My Journey with the Elizabethans-My Take on Modern Elizabethan Hairstyles...

Having researched some Elizabethan and Contemporary hairstyles for inspiration for my 'Redheads and Royalty Project',  I had a go at adding Elizabethan detail to a Contemporary hairstyle.  By doing this, the base of the hairstyle is still modern, just with an Elizabethan twist and Elizabethan details.

This hairstyles is based around the very modern bun, a style that many of us wear nowadays, as the creation of props such as a donut makes this style easy to create for even the most inexperienced of us when it comes to hair!  The Elizabethans loved to use lots of texture in their hair, usually created by using things like ribbon, so to create an Elizabethan twist on this hairstyle, I would wrap ribbon around the bun to create texture, as well as adding some pretty decoration.  As well as this, I thought I would add some plaits through the bun, a style that is slightly more modern.  This many not be particularly easy with the hair being in a bun, so when actually creating this style on real hair, I would think about using some small extensions to create the plaits, then securing then with some pins. 

For this style I took a simple up do, and added some Elizabethan style and detail.  Having learnt about a method called frizzing, created by using a pin and wrapping the hair in a figure of 8, I thought a frizzy/curly bun would create quite an interesting and textured look.  Some previous images I have researched also show that the Elizabethans loved using pearls to add decoration to their hairstyles, so I thought adding some pearls throughout the hair would look quite elegant, along with the sweeping fringe.  I also wanted to incorporate a plait through the hair, almost creating a headband, however this did not come out very well on the image as I found a plait quite hard to draw. 

This style is a little bit more intricate and detailed than my previous two ideas.  I decided to take a fishtail plait and add some ribbon through the plait to add some decoration.  The original style had a sweeping straight fringe,  however I thought it might look quite interesting to add a frizzy/ tightly curled fringe, as this kind of curl was extremely common during the Elizabethans. 

My Journey with the Elizabethans- Inspiration from Pride and Prejudice (The Film)

Having watched Pride and Prejudice before, when the term 'Elizabethan' comes to mind, so do those kind of Royal Films and Tv Programmes.  Many of the female characters in the film have similar, although slightly more modern looking hairstyles to the Elizabethans.  They often include a lot of texture, and have been draped with jewels or plaits and ribbon.

 Image Credit: Classical influence in Regency fashion and hairstyles, ... | Period f…. (Online) Available at: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/418201515369220994/.  Accessed 10 November 2013.

In this particular scene of the film I was really drawn to the style of the blondes lady's hair.  I liked how it had been pulled back into a soft undo, draped with only a little decoration.  This is very minimalistic, a style that can be common in the modern day, therefore bringing in contemporary ideals.  The hair also has some texture at the front, but looks to have been kept a little more subtle at the back.  This style to me represents the kind of style the Elizabethans loved, but in an unusual, more flattering, youthful way.

The Hair Studio- Practical Week 5- Curling the Hair

This week during our practical we learnt all about curling the hair.  For this session the aim was to create very tight, barrel curls that would then be formed into a pin curl.

Obviously prior to curling the hair, you would prep the hair normally.  First carrying out a quick consultation, washing the hair and then drying it thoroughly (see my Practical Week 1/2 posts for more info on these steps!).  Having also done a consultation, you would determine whether or not to apply a heat protectant. 

Curling the Hair:

Before curling Bryony's hair.

1. Start off by brushing through the hair, making sure that all knots and tangles are removed, this will make it easier to work through the hair.  Starting from the bottom of the head, take a small section of hair, if your client has long hair, wrap the end around the tong so it is neatly in the barrel, laying flat.  Turn your tong towards the head, getting as close to the root as possible, if you are unsure of how close to get to your sitters head, place a comb at the root and rest your tong against that.  You should have also decided whether you want your curls to fall forwards or backwards.  Whichever you decide, make sure you follow this on the other side of the head, so that the style is symmetrical. 

2.  Keep the hair wrapped around the tong for around 12 seconds, then gently turn your curl out once, and slowly press the lever, releasing the curl and gently pulling it off the barrel.  You will be left with a very tight curl, and in order to keep its shape, its best to cold set it.  To cold set your curls, all you have to do is place a bobby pin round it. 

3. Follow this process, working upwards, still making sure that your sections are small and even and that you are cold setting your girls each time.

4. After you have finished curling the remaining hair, you can now take the pins out.  Again with this step, start and the bottom and work your way up. You can set these curls with some hairspray if necessary, the picture below gives you an idea of what the curls should look like.

