Period Hair - 1920s

The 1920s, commonly known as the Roaring 20s, was a decade of dramatic change. It involved the growth of America's wealth, as it grew more than double between 1920 and 1929. (History, 2010). A notable event of this period was the prohibition. The manufacture and sale of alcohol stronger than 0.5% was banned, which to lead to illegal bars, called speakeasies, being created. 

Figure 1 - 1920s Speakeasy (Weiser, K. 2020)

It was difficult for these bars to get their hands on alcohol for their patrons, as it would have to be smuggled in. This allowed a money-making opportunity for criminals, such as the famous Al Capone (1899 - 1947), to supply this alcohol. Apparently, he "had 1,000 gunmen and half of Chicago's police force on his payroll." (History, 2010).

The 1920s are also known for some of their iconic looks. A very popular look being that of the flapper. A flapper was considered to be a young, stylish party girl. They would go dance at jazz clubs, smoke and drink, and even practice sexual freedom. (History, 2018).

Figure 2 - Clara Bow (1905 - 1965) (Visforvinatge, 2012)

Figure 3 - Jacqueline Logan (1904 - 1983) (Blakemore, E. 2020)

Figure 4 - 1920s woman (Wwvalue, 2017)

Figure 5 - 1920s woman (Wwvalue, 2017)

Figure 6 - 1920s woman (Wwvalue, 2017)

Figure 7 - 1920s woman (Wwvalue, 2017)

From the images above, it is very easy to spot different trends from this period. The most prominent being short, bobbed hair. Previously to this trend, women kept their hair very long, and there wasn't any hairdressers or salons for them to go to yet. According to Vintagedancer, women would leave the fate of their hair in the hands of a friend or a men's barber who wanted to take the challenge. It was common to either have a straight bob, or to incorporate some curls or even have finger waves.

Finger and marcel waves were a very popular way to style the new bobbed haircut. The difference being finger waves are set whilst they are wet, and marcel waves are created with a curling iron. 

Figure 8 - Tati Gabrielle on the set of 'Chilling Adventures of Sabrina' (2018 - 2021) with a modern take on finger waves (Crumpton, T. 2018) 

Figure 9 - Marcel Waves (Historydaily, 2017)

Another trend that can be seen is the very thin eyebrows. These were made popular by actresses in silent movies, as they were said to show more emotions, Collegefashion said. 

Figure 10 - Clara Bow (Michelle, O. 2020)

Men in the 1920s appear to have had a side parting with the hair sleeked back. This seems to quite the popular style for them. To achieve this look, they used a product called 'Brilliantine'. This was oil based, so it gave off that shiny, slick look they were searching for, however it was very greasy and would transfer onto other things, like the backs of high back chairs, for example. (Vintagedancer, 2013). To try prevent the mess, knitted doilies were used to protect the furniture.

Figure 11 - Men's hairstyle (Wiesman, L. 2016)

Figure 12 - Men's hairstyle (Vintagedancer, 2013)

More examples of these styles can be seen in movies such as 'The Great Gatsby' (2013). It is a very good reference to look at when researching 1920s styles.

Figure 13 - 'The Great Gatsby' (2013) (Robson, S.V. 2013)

Another example is the movie 'Chicago' (2002). 

Figure 14 - 'Chicago' (2002) (Moviestillsdb, no date)

Figure 15 - 'Chicago' (2002) (Proprofs, 2015)

 These movies include a lot of detail to the hair and their outfits, specifically all of the accessories. For example, many women would wear head scarves or detailed headbands, sometimes with feathers. This really helps to complete the look.

Setting the wig

Setting this wig was difficult at first, as it uses quite a tricky technique. The galloon tape really helped however, as keeps some of the waves in place whilst you move onto the next rows. This was done as a wet set, water was mixed with conditioner which really helps the hair to keep its form once it has dried.

As this was done on a long wig, the ends of the hair was put into small rollers, to create a chignon.

Figure 16 - 1920s wet set (Brown, J.  2020)

Figure 17 - 1920s wet set (Brown, J.  2020)

Figure 18 - 1920s wet set (Brown, J.  2020)

Figure 19 - 1920s wet set (Brown, J.  2020)

Figure 20 - 1920s wet set (Brown, J.  2020)

Styling the wig

To style the wig, nothing was done to the waves. Just the lower half of the hair was taken out of the rollers and pinned into a chignon.

Figure 21 - 1920s Styled (Brown, J. 2020)

Figure 22 - 1920s Styled (Brown, J. 2020)

This style can be quite tricky to begin with, but the more practice that is done, the easier it will be. Towards the ends of doing the waves, it was a lot easier to manipulate the hair, once the technique had been picked up. The chignon isn't the best here, and will need to be improved upon in a future attempt at this style.

