Period Hair - The Victorian Era (1837 - 1901)

Queen Victoria reigned over the United Kingdom and Ireland between 1837 and 1901. She was an era-defining figure, says Chanel Vargas, one who still inspires people to this day. 

Figure 1 - Queen Victoria (Vargas, C. 2019).

There were many changes that happened in this era, the most notable being the Industrial Revolution. This change encouraged many people to flood into the cities, as many new factories were being built, which in turn, created more job opportunities. Because of this economic growth, Britain became a giant trading nation with a worldwide empire by 1914, BBC Bitesize said. It wasn't uncommon to find children working in these new factories, "crawling beneath the machinery to clear it of dirt, dust or anything else that might disturb the mechanism." (Griffin, E. 2014).

Figure 2 - Victorian children working in Factories (Victorian-era, no date)

In 1844, children aged 8-13 years old were allowed to work for 6 and a half hours a day, and it wasn't until 1901 that the minimum age was raised to 12 years old. (Nationalarchives, no date). 

Figure 3 - Queen Victoria (Thies, C. 2016)

As seen in figure 3 above, Queen Victoria is wearing her hair in a middle part. This was a very common occurrence throughout many of her hairstyles. More of this can be seen in figures 4, 5 and 6.

Figure 4 - Queen Victoria (Countrylife, 2019)

Figure 5 - Queen Victoria (Watson, K. No date)

Figure 6 - Queen Victoria (Watson, K. No date)

She was seen to be quite the trendsetter, and, fun fact, "is the reason wedding dresses are white." (Middleton, J. 2020) Many women looked up to her in this time, and would recreate this style. 

Figure 7 - Victorian Hairstyles (Harris, K. 2015)

Figure 8 - Victorian Hairstyles (Harris, K. 2015)

These intricate styles would mostly be worn by higher class women, as they had the time to be able to create these looks, due to them not having to go work in the factories. Some of these hairstyles were quite wide, which would help to balance out their outfits, as they would wear wide hoop skirts. An example can be seen in figure 9.

Figure 9 - Upper Class Victorian Women (Victoriana, no date)

However, lower class women would still follow the trends, it may just not be as detailed. This can be seen in figure 10. The hair appears to be tied back but she is still modelling the middle parting.

Figure 10 - Victorian Woman (Higashi, S. 1994)

Men were no different with having their own trends however. As seen in figure 11 and 12, there are a few patterns that can be spotted. The men appeared to part their hair to the side (with the odd middle part) and would comb their hair back. It seems curly hair would either be left curly or formed into waves. 

Figure 11 - Victorian Men (Vintagenewsdaily, 2017)

Figure 12 - Victorian Men (Vintagenewsdaily, 2017)

There are many movies and shows set in the Victorian era that show these styles. Examples consist of the movie "Pride and Prejudice" (2005), and the many Jane Eyre adaptations. 

Figure 13 - Pride and Prejudice (2005) (Wood, J.M. 2017)

Figure 14 - Jane Eyre (2006) (Bass, T.L. 2015)

Figure 15 - Jane Eyre (1996) (Bass, T.L. 2015)

Figure 16 - Jane Eyre (1983) Bass, T.L. 2015)

In the above figures, the common barley curl hairstyle can be seen with the classic middle part. However, in figure 15 and 16, alternative styles can be seen. This shows that there was more than just the curls to this style, and that they would change it up, while also keeping many elements the same. These shows can give some good insight to what their hair was like.


Setting the wig

To begin setting the wig, a middle part was made and secured with galloon tape. This ensured that it would stay nice and flat. The front of the hair was then put into vertical rollers to create barley curls. The back was then set into a chignon shape. The style created can be seen in figure 8.

Figure 17 - Victorian Wet Set (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 18 - Victorian Wet Set (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 19 - Victorian Wet Set (Brown, J. 2020)

Styling the wig

Once the wig had dried, it was time to dress out. The back was rolled into that chignon shape, and the front were left as loose barley curls. Some of the hair was pinned up afterwards to create a shorter version of this.

Figure 20 - Victorian style 1 (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 21 - Victorian style 1 (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 22 - Victorian style 1 (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 23 - Victorian style 1 (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 24 - Victorian style 1 (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 25 - Victorian style 2 (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 26 - Victorian style 2 (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 27 - Victorian style 2 (Brown, J. 2020)

The chignon is very off centre in this style, this is something the stylist really needs to get some practice with. It could also be neatened up quite a lot.