5. The last step of the curling process is to create your pin curls.  Remembering to always work from the bottom of the hair upwards. take one of your curls, and wrap it between your thumb and forefinger to create a small loop. Continue rolling upwards in a spiral until you reach the head. Use a bobby pin to pin this spiral to the roots of your clients hair.

My Journey with the Elizabethans/ The Hair Studio- Frizzing using a Geisha Pin

During our seminar with Seema this week, we experimented with different methods of creating texture. To do this, we simply used a Geisha Pin, took a small section of hair and wrapped the hair around the pin in a figure of 8. 

The first step in creating a frizzy texture.

After we had wrapped the hair around the pin, we took a straightener and gently heated the hair by placing the straightener around the pin and clamping together, making sure that all the hair has been heated.  This allowed us to quickly set the hair in the shape it had created around the pin.

The hair once is had been heated and taking out of the pin.

Hair slightly brushed out.

Hair completely brushed out.

As you can see from the final two pictures, this technique works really well to create the common Elizabethan 'frizzy' texture.  By brushing the hair through gently, then brushing it out completely it allows you to create two different types of texture, a softer frizz and then a harsher, messier frizz.

The Hair Studio/ My Journey with the Elizabethans- Incorporating Ribbon into the Hair

Unfortunately I was ill for Seema's seminar this week, however having spoken to my classmates they told me that during our seminar, they had a workshop on how to incorporate ribbon into the hair.  As I missed doing this in class, I practiced this technique at home. 

I simply twisted the ribbon around the plait, which I think created a really pretty and interesting style.  This would be perfect for our Contemporary Elizabethan Hairstyles as they loved to drape their hair with lots of decoration.

My Journey with the Elizabethans- Modern Elizabethan Style Inspiration

Many Elizabethan hairstyles were very intricate with lots of details.  These details included plaits, buns, braids with lots of jewels, gems and ribbons to enhance the beauty of the style.

I love this style because of the detailed fishtail plait, placing plaits at the side of the head is very common nowadays and creates quite a chic, soft look.  So although like the Elizabethan style there is lots of detail, it is created in a much softer way.  The volume at the front portrays more of an Elizabethan feel, whereas the colour of the hair represents the idea that today, we aren't afraid to experiment with lots of different colours to achieve our desired effect/look.

I really admire the use of twists for this style, the plait isn't as intricate as the plait in my previous image, however it replicates the curliness that the Elizabethan's used for many of their styles, as well as the twists that they used to place at the front of the head. The style creates a nice rounded shape at the front of the head, so although a very contemporary style, it still holds Elizabethan ideals.  Small bits of ribbon have been used to secure the hair in place, which was also very common during the Elizabethan Era, to add some extra detail. 

This low bun, a very modern style is made fairly Elizabethan through the use of the grid like pattern and pearls over the bun.  I find this style really interesting, as it has lots of sleek, contemporary elements, but the decoration adds an Elizabethan touch.  The pattern reminds me of ribbon, a prop that the Elizabethans loved to use. 

My Journey with the Elizabethans- Contemporary Hair Designs with Elizabethan Influences

I collected these images as inspiration for my New Elizabethan project, to me although some of these images may look very current and modernised, they hold many connotations of the Elizabethan Era, and tradition ideals.  

The model's hair in this photo has been styled in a very Elizabethan way, with many modern twists.  The dark red hair is reflective of the hair colour that was very much desired during the Elizabethan Era.  The hair is all very curly, curled in different styles, some of the curls are very loose, others look like they have almost been crimped, which adds a bit of a contemporary feel.  There is a lot of volume at the front of the head, which was very common also.  Instead of a crown as a headpiece, a small flower has been used with pearls resting over her forehead, this is a modern twist on the extravagant headpieces that saw on the Elizabethan women. 

This is my favourite style out of all three, I love the volume at the front, with the small ponytail that falls down the side, again the height at the front of the head was extremely common during the Elizabethan times.  The hair is a lot less curly than what was known back then, however straight hair is a common desire today, so slightly reflects the modern day. 

The hair is a deep mahogany red, a bit darker than what was common back then, if I was to create a contemporary version of this image, I would make the hair a more vibrant red/orange and maybe incorporate some plaits and twists, or maybe a small headpiece or jewel at the front of the head. 

This is definitely a contemporary take on a typical Elizabethan hairstyle.  The most prominent modern factor here would have to be the colour of the hair, a mixture of blonde and browns create a different portrayal of the usual red Elizabethan hair colour.  There is a lot of curly texture with this style, and a lot of volume.  The crown at the side of the head definitely adds a bit of attitude to the look, typical of Beyonce and many celebrities in todays world.  I really like the ringlets down the side of the face, with creates a softer feel, different to the harsh hairlines back then.