Victorian Hair

The Victorian era began formally in 1837 and ended in 1901, it began with the crowning of Queen Victoria and ended with her death. Through this time there were many different fashions in hair. In the Victorian era hair was very long and thick as it was unusual for a women to cut their hair which meant that hairstyles could be very elaborate and intricate, usually involving buns, plaits and curls. The style of hair, for example curly or straight, was said to represent the temperament of a women. On the website 'Victorian Hair' by Michael Warner, it says 'curly hair was meant to indicate a sweeter temperament, while straight-hair girls were considered reserved or even awkward. A women's hair was profoundly important to the overall effect she was able to make'. In the early 1800's the apollo knot was a fashionable hairstyle among Victorian women. An apollo knot was a tight bun of hair situated high on the back of the head. This was worn alongside a centre parting with tight curls hanging down at the side and front of the head framing the face. It was also common for women to plait the front sections of their hair and loop them round to join the bun at the back. This style was very popular among royalty with Queen Victoria wearing the style on her wedding day on the 10th of February 1840. It is said that hairstyles reflected women's fashion, for example hair would be styled to fit a bonnet and the back of the hair would suit the back of a women's dress.

A Victorian Women With Long Hair
https://www.pinterest.com/bexbrides/victorian-hair/

A Victorian Teen With Sausage Curls
https://www.pinterest.com/seanhawkey/hairstyles/

Queen Victoria On Her Wedding Day
http://thedreamstress.com/2011/04/queen-victorias-wedding-dress-the-one-that-started-it-all/queen_victoria/

In the mid 19th century hair was sleek at the top, covered by a hat in public, but with a large mass of ringlets styled at the ends of the hair, which could be seen underneath the base of the hat. Materials and accessories began to be added into the hair at this time, such as ribbon, lace and flowers. In the 1870's the hair changed again and began to get bigger with more focus towards the back of the head rather than the front. At this time it was hugely important to have large amounts of hair and this resulted in the addition of fake hair pieces. In 1872 the Marcel curling iron was also invented, which was a metal wand heated up in the stove. This could be used to create waves in the hair which ultimately became a very sought after look. This constant heat on uncut hair usually resulted in hair becoming fried, leaving many Victorian women with damaged hair.

Victorian Women With Bonnets And Ringlets
http://www.worthpoint.com/blog-entry/dating-vintage-photographs-1840-2

In the 1890's Victorian hair began to get more elaborate as well as far more relaxed and loose than the tight curls that can be seen at the beginning of the Victorian era. The most famous look of the end of the late 1800's was the 'Gibson Girl', created by Illustrator Charles Gibson, who with pen and ink drawings created the ideal women. This image therefore began to be mimicked by many women who, like the original drawings, began to pile their curly waist long hair on top of their heads, which for this time has been described as 'scandalously natural'. The Gibson Girl hairstyle is said, by many, to be the end of the Victorian influence on fashion as shortly after the Edwardian era took over.

Gibson Girl
http://stuffnobodycaresabout.com/2013/05/23/beauties-of-the-past-annabelle-whitford/

Sources: http://www.hairarchives.com/private/victorian1new.htm

http://www.victorianweb.org/art/costume/nunn10.html

http://www.royal.gov.uk/The%20Royal%20Collection%20and%20other%20collections/TheRoyalArchives/QueenVictoriaeducationproject/TheweddingofQueenVictoriaandPrinceAlbert1840.aspx

https://faculty.unlv.edu/kirschen/handouts/victorian.html

http://merryfarmer.net/2013/04/the-beauty-and-evolution-of-19th-century-hairstyles/

http://www.1920-30.com/fashion/hairstyles/marcel-wave.html

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/gibson.htm