Styling the wig - Attempt 2

The style was tried again and set in the same way. 

Figure 28 - Victorian wet set - Attempt 2 (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 29 - Victorian wet set - Attempt 2 (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 30 - Victorian wet set - Attempt 2 (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 31 - Victorian wet set - Attempt 2 (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 32 - Victorian wet set - Attempt 2 (Brown, J. 2020)

Styling the wig - Attempt 2

The second attempt at this style came out significantly better than the first time. It looks a lot more sleek and polished. The chignon has also been improved upon, it creates a much better shape. 

Figure 33 - Victorian style 1 - Attempt 2 (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 34 - Victorian style 1 - Attempt 2 (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 35 - Victorian style 1 - Attempt 2 (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 36 - Victorian style 1 - Attempt 2 (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 37 - Victorian style 2 - Attempt 2 (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 38 - Victorian style 2 - Attempt 2 (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 39 - Victorian style 2 - Attempt 2 (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 40 - Victorian style 2 - Attempt 2 (Brown, J. 2020)

In the shorter version of the style, some of the front curls are a little uneven so that could be improved if this style was tried again. But overall, the second attempt is so much better than the first. The middle parting could possibly be a little flatter, however, the stylist is very happy with the finished result.

Final Images

Figure 41 - Victorian Final Images (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 42 - Victorian Final Images (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 43 - Victorian Final Images (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 44 - Victorian Final Images (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 45 - Victorian Final Images (Brown, J. 2020)

-Jess

References:

• 1833 Factory Act. (no date) Available from https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/1833-factory-act/#:~:text=The%20basic%20act%20was%20as,than%20nine%20hours%20a%20day [Accessed 02/10/2020].
• Griffin, E. (2014) Child Labour. Available from https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/child-labour#:~:text=The%20campaign%20against%20child%20labour,nine%20and%2013%20could%20work. [Accessed 03/10/2020].
• Middleton, J. (2020) 24 Fascinating facts about Queen Victoria most people don't know. Available from https://www.readersdigest.ca/culture/queen-victoria-fascinating-facts/ [Accessed 03/10/2020]. 
• The Industrial Revolution (no date) Available from https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zvmv4wx/revision/2 [Accessed 04/10/2020].
• Vargas, C. (2019) 15 Fascinating Facts You Didn't Know About Queen Victoria. Available from https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a14510744/queen-victoria-facts/ [Accessed 30/09/2020].

Bibliography:

