Hair Pins

[MissREP]

Being as I have long hair and really enjoy giving the CW hair-styles a go (more or less successfully) both for reenacting and even just around the house, I use lots and lots of bobby pins. My question then is, for authenticity sake (because no matter how hard I try, they will work out), do bobby pins pass muster?

I have tried using pins like these: http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTE3OVgxMTg0/z/PUEAAOSwPcVVtknQ/$_35.JPG?set_id=880000500F but those really don't stay in, so I gave them to one of my sisters--and they work fine for her.

I have seen historical hair combs and three pronged decorative hair-pins, but no regular not-to-be-seen hair pins. I have considered using combs, but they slip right out too. It's just a question that has been bugging me for a while...

And then I see this picture--where you can see the pins....and they definitely aren't bobby pins. (Is that even her hair, or it is a braided hair piece?)

 

[James B White]

My wife used the uncrinkled U shaped ones, maybe 2 1/2 to 3 inches, similar to here: http://www.amishworkshops.com/category/Amish-Hair-Pins-70 She found that hair oil made her hair a better texture to hold them in, and she also figured out a technique where you give the pin a partial twist somehow as you're putting it in. We used to think the kinds with crinkles on that page were postwar, until a friend found some evidence of them. They were still the long kind like that. It's my understanding bobby pins were just like their name sounded, for bobbed hair in the style of the early 20th century . Unfortunately I don't have the source info on hairpins anymore, as it's been 5-10 years.

 

[MaryDee]

I have really short hair (pixie cut), which I plaster down with almond oil, do the obligatory center part, and then hide all the ends under a cap (being an old lady, that's a good alternative for me) or a sunbonnet.

I would think that almond oil would work to keep your hair in control and allow the hairpins (not bobby pins!) or combs to hold (it smells nice, too, and conditions your hair). Ladies did not shampoo their hair nearly as frequently back then as they do now, so their hair was a lot more oily. Of course they didn't have blow dryers, which make hair fluffy and flyaway and hard to control for 1860s hairdos. They used a brush after shampooing and brushed the hair flat, from the top, always downward, with bristle ends aimed at the scalp, while their hair was drying. (Source: Juanita Leisch, Who wore what? Women's Wear 1861-1865. Gettysburg: Thomas Publications, 1995.)

 

[Anna Elizabeth Henry]

And then I see this picture--where you can see the pins....and they definitely aren't bobby pins. (Is that even her hair, or it is a braided hair piece?)

I checked a reference book I use for period clothing research purposes when I write, and they do mention the use of hairpins along with hair combs to create buns and various up-dos. It's also fair to say that elaborate braid was a false piece. It was very common to do in the era because of the elaborate hairdos that were in vogue, and even if one did have very long hair it wasn't easy or even possible to manipulate your own hair into such a style as shown.

Have you tried looking at era newspapers for advertisements for lady's products? I find era newspapers a treasure trove when trying to find something basic and everyday that often gets overlooked by books and websites. Check Godey's Lady's Book too for hairstyle tips and that may help you, too in pinpointing the use of hairpins and tricks about using combs, too.

 

[E_just_E]

In the picture it looks like she is using a long (10-12 inch) hat pin. Use at your own risk, without a plug for the pointy end.

 

[Bee]

Use at your own risk, without a plug for the pointy end.

The hatpin is a mighty fine impromptu weapon, too

I have a collection of hatpins that I use with my even larger collection of hats, and one must bee careful that they pierce the rolled hair (mine is waist length) rather than the head!

 

[Anna Elizabeth Henry]

The hatpin is a mighty fine impromptu weapon, too

I have a collection of hatpins that I use with my even larger collection of hats, and one must bee careful that they pierce the rolled hair (mine is waist length) rather than the head!

Ooo! What an excellent weapon for my fictional heroine! Completely forgot about dangerous hatpin points! Thanks!

 

[James B White]

Again, going from memory, 1860s hatpins were sharp of course, but our cultural memory is of the long turn-of-the-century ones, not the shorter 1860s ones. Googled to see what I could find to corroborate. From http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/an-interview-with-antique-hatpin-collector-jodi-lenocker/

"Hatpins weren't very big at first but eventually, around the 1890s, you start seeing many more materials used and the length started increasing until about 1910. That was the height of the long hatpin, sometimes just the stems alone are 10 to 12 inches.

"They started making them bigger because the hats got bigger. Lillian Russell and a few other women made the large flamboyant hat very popular, and by 1910 the hats had really wide brims so they needed a really long hatpin to hold it to their head."

 

[MissREP]

Thanks everyone for your replies!

 

[diane]

The hatpin is a mighty fine impromptu weapon, too

I have a collection of hatpins that I use with my even larger collection of hats, and one must bee careful that they pierce the rolled hair (mine is waist length) rather than the head!

Can't help but remember a story from Stonewall Jackson's bio. He fell asleep in church and was snoring - the wife was nudging him with her elbow but it wasn't working. So, the lady behind them pulled out a hat pin and stabbed Jackson with it. Not a poke, or a sharp prick - she STABBED him! Didn't wake him up.

My great-grandmother, who came from Virginia, had a large collection of hat pins, of varying lengths and thicknesses - I don't know what happened to them but I used to love to go through them. They had diamonds and pearls and all sorts of pretty sparklies!

 

[Bee]

My great-grandmother, who came from Virginia, had a large collection of hat pins, of varying lengths and thicknesses - I don't know what happened to them but I used to love to go through them. They had diamonds and pearls and all sorts of pretty sparklies!

I love hatpins! I am in a real dilemma, because I want to take one with me on a trip, but I am sure that the TSA people would lock me up from having a weapon of mass destruction

 

[MaryDee]

No, they'll just confiscate it!