Elizabethan Hair in Portraits
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Elizabethan Hair in Portraits
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| (Hilliard, 1599) |
Elizabeth I was known to have many wigs. Some say she had over 70 wigs. These in themselves were a show of wealth and royalty as wigs were and are still very expensive.
In many portraits of Elizabeth she has something adorning her hair. A lot of the time it seems as though these potentially hairpieces, pearls and jewels. No expense was spared for portraits. Portraits showed the current state of the Royals, or of anyone who was considered of importance. In older Elizabeth portraiture it is very clear that symbolism was a must. The pearls would have been a symbol of purity and virginity.
In most of her portraits, depending on the level of detail that had been put into painting the hair she is often shown to have really tight curls that are almost illustrated as pin curls. In other paintings I think that as she has aged her hair lost it's structural integrity and became frizzy, and it seemed to become a trend. People would use wire to create shapes and padding would be used to gain the lift of the hair.
Even though she is seen to have a normal hair line, I think it may be possible that she actually had a widow's peak hairline. It would explain why the heart shape became really popular. Her curls seem to naturally fall away from this kind of parting. To get rid of this I think she may have plucked away the small triangle of hair to give herself the large forehead.
Ladies at court and other noble women would have been looking to Elizabeth as their style icon, so they would have had similar hairstyles to match the Queen. The Queen had a lot of influence over women at court, so her personal preference would also play a part in what hairstyles would be accepted.
Looking at some of Elizabeth's ladies-in-waiting you can see what was fashionable in court. It seems that in English court, it was expected that ladies attending wore some form of french hood. It meant that some of their hair was on display but the rest was away and off the face. Again, the heart shape is present.
While looking in Pintrest I found this image. I think it's really interesting to see how hair trends evolved. It follows very closely with portraits of Elizabeth and the subtle changes that appeared in her paintings. It's almost like the original Hello magazine but for Tudors.
In modern hairstyling I wouldn't say that heartshape is the most popular design but I think the red hair trend definitely came back. Especially with Rihanna leading the way. In June 2010 she started with a quiff, undercut and red hair and this was the beginning of the world going 'Rihanna Red'. Hair dye brands were releasing whole new collections that were all different shades of red. It was common before this trend that they may have 3 different shades of red. Some brands didn't carry a red at all, or it would be a more natural toned red. Instead there was every variation of 'intense' red that you could possibly get.
Out of all the photos of Rihanna'selt as though this one had a real Elizabethan feel to it. I think it's to do with the shade of red and the plaits so close to the face.
In many portraits of Elizabeth she has something adorning her hair. A lot of the time it seems as though these potentially hairpieces, pearls and jewels. No expense was spared for portraits. Portraits showed the current state of the Royals, or of anyone who was considered of importance. In older Elizabeth portraiture it is very clear that symbolism was a must. The pearls would have been a symbol of purity and virginity.
In most of her portraits, depending on the level of detail that had been put into painting the hair she is often shown to have really tight curls that are almost illustrated as pin curls. In other paintings I think that as she has aged her hair lost it's structural integrity and became frizzy, and it seemed to become a trend. People would use wire to create shapes and padding would be used to gain the lift of the hair.
Even though she is seen to have a normal hair line, I think it may be possible that she actually had a widow's peak hairline. It would explain why the heart shape became really popular. Her curls seem to naturally fall away from this kind of parting. To get rid of this I think she may have plucked away the small triangle of hair to give herself the large forehead.
Ladies at court and other noble women would have been looking to Elizabeth as their style icon, so they would have had similar hairstyles to match the Queen. The Queen had a lot of influence over women at court, so her personal preference would also play a part in what hairstyles would be accepted.
Looking at some of Elizabeth's ladies-in-waiting you can see what was fashionable in court. It seems that in English court, it was expected that ladies attending wore some form of french hood. It meant that some of their hair was on display but the rest was away and off the face. Again, the heart shape is present.
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| (Lockey, 1592) |
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| Peake, R. (no date) |
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| (de Critz, 1605) |
While looking in Pintrest I found this image. I think it's really interesting to see how hair trends evolved. It follows very closely with portraits of Elizabeth and the subtle changes that appeared in her paintings. It's almost like the original Hello magazine but for Tudors.
 |
| (Elizabethan Hairstyles, Elizabethan Era Hairstyles, Elizabethan times Hairstyles, Coifures, hairdos, no date) |
In modern hairstyling I wouldn't say that heartshape is the most popular design but I think the red hair trend definitely came back. Especially with Rihanna leading the way. In June 2010 she started with a quiff, undercut and red hair and this was the beginning of the world going 'Rihanna Red'. Hair dye brands were releasing whole new collections that were all different shades of red. It was common before this trend that they may have 3 different shades of red. Some brands didn't carry a red at all, or it would be a more natural toned red. Instead there was every variation of 'intense' red that you could possibly get.
Out of all the photos of Rihanna'selt as though this one had a real Elizabethan feel to it. I think it's to do with the shade of red and the plaits so close to the face.
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| (Niven, 2015) |
Bibliography
Hilliard, N. (1599) The ‘Hardwick Hall’ portrait of Elizabeth I of England.Available at: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Elizabeth_I_of_England_Hardwick_1592.jpg (Accessed: 18 November 2015).
Lockey, R. (1592) Bess of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bess_of_Hardwick#/media/File:Elizabeth_Talbot,_Countess_of_Shrewsbury_from_NPG.jpg (Accessed: 18 November 2015).
De Critz, J. (1605) Portrait of Anne Vavasour Available at: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/AnneVavasour.jpg (Accessed: 18 November 2015).
Elizabethan Hairstyles, Elizabethan Era Hairstyles, Elizabethan times Hairstyles, Coifures, hairdos (no date) Available at: http://www.elizabethanenglandlife.com/elizabethan-hairstyles.html (Accessed: 18 November 2015).
Peake, R. (no date) Ann Vavasour [Oil on panel]. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/ann-vavasour-15601650-217300 (Accessed: 18 November 2015).
Niven, L. (2015) Rihanna: Hair Style File. Available at: http://www.vogue.co.uk/beauty/2011/10/03/hair-hero-rihanna/gallery/682099 (Accessed: 18 November 2015).
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