A Little Bit of Whimsy...

A few years back my mother (in the pink) and I (in the orange) were in the chorus of the opera version of Cinderella. It was to be an outrageous production with bright zany costumes, picture book sets, and the world's weirdest hairdos! Here are some pictures of our crazy hairstyles, which are lightly based on hairstyles from the mid 1800's (this Jane Eyre's era), as are the costumes. If you put me in a traditional dress from that era, my hairstyle would be completely acceptable.

Regency French Twist

My version of a French Twist with curls is a bit sloppy, but you can get the general idea from the pictures.























I think the making of it had something to do with making a loose bun and then turning it on its end and rolling it into itself (leaving the curls out of course). Check out my second ever post ("Timeless Twist: "A La Parisienne"") for French-Twist-making instructions. These will give you at least a skeleton of an idea on how to make this, but I say: "trial and error, my friends!"

Cinnamon Roll Buns

The first style here was made by my friend Sarah and I have no idea how she did it.












The second is a pretty simple bun I wore at Christmas that got lots of comments (positive). You basically make it the opposite way you usually make a bun. Instead of spiraling from the inside to the outside, you twist the hair and make the big outside spiral first. Then you go in until the last bit of hair is in the very inside of the bun.

Christmas Figure Eight

This is the style I wore to our Christmas choir concert. It is really simple: just a regular figure eight with an extra curl. Caroline Bingley wears something like it in "Pride and Prejudice." This is perfect for a semi-formal Christmas party. Don't use a ponytail holder because it will show.

Flowers cover up any bobby-pinning mistakes. These flowers are clips from Claire's Icing (great hair accessory and earring source!) that were extremely cheap and look really cute. I recommend taking a trip to that store soon. It is in almost every mall.

1940's/Victorian/ Edwardian do

This is the classic "rolled" style seen in every WWII movie ever made. Women used rolls of cloth (or today, styrofoam or foam) under their hair to make the sausage-like rolls. I didn't use anything because my hair is think, but you might want to consider rollers if you have thin hair. This style was stolen from the mid to late Victorian era and the Edwardian era (1901-1910). In the 1800's, it would have been an easy home-day do, not a party do. Towards the turn of the century it became more popular out of the home, but still not at parties, unless you left a few curls hanging out and attached some flowers and diamonds. Diamonds make everything better.

I cheated and used octopus clips to hold the bun at the bottom because my hair was too heavy to be held by hair pins. If you have thin or short hair this will not be a problem. If you have long thick hair and will be wearing this do to a party, you could cover the clips with flowers or ribbons.

Twist for very long straight hair

This is a style my friend Anna made that is perfect for long straight hair. I don't know exactly how she made it, but the pictures should be pretty self-explanatory. It looks to me like a figure eight with the extra hair hanging out at the bottom but I have a feeling that it is more complicated. It may be a figure eight wrapped into itself.

Embellished Turban

Here is a turban made of a coral silk scrap found in the remnants section of the fabric store. The fabric was less than three dollars for an amazing iridescent quality Dupiani silk. For little extras like turbans, never buy fabric from a bolt. You can always find a cute cheap remnant.

I added a long strand of black and blue pearls, two peacock feather earrings, and the abalone pendant from a necklace for trimmings, and held everything in place with bobby pins. The fabric was basically wrapped around my head twice and pinned closed in back under the bun. Some rose glass earrings and curls completed the look.

Basically, you can use any old jewelry, brooches, feathers, and ribbons to embellish a turban. You never have to buy anything special. You could even pin on a clump of fake grapes or a fake bird for a more early Victorian touch.

Regency/Victorian do with feathers: "Mary Crawford"

I realized I had never posted a do with feathers before, so here is one. Feathers were enormously popular throughout the 1800's and can be used in many ways. Here is my version with a high "figure 8" twist (not a bun) and a curl. It's the perfect do for when you are playing a flirt or snob, like Mary Crawford from "Mansfield Park." I cut the hair by my ears so it would curl better, but you don't have to do this. You can do without curls by the ears.

Late Regency/Early Victorian style: "Little Dorritt"

This is an exquisitely simple do that works for all types of hair. It is so elegant and delicate. This style was worn in both the Regency and early Victorian eras, and then again in the very late Victorian era. You can use any type of hair comb in it. I used an oriental comb, but a silver one would be more period.

Directions:
~make a center part and separate the front hair around the face from the rest of the hair
~put the rest of the hair in a pony tail and twist it into a bun
~take the front hair you separated and wrap it around under the bun and around the bun
~pin in place and add a hair comb or flower
~if you have short hairs by your ears, make sure they hang down in front of the ears.

Simplicity itself!

Note: This is definitely not a ballroom style. It is for home and everyday wear.

Wealthy Victorian Style: "Blanche Ingram"

Here is a style straight out of a Jane Eyre movie. It is the kind of do' worn by Miss Ingram, the inimitable snob. It takes quite a while to make, but is perfect for a Victorian garden party, etc...

Directions:
~make a high ponytail and leave out a section of hair at the base of the neck to curl
~separate 4 strands of hair from the ponytail
~braid two strands and leave the others to curl
~make the bun and loop the braids so their ends can be tucked into the bun
~now take the 2 sections saved for curling (preferably one on each side of the bun) and curl them
~curl the hair you left out at the base of your neck
~and tie a ribbon around the bun to hide stray hairs.

The curl at the base of the neck is optional, and looks better if you have longer hair to curl

If you have little short hairs by your ears, you can curl them as I did and stick them to your cheeks with hair spray (the Victorians would probably have used grease).