes popular with all the local boys, including Marjorie's beau, Warren. And Marjorie isn't going to stand for that.

"Bernice Bobs Her Hair," holds an important place in Fitzgerald work as an early examination of theme of competition for social success: especially among young women.