Hairstyles for Ladies
There
was a universal hairstyle popular during the war. The goal was the appearance
of a round, wide face, so hair was arranged very low on the crown of the head,
and wider to the sides. Hair was always parted down the middle and slicked
down on the crown, then pulled to the back and secured with pins into a bun
or roll. Older women wore this bun higher on the back of the head, younger
women would sometimes drop this bun into a roll at the nape of the neck. I
have never seen a picture of a period woman wearing bangs.
Hair was neatly confined, with nary a strand out of place.
Remember that bathing was not done as regularly as it is in modern times, and
that hair was often dressed with sweet oils. You will notice the plastered
down look on women's hair in many period photos. To achieve width at the
sides of the hair a clever technique was used. Hair was saved from hairbrushes,
then this hair was formed into a wad about the size of a small potato.
This wad was called a "rat". This
was pinned under the fall of hair at the sides, to give extra fullness. To
make your own rats, check out our Ravishing Rats project
directions!
Farm
wives and women who worked just slicked the hair back into a bun. This
was more of a functional way to keep the hair neat than to be fashionable.
If you have long hair, duplicating this style will be easy.
Evidence of wavy or curly hair is infrequent in period photos, so most likely
women tried to straighten their hair to achieve this look. Photos exist
of women with short hair, but they are mostly teens. About one in one hundred
photos of adult women show short hair, but the short styles are parted in the
middle and slicked down on top to mimic the long-hair style.
Hair
was only allowed to relax into longer, more elaborate styles at balls or formal
affairs. Period women elaborately decorated their hair with jewelry, flowers
and ribbons. Sausage curls and ringlets were popular. Remember
that this was only for evening wear, hair was always confined during the day.
The reenactress with short hair will need to use a few tricks
to achieve this look. You can use hair gel to smooth the hair on top or
a day cap can hide your short shag. The clever use of falls, hair extensions,
or a hairnet may be effective. If you do not usually part your hair in the middle,
wash it before going to the event and form a middle part so the hair will dry
smooth.
If you have bangs, use hair gel or pomade to blend those short
hairs into the longer hair. Bangs were NOT a period look and you must hide them.
Hairnets
This
is the most hotly debated item of personal wear to be found at reenactments.
You will see them worn, in all their glaring variety of colors, at many reenactments.
It is, unfortunately, the #1 item that new reenactors waste their hard earned
money on.
Hairnets, also called nets (snood is a term from the 20th century),
were occasionally worn during the Civil War era. When they were worn,
they were usually made to match the color of a woman's hair. Other styles
were elaborate constructions of ribbon, velvet strips, or braid with beading.
These elaborate nets were worn much like a bonnet--as decorative headwear that
just happened to conceal the hair.
Despite the debate, nets remain an effective means of disguising
modern or short hairstyles that cannot be camouflaged any other way. Try
to purchase a net of fine fiber in a color that closely matches your own hair
color. Avoid the synthetic snoods in circus colors! They are slippery
anyway and will slither out of your hair constantly. Pin your net far
back on the crown of your head, behind your ears - don't don it like a shower
cap.
Period Images from the collection of Fanny & Vera