What about the Hair!?! - Late Victorian Hair Styling

From what Ive researched, the later years of the victorian period saw a radical difference compared to styles worn in the earlier half of the century. The Photography below has captured illustrations of late Victorian styles dating 1865 to 1875.

Photo of Page 46
'A History of Hairstyles' Jean Keyes
p.1967 Methuen

Studying these illustrations I can see similarities and differences between early victorian styles. For starters I can see that curls still feature heavily but are more varied and appear more wave and tendril like in style, give a looser more relaxed feel. In most variations at least some of the hair is left loose. Unlike earlier styles the volume of these styles has been moved to the top of the head rather than at the side of the head. Less tightly coiled waves are introduced in many of these variations at the back of the neck and around the face where small fringes have been cut. The idea of longer ringlets is supported by Jean Keyes who states 'longer ringlets were fashionable again' and enforces the fact that these were often adorned with ribbons, flowers and even ostrich feathers. 

(Jean Keyes,'A History of Hairstyles', p.1967 Methuen)

A popular style during the 1870's featured some hair 'cascading down the back' in ringlets whilst the remaining hair was swept on top of the head and secured with pins. The Pompadour also gained popularity by 1880s, a style influenced by Madame De Pompadour, where the hair was swept upwards from the face and worn high over the forehead. A wide variety of this style was often worn by victorian ladies known as the 'Gibson Girl' Hairstyle where women would 'roll their hair over a "rat" made from human or horse hair'.

(Victoria Sherrow, 'Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History', p. 2006 Greenwood Press)

Portrait of the Gibson Girl style
Penned by Dana Gibson
Circa 1890s
http://tinyurl.com/kp26o7m

Key features of Victorian Hairstyling throughout the Victorian Era

Early

- Centre parting

- Hair smoothed to the scalp to the temples

- Volume of curls at the sir of the head

- Structured 'Drop curls'

- Hair is tight, kept close to the headMid
- Plaits are introduced
- Top knots become smaller and move further back and down the head
Late
- Looser curls, more wave and tendril like
- More adornment in the hair
- Hairstyles are generally more elaborate
- Centre Parting is much less common
- Short fringes at the front of the face are introduced
- The volume of the hair is focused on top of the head
- Padding is used to create voluminous Gibson style