Hair accessories

Higher status would have fair, red hair, the women replicating Queen Elizabeth’s hairstyles.  Surprisingly in most Elizabethan portraits the hair doesn’t look like it is that bad a condition and this is probably because they used wigs a lot of time, due to different diseases of the time and harmful products they used women often suffered from hair loss, even Queen Elizabeth herself and used wigs.

The shade and size of the hair also depended on the status, the shaped were often bold, heart shaped being popular at the time.

 These hair accessories were often worn for being practical, symbolic, they may have been for cultural or religious reason but a lot of the time for decoration. They were made out of different materials including things like netting, lace and ribbon, different types of cotton and silk. The designs of these different hair accessories often were crocheted, being artistic and having pearls and jewels on them.

Cauls were made from cloth, and were often decorated with pearls and jewels, they mostly covered a back part of the hair. Similar to them also bun covers were used, to add interest to a simple bun.

(https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=caul+hair+accessory&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=bp-AVLGaD8-y7QavuoDwDQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=624#tbm=isch&q=elizabethan+caul&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=KFFdAsqbB5q5UM%253A%3Bm0uGKLX0GPixbM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fmedia-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%252F736x%252F12%252F3b%252Fb7%252F123bb70783a909c5634d7dda0d618c93.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.pinterest.com%252Fpin%252F176484879120990621%252F%3B330%3B409 )

(http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=9Z6vCGbf66YC&pg=PA204&lpg=PA204&dq=caul+hair+accessory&source=bl&ots=YL-dCSn5qe&sig=VNcYhGAjXvF8zewRQZ5o5ktRiBs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=i5mAVNmzHuy67ga_mIHACg&ved=0CEkQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=caul%20hair%20accessory&f=false)

A French hood was a rounded shape, Anne Boleyn is known to have introduced it into England. It was worn fitting to the head, covering the ears, and often had jewels or pearls for decoration. The portrait below of Queen Elizabeth as a young girl shows her wearing a French hood, majority of them being black, made of satin, taffeta or velvet.

(https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=french+hood&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=0p-AVJX3A4u67gbD9oGABQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=624#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=9WvmBApZAWkZXM%253A%3BHUsoISfSAFET6M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.elizabethancostume.net%252Fheadwear%252Fpics%252Fannebhood-sm.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.elizabethancostume.net%252Fheadwear%252Ffrenchhood.html%3B166%3B176)

(http://www.elizabethancostume.net/headwear/frenchhood.html)

The Attifet was a heart-shaped headdress with a point that dips over the forehead, the front of the attifet was held in shape by a wire frame. It dipped to a point over the forehead and then curled up and back in an arc on both sides. The attifet was typically made of silk or linen, and was often made of lace with added pearls. It was normally white, although there was also a black variant known as a widow's hood.

(https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=attifet+headdress&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=624&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=ZKCAVLnTEMPZ7gbykoGYBg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attifet)

The Pillbox style of hat often had a veil and was attached to the back of the hair, like most Elizabethan hair accessories it was often decorated with pearls and jewels.

(https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=pillbox+hat+elizabethan&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=paCAVPH4D-bO7gbEl4CoCQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=624#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=7SwRDeEOI3s_VM%253A%3BHeyeswZgtB4wIM%3Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fs-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%252F236x%252F49%252Fa7%252F0f%252F49a70f83e3aa46115601af7ae4e1fdb7.jpg%3Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.pinterest.com%252Fcrownedheads%252F1550-1600-round-hat-pillbox-escoffion%252F%3B236%3B248)

The Coif was a close fitting material, often used to cover the hair, mainly seen in Elizabethan images as being white, it was worn by higher and lower classes as the different ranges of material it could be made from. 

(https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=coif&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=P6GAVNCGO5GU7QbfmIGACA&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=624#tbm=isch&q=elizabethan+coif&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=fvNCv-AFHb3A9M%253A%3Bf_1SgUl0svDX-M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fweb.comhem.se%252F~u31138198%252Fbilder%252Fmordhuvudbonad.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fweb.comhem.se%252F~u31138198%252Fwhitecap.html%3B420%3B438)

After learning about the different hair accessories we were then let loose to try out the different styles on our heads. The first style I tried was the simple french plait. At first I found this difficult because I normally do the 'dutch' plait so I had to be taught the normal way.  

I then moved onto trying different Elizabethan hairstyles, first the image below.

I then decided to try a more complex hairstyle with the plait going around the head. 

After I done the plait i decided to try adding one of the hair accessories we learnt about; ribbon. 

Project Brief

For this terms project brief we have been asked to research historical and technical observations of the hairstyles used in the Elizabethan era. We are to begin by considering the hairstyles we have seen in the paintings from the Elizabethan era, but also consider various hairstyles and colours used by Elizabethan women with references to their age, class and status. We will be recognising contemporary hairstyles and the inspiration we get from them to create in class. 

Plaits and Buns

I really like this plait, I think it is such a nice and simple plait but is also complex at the same time. It also really highlights the different colours in the models hair. I would like to try this hair style out and see if I could achieve the same look. To make this look a bit more Elizabethan I would add maybe some ribbon or different hair accessories. 

I also really like this style plait, it is a fishtail plait but has been loosed to give off a messy look, the messy look I think makes it more contemporary and fitting for fashion today, whereas if a fishtail plait was used in the Elizabethan era it would of been neater. 

 

This plait seems more complex and therefore I would like to learn how to do it as it links to Elizabethan hairstyles. I think this hairstyle would have been quite popular in the Elizabethan period particularly with the added accessories in it of the ribbon. 

Contemporary hairstyles

A lot of designers have also used period hairstyles as the styles for their catwalk shows. Alexander McQueen in particular is a fan of these Elizabethan hairstyles. The image below is a typical Elizabethan hairstyle with a modern edge to it, there is also the detail of the pale face to give it more of the Elizabethan effect.

Another fan of this look is Vivienne Westwood, even her herself in portraits with the look.

She has also featured many Elizabethan inspired looks in her collections, a few of my favourite are below. 

Elizabethan Hairstyles

Queen Elizabeth once again set the trends for the hairstyles in the renaissance period. Hairstyles were highly important in the extravagant fashion. Hairstyles were also necessary for achieving attention in court. Queen Elizabeth had a natural red colour hair. This red hair look was copied by many other women during this era, an upper class Elizabethan woman continued this fashion further and dyed their with a mixture of saffron, cumin seed, celandine and oil. Wigs were also regularly used, Queen Elizabeth had a wide variety of wigs and hair pieces and was believed to have over eighty. Elizabethan hair styles for women were designed to match the upper class fashions, women kept their hair long, the long hair flowing hair of a young girl was a sign of a virgin and the favoured hairstyle for a bride on her wedding day, once a woman reached the married status she kept her hair up. Much of the hair was covered by some form of head covering. Long hair was normally kept up in a bun to where a variety of head coverings would be pinned.

Bringing the old back

In our first class we learnt about typical Elizabethan hairstyles. We also learnt about how modern hairstyles have been influenced by periods in history for example, the finger weave in the image on the left being a 1920s women and on the right a modern celebrity with the recreated look.

 

Another hairstyle that has been influenced is the beehive; in the 1960s it was very popular and is still used nowadays as a popular hairstyle. Someone in particular who recreated the iconic 60’s look was Amy Winehouse, also after she died Jean Paul Gaultier did the Amy Winehouse Tribute.