Two hair design ideas for my Miss Havisham

After researching what type of hairstyles were in fashion during the Victorian era I have decided that I want my Miss Havisham to have big hair with rolls incorporated into her hair style.

From images and writing in books that I have looked at I have noticed that hair was normally worn up during the Victorian era. The quote from that I included in my previous blog post states that women often piled their hair on top of their head. A few curls were often used and rolling the hair was very popular.

I purchased a long straight grey/silver wig to use for my Miss Havisham so I had to consider this while creating my design ideas. Sadly I won’t be able to use any heat on the wig; therefore it will be extremely difficult to curl the wig in any way.

Here are my images of my drawn two hair designs with notes to explain more about the hairstyle.

First design idea
front view

First design idea

This design is based around the vertical roll that I have been working on in class. I think that this shape creates a very strong silhouette. I have created a very similar hairstyle from this hair design in class.

The characteristics of this hairstyle:

• A strong shape at the back
• A high and textured shape from the front
• Two loose curls hanging at either side of the face

If I was to choose this final design for my assessment for Miss Havisham I would like to make the hairstyle look slightly decaying. I would backcomb the hair to give a fluffly like texture. I will also use talcum powder and dry shampoo on the wig to powder the colour of the wig down slightly. I would also use some kind of accessories representing Miss Havisham’s character in the hair.

Second design idea
front view

Second design idea

This design is based on giving the hair a lot of shape and piling/rolling the hair on top of the head. I also think that this hairstyle would create a very strong silhouette which is an important factor to creating a hairstyle for Miss Havisham.

The characteristics of this hairstyle:

• A tube like structure like a ring to the outside structure
• A twisted bun in the top middle section of the hair
• Lots of texture throughout the hair with lots of backcombing

If I was to choose this design as my final design for creating my Miss Havisham I would use lots of backcombing to create a very decaying feel to the hairstyle. I would also use talcum powder and dry shampoo on the wig to powder the colour of the wig down slightly giving a very powder effect. I think i would use some laced fabric to decorate the hair to act as a veil as it was Miss Havishams wedding day when she ‘stopped in time’.