Hair shapes

‘Hairstyles of this era were dictated by the large collars (ruffs and whisks) that were in fashion. This meant that many of the hairstyles had to be updo’s – long flowing hair was rarely seen in this era. In order to keep things neat (as well as providing another place to decorate), the bun in the back of the hairstyle was often covered by a cloth cap or jewelled net. Hairstyles were also designed to complement the fashionable hats of the time, especially the ‘French hood’ (a half moon shaped hat) and the Atifet hat (a heart shaped crescent hat). The heart shape hair appears over and over again in the Elizabethan era. This was often accomplished by dressing the hair over hair pads or, in more extreme cases, a wire frame.

Another common shape during this era was the narrow, rounded oval shape. Depending on how tall this shape was, it could have been dressed over either hair pads or a wire frame, too. The hairstyles (whether it’d be on natural hair or a wig) were styled with wax and starches.  The excessive styling also led to frizzy hair textures.’

Book - Lowery, A. (2013) Historical wig styling: Ancient Egypt to the 1830s: (the focal press costume topics series). United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis Group.

Modern heart shapes:

The following images reminded me of Elizabethan hairstyles. They all consist of two buns, one on each side of the head, portraying a heart:

Image 1 – the buns on this hairstyle look very frizzed and messy. They’re also very big, and I can tell a lot of backcombing and product has been placed into the hair to achieve such volume. Towards the front, there are swirls falling onto the forehead which wasn’t a desired look during this era. It was more fashionable to have a high hairline, with absolutely no hair on the face.

Elizabethan (2014) Available at:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/551268810612029399/ (Accessed: 4 December 2015).

Image 2 – although this hairstyle doesn’t have the frizzed Elizabethan texture, it’s still got the exact desired shape of the era and colour also, reddish-ginger. The model in this image is also wearing an elegant adornment, right in the centre parting of her hair which again reminded me a lot of the Elizabethans.

A strand of hair: My journey with the Elizabethans / Elizabethan hairstyles, then and now! (no date) Available at:

http://astrandofhair.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/elizabethan-hairstyles-then-and-now.html (Accessed: 4 December 2015).

Elizabethan heart shapes:

Both images below are portraits of Elizabethan women wearing a heart shaped hairstyle. They’re both very similar to each other in terms of texture, clothing, makeup and use of adornment. Colour wise, they’re also both in the brown family. In order to achieve heart shaped hairstyles during this era, wires and padding was used however the buns on these hairstyles don’t seem to be so big. I believe I could recreate this hairstyle with just the technique of backcomb. 

Mary Fitton - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2014) Available at: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/122371314849266516/ (Accessed: 4 December 2015).

Modern oval shapes:

Image 1 – this oval shaped hairstyle represents Elizabethan hair. It doesn’t have a frizzed texture however it’s got the height and fullness that every Elizabethan wished for. I really like how this hairstyle is so neat and smooth. I also like the plaits towards the front of her hair; it’s definitely one of my favourite contemporary images and something I’d consider for my final designs.

Elizabethan (2014) Available at:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/551268810612074127/ (Accessed: 4 December 2015).

Image 2 – this is another example of an oval hairstyle. I like this hairstyle as it highly compliments the makeup. It’s very Elizabethan, especially with the red hair. The hair isn’t so neat, it’s quite wavy however not frizzy. The stylist of this hairstyle may have used padding or just done an extreme amount of backcombing to achieve the volume.

Alexscissors (2011) Available at:

https://alexscissors.wordpress.com/page/8/ (Accessed: 4 December 2015).

Elizabethan oval shapes:

Both images below are portraits of Elizabethan women wearing oval shaped hairstyles. I definitely think padding has been used underneath both due to their extraordinary height. The texture on the first image (brown one) seems to be quite smooth whereas the bottom image looks rather frizzy. There is use of adornments in both, with the bottom one going a bit over the top with the excessive pearls and jewels. 

Fashion in 17th century England (no date) Available at: https://sidneycoterie.wikispaces.com/Fashion+in+17th+Century+England (Accessed: 4 December 2015).

Elizabeth (2013) Available at:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/258042253622061239/ (Accessed: 4 December 2015).