• Best Period Dramas: Victorian Era. (no date) Available from https://www.willowandthatch.com/period-films-to-watch/period-dramas-victorian-era/ [Accessed 01/10/2020].
• Clark, G.K. (2013) The making of Victorian England. Oxfordshire, Routledge.
• Factory and Workshop Act 1901. (no date) Available from https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/acts/factory-and-workshop-act-1901 [Accessed 29/09/2020].
• Industrial Revolution (no date) Available from https://www.britannica.com/event/Industrial-Revolution [Accessed 04/10/2020].
• LLoyd, A.J. (2007) Emmigration, Immigration and Migration in Nineteenth-Century Britain. British Library Newspapers. 
• Longford, E. (2019) Queen Victoria. London, Hachette UK.
• Pruitt, S. (2018) 5 Things you may not know about Queen Victoria. Available from https://www.history.com/news/5-things-you-may-not-know-about-queen-victoria [Accessed 04/10/2020].
• Lowe, C. (no date) Simple Victorian Hairstyles. Available from https://www.leaf.tv/articles/simple-victorian-hairstyles/ [Accessed 03/10/2020].
• Matthews, M. (2017) A Simple Coiffure: Basic Hairstyles for Victorian Women of Moderate Means. Available from https://www.mimimatthews.com/2017/09/11/a-simple-coiffure-basic-hairstyles-for-victorian-women-of-moderate-means/ [Accessed 02/10/2020].
• Smith, S. (2019) Beautiful Victorian Hairstyles. Available from https://bellatory.com/fashion-industry/Beautiful-Victorian-Hairstyles [Accessed 01/10/2020].
• Social Life in Victorian England. (no date) Available from https://sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/social-life-in-victorian-england/ [Accessed 01/10/2020].
• Timms, E. (2019) Queen Victoria: Her life through her hair. Available from https://royalcentral.co.uk/features/queen-victoria-her-life-through-her-hair-126702/ [Accessed 29/09/2020].
• Veldman, M. (no date) Victoria. Available from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Victoria-queen-of-United-Kingdom [Accessed 04/10/2020].
• Victoria The Trend Setter The Royal Masters. (no date) Available from http://diplomatic-world.com/?p=3372#:~:text=On%2024%20May%201819%2C%20Princess,largest%20Empire%20of%20the%20world.&text=On%20June%20the%206th%20at,Queen%20Elizabeth%20ll%20Birthday%20Party. [Accessed 01/10/2020].
• Victorian Britain: a brief history. (no date) Availabe from https://www.history.org.uk/primary/resource/3871/victorian-britain-a-brief-history#:~:text=Social%20reforms,-As%20a%20result&text=Important%20reforms%20included%20legislation%20on,the%20establishment%20of%20the%20police. [Accessed 02/10/2020]. 
• Victorian hair fashion. Female hairstyles in the 1870s. (2018) Available from http://nationalclothing.org/europe/68-england/373-victorian-hair-fashion-female-hairstyles-in-the-1870s.html [Accessed 01/10/2020].
• White, M. (2009) The Industrial Revolution. Available from https://www.bl.uk/georgian-britain/articles/the-industrial-revolution# [Accessed 03/10/2020]. 
• Winstanley, M. (2011) The Rural Exodus. Available from http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/exodus_01.shtml [Accessed 03/10/2020].

Figures:

• Figure 1 - Vargas, C. (2019) 15 Fascinating Facts You Didn't Know About Queen Victoria. Available from https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a14510744/queen-victoria-facts/ [Accessed 01/10/2020].
• Figure 2 - Victorian children in factories. (no date) Available from http://victorian-era.org/victorian-children-in-factories.html [Accessed 02/10/2020]. 
• Figure 3 - Thies, C. (2016) Queen Victoria - The trendsetter. Available from https://filigreejewelers.com/queen-victoria-first-trendsetter/ [Accessed 02/10/2020].
• Figure 4 - In Focus: How the Victorians wove beautiful jewellery from the hair of their deceased loved ones. Available from https://www.countrylife.co.uk/luxury/art-and-antiques/focus-victorians-wove-beautiful-jewellery-hair-deceased-loved-ones-202703 [Accessed 02/10/2020].
• Figure 5 and 6 - Watson, K. (no date) 6 Queen Victoria Images. Available from https://thegraphicsfairy.com/printable-image-ornate-round-frame-and-queen-victoria/ [Accessed 03/10/2020].
• Figure 7 and 8 - Harris, K. (2015) Victorian Hairstyles: a short history, in photos. Available from https://www.whizzpast.com/victorian-hairstyles-a-short-history-in-photos/ [Accessed 03/10/2020].
• Figure 9 - The Crinoline or Hoop Skirt. (no date) Available from http://www.victoriana.com/Victorian-Fashion/crinoline.htm [Accessed 02/10/2020].
• Figure 10 - Higashi, S (1994) Cecil B. DeMille and American Culture: The Silent Era. California, University of California Press. 
• Figure 11 and 12 - Vintage Portraits Depict Victorian Men's Hairstyles and Facial Hair. Available from https://vintagenewsdaily.com/vintage-portraits-depict-victorian-mens-hairstyles-and-facial-hair/ [Accessed 03/10/2020].
• Figure 13 - Wood, J.M. (2017) 20 Fastidious facts about BBC's Pride and Prejudice. Available from https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/92938/20-fastidious-facts-about-bbcs-pride-and-prejudice [Accessed 03/10/2020].
• Figure 14, 15, 16 - Bass, T.L. (2015) Costumes in Jane Eyre Movie & TV adaptations. Available from http://www.frockflicks.com/costumes-in-jane-eyre-movie-tv-adaptions/ [Accessed 02/10/2020].
• Figure 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 - Brown, J. (2020) York College.
• Figure 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 - Brown, J. (2020) Leeds.