Late victorian hair research

Victorian hairstyles changed a lot toward the end of the era. Women's hair changed to looser curls, hair was longer (shoulder length), curls are at the back of the head and not the front, fringes were brought into fashion, short curly fringes became popular etc.

Hairstyles tended to reflect the fashion, aspirations and social changes in society at that time. The hairstyles reflected the dresses that women wore at the time. As the skirts of the dresses were drawn back towards the late 1860's so was the hair with pulling it back to reveal the ears. The flat top and the curls spiralling down the back of the neck mimicked the details on the back and train of the gowns.

The industrial revolution saw a massive rise in the middle class which brought a lot more new fashions and hairstyles to the era. By the 1850's department stores became popular meaning that women bought a lot of hair pieces and adornments to go in their hair. This depended on their wealthiness as to what kind of piece they bought.

When the civil war was going on during 1861-1865 this brought a new hairstyle for women. It was more to do with practicality during the war rather than elaborate hairstyles with adornments. The hair was scarped back off of the face and put tightly into a bun so that no hair was down in the face and bothering her. It was a lot more practical to have no hair hanging down around the face to worry about.

Towards the end of the 19th century curling irons were introduced which changed hairstyles again to become a lot more heavily influenced by soft waves. However only those who could afford curling irons would use them. They were introduced by Marcel Grateau and was known as the 'Marcell wave', it was a lot more natural wave to the hair rather than the curls we saw in the 1860's.

It was shown as a sign of respect to cover the hair completely and wear it up when there was a death in the family. Queen Victoria wore her hair up and covered (bar a few exceptions) after her husband Albert passed away. To show that she was mourning she covered her hair always and wore it up. It was popular to keep the hair of a loved one that had passed away in a locket as a sign of love. 

Mens hairstyles:

As you can see from the images above hairstyles became a lot shorted towards the end of the victorian era, and it became more popular to have a lot of facial hair. Beards, moustaches, mutton chops and side burns were all really popular. Men used to tame their facial hair using oils and waxes to help shape the hair. They would also wear wood frames at night to keep their moustaches shaped.

It was popular for men fighting in the American civil war to grow facial hair because the temperature was so cold that by growing facial hair they could keep their face warmer. It wasn't until towards the end of the victorian era that it became popular for men to have a clean shave.


References:
1. Chertsey museum (no date) Available at: http://chertseymuseum.org/hair (Accessed: 13 February 2016).
2. Victorian women’s fashion, 1850-1900: Hairstyles (2001) Available at: http://www.victorianweb.org/art/costume/nunn10.html (Accessed: 13 February 2016).
3. Bryer, R. (2000) The history of hair: Fashion and fantasy down the ages. London: Distributed in the USA and Canada by Antique Collectors’ Club.
4. Victorian men’s fashions, 1850-1900: Hair (2001) Available at: http://www.victorianweb.org/art/costume/nunn21.html (Accessed: 13 February 2016).