1830s hairstyles

Well, you know the drill by now. These posts just get longer and longer and more self-indulgent, but I figure it’s better to have an exhaustive approach, right? Last time we talked about hair in this period, and if there’s one detail I need to recall to your attention, it’s that hair ca. 1830 is generally tall. This is important, because hats of any given period are always designed around the hairstyles common in that period. This holds true for men and for women. Nobody like to have their…

Estate hair

Classic 1830s Apollo knot.

*A Non-Historical How-To* Quite by accident today, I was playing with some ribbon, trying to figure out how to create loops of ribbon to go in my 1830s hairstyle. That’s a wig I’m wearing, btw. They would need to be tall and stiff to stand up but the ribbon, unless it had wire in it, was pretty floppy. The Biedermeier period ran from 1815-1848 but you mostly see these hairstyles in the 1820s-30s. I had saved a lot of photos showing the different way ribbons were used in the lady’s hair…

Hairdressing 1830s

Cornelia Veterlein by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1828

Another gigantic fashion post today. Hair, hair, hair. Let’s talk about hair. It’s such an important marker of beauty in any given period, for men as well but especially for women. I always figured this is why historical movies can be so reluctant to portray women in period hairstyles if those hairstyles happen to conflict with modern standards of beauty. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a period flick and been so impressed with the work of the costume designer, only to have their…

For my friend Robin's Young Victoria Dinner, I knew I needed to give as much attention to my hair as my dress--the 1830s had some of the most distinctive hair in history. Hair is not my strong point as a costumer, but the architectural qualities of 1830s hair gave me some reassurance that I could do it. It looked extremely strange as it was coming together, but when all the pieces are in place--the side curls, bun, and sleeve, it's remarkably balanced. For the side curls, I used these side…

Angelique Pauline Dupont by Joseph-Desire Court, 1838.

1860's hair style by Eleanna Flautt

PhotoSeed, a privately owned photographic archive whose mission statement is Bringing to Light the Growth and Artistic Vision of 19th & 20th Century Photography, is a comprehensive resource examining all aspects of artistic photography from this era.

A fabulous modern recreation of the Apollo knots and curls of the 1830s.