TV & Film - Late Victorian Hairstyling

Cranford (Set 1864)

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This image is a still taken from the television series Cranford, this series was set from the mid 1800's onwards and demonstrates how hairstyles were beginning to change slightly towards the end of the 19th century. On the whole however the styling of the hair is relatively similar with bonnets, ringlets and mid sitting buns being the most prominent feature within the hairs design. Perhaps what is most interesting here is that both hairstyles are relatively similar despite the visible age difference between the two characters, the only visible difference is infact that more relaxed curls of the younger character in comparison to the tight ringlets seen on the older woman. This is in many ways a signifier of how the older and younger generation began to separate from one another in regards to how fashion began to divide the generations. The young female character has visibly more relaxed hair that is less focused on distractive ringlet curls, instead the curls start lower down the face nearer the eyes and are softer in appearance. In addition to this you can see that the hair is also less pulled backwards into a bun as the parting is visible to the very back of the head, therefore it is apparent that the bun must sit lower into the bonnet and be styled into a series of more relaxed curls in accordance with the developing fashion of the 'Marcell Wave'. This is a contrast to the older woman who retains the post 1850 fashion of tightly curled ringlets throughout the front of the head with a firmly sitting bun at the back.

Ripper Street (Set 1888)

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This image is taken from the character of Susan Hart (Long Susan) and is set towards the end of the 19th century and the later years of the Victorian period. Here is a wonderful example of the French influence into the fashions of female hair styling with the hair sitting high upon the head, with ornate decorations and visibly larger curls as opposed to the tight ringlets of previous years. During this period of the Victorian era the hair had become far more elaborate both within evening and daytime attire as a result of French influence and the use of additional hair pieces. Within this image it appears as though no hair pieces had been used (despite it being fashionable to do so) but the hair is an example of what the middle class lady would style herself into for daily business. as you can see the middle parting has been completely lost by this time and the hair is elegantly swept over and back from the face. Subtle ringlets have remained at the sides of the face and longer ones at the back of the head (although not visible here), however most of the hair is piled onto the top of the head into a series of larger positioned curls. Often these curls were adorned with jewellery or flowers and this is something visible here, the use of an ornate comb has been placed near the back of the head both to hold the style in place and add an element of expense to the whole look. Overall the hairstyling is far more dressy in comparison to that of earlier years and appears to resemble more of the evening hairstyles of the pre 1850's. In all it appears as though the evening styles of the earlier years had become the fashionable daywear by the end of the 19th century. The character of Susan Hart indeed embraces that concept of upper/middle class fashionable beauty and therefore represents a wonderful example of how the hair had altered between classes.

Penny Dreadful (Set 1891)

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The final image is a still taken from the popular horror series 'Penny Dreadful' which is set right at the end of the 19th century. The character of Vanessa Ives is a key female figure within the television series and is considered a love interest and seductive character within the series. Throughout the series we see her with two different hair styles, the first of which is similar to that of the style shown within Ripper Street, an elaborate undo inspired by the French fashion of large curls and ornate decoration. However within the series we also see her with a contrasting hairstyle, long hair that hands straight down. This is something that is rather unusual of the Victorian period as for a woman to allow her hair to fall straight was to symbolise a woman who had fallen from grace and did not care for herself anymore. Perfect curls were a symbol of beauty and we can see how through her gradual mental decay, her hair symbolises that very slip from a figure of desire to that of sickness, however when the hair is up it is again highly ornate with ribbons and pearls.
A prominent idea explored within this series is also the use of colour, Vanessa Ives is always depicted head to toe in black attire and her hair is also black therefor symbolising that she is in mourning. Most likely for her mother who we are aware from watching the series is deceased. From the image depicted here the hair styling is visibly a more relaxed, every day version of a late Victorian hairstyle as it does not possess the jewellery and level of volume required for an evening attire. Instead however it is clear how the use of tight curl has been lost even more in comparison to that of Ripper Street, here all the hair is pulled away from the face and instead of being plaited into a bun, it is rather elegantly twisted and smoothed into place.