-Jess

References:

• 1920s Hairstyles History - Long hair to bobbed hair. (2013) Available from https://vintagedancer.com/1920s/1920s-long-hair-to-bobbed-hair/ [Accessed 03/11/2020].
• 1920s Men's hairstyles and products history. (2013) Available from https://vintagedancer.com/1920s/1920s-mens-hairstyles-and-products-history/ [Accessed 03/11/2020].
• A history of eyebrows, part 1: 1920s - 1960s. (2019) Available from https://www.collegefashion.net/beauty-and-hair/a-history-of-eyebrows-part-1-20s-60s/ [Accessed 03/11/2020]. 
• Flappers. (2018) Available from https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/flappers [Accessed 02/11/2020].
• The Roaring Twenties History. (2010) Available from https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/roaring-twenties-history [Accessed 02/11/2020].

Bibliography:

• 55 vintage 1920's hairstyles for men - classic looks for gentlemen. (no date) Available from https://machohairstyles.com/best-1920s-hairstyles-for-men/ [Accessed 03/11/2020].
• A brief history of birth control in the U.S. (2020) Available from https://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book-excerpts/health-article/a-brief-history-of-birth-control/#:~:text=1965%20The%20Supreme%20Court%20rules,are%20still%20denied%20birth%20control. [Accessed 03/11/2020].
• Clara Bow Biography. (2014) Available from https://www.biography.com/actor/clara-bow [Accessed 02/11/2020].
• DeNoon, D. (2005) A history of birth control. Available from https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=51170 [Accessed 02/11/2020].
• Famous Flappers. (no date) Available from https://flappernhd.weebly.com/famous-flappers.html [Accessed 03/11/2020].
• Finger & Marcel Waves - Stylish Hair of a Bygone Era. (no date) Available from https://chicvintagebrides.com/finger-marcel-waves-stylish-hair-of-a-bygone-era/ [Accessed 02/11/2020].
• Johnson, B. (no date) The 1920s in Britain. Available from https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-1920s-in-Britain/ [Accessed 03/11/2020].
• Mychaskiw, M. (2015) A history in eyebrows: See the most popular brow shapes through the decades. Available from https://www.instyle.com/beauty/eyes/history-eyebrows? [Accessed 02/11/2020].
• Overview of the 1920s. (no date) Available from https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraid=13&smtid=1#:~:text=The%201920s%20was%20the%20first,%2C%20bootleggers%2C%20and%20marathon%20dancers. [Accessed 03/11/2020].
• The speakeasies of the 1920s. (no date) Available from http://prohibition.themobmuseum.org/the-history/the-prohibition-underworld/the-speakeasies-of-the-1920s/ [Accessed 02/11/2020].
• Women's 1920s Hairstyles: An Overview. (2013) Available from https://hair-and-makeup-artist.com/womens-1920s-hairstyles/ [Accessed 03/11/2020].

Figures:

• Figure 1 - Weiser, K. (2020) Speakeasies of the prohibition era. Available from https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ah-prohibitionspeakeasy/ [Accessed 02/11/2020].
• Figure 2 - Clara Bow: A Biography. (2012) Available from https://visforvintage.net/2012/08/23/clara-bow-biography/ [Accessed 02/11/2020].
• Figure 3 - Blakemore, E. (2020) Why modern women got all colonial in the 1920s. Available from https://daily.jstor.org/why-modern-women-got-all-colonial-in-the-1920s/ [Accessed 02/11/2020].
• Figure 4, 5, 6, 7 - Retro fashion. Women Fashionable Hairstyles from the 1920s. (2017) Available from https://wwvalue.com/photo/retro-fashion-women-fashionable-hairstyles-1920s [Accessed 02/11/2020].
• Figure 8 - Crumpton, T. (2018) How "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" failed Prudence Night. Available from https://www.teenvogue.com/story/chilling-adventures-of-sabrina-failed-prudence-night [Accessed 03/11/2020].
• Figure 9 - How to do the marcel waves, step-by-step tutorial, 1920s. (2017) Available from https://historydaily.org/marcel-waves-step-step-tutorial-1920s [Accessed 02/11/2020].
• Figure 10 - Michelle, O. (2020) Eyebrow trends: 1920s - 2010s. Available from https://www.moderneast.com/beauty/beauty-trends/eyebrow-trends-1920s-2010s-219473.html [Accessed 03/11/2020].
• Figure 11 - Wiesman, L. (2016) The most iconic men's hairstyles in history: 1920 - 1969. Available from https://www.dmarge.com/2016/03/iconic-mens-hairstyles-history-1920-1969.html [Accessed 03/11/2020].
• Figure 12 - 1920s Men's hairstyles and products history. (2013) Available from https://vintagedancer.com/1920s/1920s-mens-hairstyles-and-products-history/ [Accessed 03/11/2020].
• Figure 13 - Robson, S.V. (2013) See a ton of glittery, gorgeous photos from The Great Gatsby. Available from https://www.popsugar.co.uk/celebrity/Great-Gatsby-Movie-Pictures-Leonardo-DiCaprio-20853727?utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=US:GB&utm_source=www.google.com&gdpr= [Accessed 03/11/2020].
• Figure 14 - Chicago 2002. (no date) Available from https://www.moviestillsdb.com/movies/chicago-i299658/UvaJDe [Accessed 03/11/2020].
• Figure 15 - Test your Chicago (2002) knowledge. (2015) Available from https://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=test-your-chicago-2002-knowledge [Accessed 03/11/2020].
• Figure 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 - Brown, J. (2020) York College.