Elizabethan Hairstyles

When studying Elizabethan portraits I have noticed a number of reoccurring themes that I believe to be identifiable characteristics from this era.

http://tudorhistory.org/elizabeth/queen.html

http://www.npg.org.uk/research/programmes/making-art-in-tudor-britain/the-phoenix-and-the-pelican-two-portraits-of-elizabeth-i-c.1575.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portraiture_of_Elizabeth_I_of_England

• ·         Colour – Deep red, strawberry blondes and different variations of these colours.
• ·         Texture – Frizzy, thick and very small ringlets of curls.
• ·         Shape – Often circular or in heart shapes, with a thick structure and extremely high hairline.
• ·         Adornments – Plenty of pearls, crowns, ribbons, bonnets or small hats.
  

Introduction

I shall be using this blog to document my directed study of Hair and Postiche – Redheads and Royalty. Throughout this unit I shall be researching, learning about and studying hair throughout history, in particular the Elizabethan era. I am extremely excited to begin this unit as I have never previously studied hair or postiche and am therefore new to all that we are learning about. As of yet I don’t know what to expect from this course but I am eager to learn new things and begin research into historical hair and postiche trends. I currently have no ideas in regards to this unit however I believe that through extensive research into historical hair trends and current artistic trends and hair trends I will be able to come up with an outcome suitable for this unit. The reason behind my interest in current art trends is because I come from a fine art background and find that looking at contemporary artwork can inspire and help me think of connections between old and new pieces of work. I am looking forward to this unit as it will allow a lot of creativity and allow me to explore some new ways of working. From this unit I hope to gain confidence in my ability to style hair in period styles, contemporary or Avant-garde styles.