Hairstyles

[Catie S. Byrns]

Hi,
I was wondering, does anyone have any instructions for some serious ladies hairstyles? I know how to do the basic bun, where you seperate your front locks from the back hair , fix the back in a bun, and then twist the front locks over the ears in wings.That works, but I see so many other ones in pictures from the time that I would like to learn how to do. Especially some the braided ones. Has any one looked much into accurate hair styling? Are there any books on the subject? Etc.

Catie

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Hi and welcome to the forum! Please don't think you've been overlooked. There a few members here who know this information ' inside out and backwards ', as it were, just do not log in daily. Someone will spot you question and be more than happy to share. Meanwhile, it pays to use the ' search ' option here? Type in different words until a thread comes up that might be helpful- would have to guess a lot of what you're looking for is here somewhere! :0

Funny- once clicked on one of the threads titled ' Civil War Hair ', swear to Goodness, thought we'd be talking about some dusty, fuzzy looking object under domed glass, in a museum somewhere. True story.

 

[LittleTennessee]

Hi,
I was wondering, does anyone have any instructions for some serious ladies hairstyles? I know how to do the basic bun, where you seperate your front locks from the back hair , fix the back in a bun, and then twist the front locks over the ears in wings.That works, but I see so many other ones in pictures from the time that I would like to learn how to do. Especially some the braided ones. Has any one looked much into accurate hair styling? Are there any books on the subject? Etc.

Catie

I would love to know too! I tried to do a simple braided style once. It did not turn out so good. Luckily my snood helped hide it because I had no time to correct it. Hope you find the information you're seeking!

 

[FarawayFriend]

Try "Godey's magazine / Godey's Ladies Book". It has everything a woman of the 1850s/1860s could think of, I'm sure it will have instructions for hairstyles also. There are several volumes available on the internet.
Look here:
https://archive.org/search.php?query=godey's

 

[BelleBlackburn]

Youtube has several videos that might help with the search term Civil War Hair.

 

[An Old Fashioned Girl]

Here is one using braids that is simple (from Pinterest):

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/3c/17/4a/3c174a4b9b2e1331d690045627d18f73.jpg

It looks like the front sides are sectioned then braided. The back is braided and wound around (flatly) with the side's braids are wrapping over it.

Personally, my favorite style is as easy as you can get: middle part, smoothed on sides, 2 low braids toward back of the head that (flatly) wrap around each other forming a "braided rug look."

Hope this helps a little.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Here is one using braids that is simple (from Pinterest):

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/3c/17/4a/3c174a4b9b2e1331d690045627d18f73.jpg

It looks like the front sides are sectioned then braided. The back is braided and wound around (flatly) with the side's braids are wrapping over it.

Personally, my favorite style is as easy as you can get: middle part, smoothed on sides, 2 low braids toward back of the head that (flatly) wrap around each other forming a "braided rug look."

Hope this helps a little.

That is simply lovely, thank you for posting! Plus it really is the color-photograph version of an era pic already here somewhere. Very cool, seeing someone pull it off this many years later. I ' think' it may be in the thread of mourning photos, the one where we were discussing the early Victorian thing of taking one's photo from the back, indicating you were in mourning? Some women just did justice to this kind of photograph with incredible hairstyles, seem to remember this was one of them.

 

[Dave Hull]

I will have to remember to ask my wife when I get home. In addition to her millinery work, dressmaking, baker and cook extraordinaire, she is a retired Stylist who has done a few demonstrations of hair styles at events. One of the best looks she created was a cascading waterfall braid of loose locks which was really impressive. Her only tools of the trade were a bone comb and a knitting needle. We were cleaning weapons when she did that particular do and until the very end, it looked like it would be a bun of some sort, then bam, flowing cascades of braids. Hard to accurately describe, but I have seen at least ten pictures with that particular look. Imagine a bun, which falls down the neck and shoulders in a loop sort of way.

She got most of her ideas from studying period photos and went from there. I know she has also scoured Godeys for ideas as well. Having an ability to recreate what she sees in print is an art and skill. Even after the classes a number of the styles were not easily replicated by the class.

 

[rosefiend]

This would be nice stuff to know. I generally stick my hair into a ponytail or a simple bun, and it would be nice to fix it up a little more fancy once in a while.

It would be cool to see the men put some of their facial hair in braids. Gen'l Stuart could have used a updo on his beard.

 

[Allie]

Godey's instructions for hairstyles more often than not remind me of those old art books where you start with a circle and then it says, "add details" and shows a photorealistic painting. I believe the accepted period way of doing this was to tear out a picture from Godey's and present it to one's ladies' maid, saying, "Like this." Depending on the training of the maid, or if you weren't wealthy your sister, your hair might look exceedingly peculiar.

 

[Catie S. Byrns]

Thank you very much for all your comments and information. The braided style is beautiful. I'll give it a try.