Edwardian Hair Tutorial!

Welcome to part three of my four-part Victorian Hair Tutorial series. Today I'm cheating a little, as Edwardian era hair is not Victorian, but I wanted to cover a wider range of hair styles and it was this or Romantic-era hair (shudder!).

Today's tutorial is for a hairstyle that was popular around 1911-1914. Women became interested in styles that seemed exotic, and this was "Greek", or at least their approximation of it. Fashions were changing pretty radically from just ten years before; dresses were long and close to the legs, and the pigeon-breast was out. Hair became freer too; gone was the over-the-top Gibson bouffant. It was replaced with a softer style which would last pretty much up to the '20's (no; I am not planning to bob my hair for this blog. Not yours.).

1. As always, start with wavy or curly hair. In my case, I used a wave-barrel curling iron to acheive the cascading waves you see here, and regular curlers to give the ends some curl. Part your hair down the middle (or somewhere near it, as with my hair!). If your hair is shorter, you're in luck; some women were wearing their hair shorter in waves, the precursor to the Marcello-wave hairstyle, though less controlled. You can get away with short hair in this period, though most women were still wearing their hair fairly long.

2. Section your hair into two, a front section and a back. I used a headband which I threaded ribbon through, looped twice around and pinned in the back.

3. Take the front two sections and pin them back, loosely. Nothing about this style is tight or contained; everything is very soft. Take the back section of hair and put it in a low ponytail.

4. Now take the hair in the ponytail and divide it into two. experiment with looping it to make an interesting, loose bun, and pin the sections into place. If you have long hair, now is the time to have fun with it; make figure-eights, loosely braid it, get creative!

Now, break out your Titanic-era dress, and stroll with first class! A simpler style for a changing time; give it a try for your next Edwardian-themed event. Stay tuned for the final installment of my Hair Tutorial Series: Late Victorian Evening Style!