Regency / Early Victorian Hairstyle
tsroemi
Posts: 2,742
I'm having a hard time at the moment creating a typical regency hairstyle, where most of the hair is in a bun and flat on top, with a middle parting, and then some small curls are added to the sides of the face - like here: https://janeaustensworld.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/1804-1804-1804.jpg. I can find flat middle partings, and I can find small corkscrew curls (although not so many), but they're near impossible to attach to each other in a natural looking way, at least for me. So I really wish there was something like that available at the store! The regency style could have morphs or add-ons to change it into an early / middle Victorian style easily, too.
Comments
I've been looking for similar styles for a while too.
These in particular, but I am not holding my breath, as I would imagine it's a small niche of customers who may want them :(
Count me in, need that hair style urgently and wait for it since years!!!
I would by it immediately. Regency, Biedermeier all around 1800-1840... and with optional decorations, pleeeaaase!
There was this OOT hairstyle released recently. Historique Updo
It's a bit fantasy-esque as far as the upper portion goes, but perhaps a good starting point.
Oh yes and I bought it and it is fantastic, but it's more Barococo ;) Wonderful morphs and textures etc. All I wished for my 18th century dreams but no starting point for a Regency, Biedermeier or Victorian hairdo. In fact, there should be two different ones. Such soft hairstyles with hair pinned up at the back and soft corkscrew curls on the side and ribbons and flowers for the Regency period , gladly with a golden arrow like Madame Recamier. And a second, much stricter hairstyle with straight top hair and sharp parting and upswept hair bows on top.... But the side curls are the most important parts.
OOT - can you hear us?
The Rococo period is a few decades earlier than Regency. Yes, the Juliette Récamier hair is on my list too. Anything Jane Austenesque will do.
PS... I could have done with that OOT hair when I did my Chemise a la Reine dress promos :/
Yep, am seeing that ;-) It's a fantastic dress nevertheless (and the promos were lovely too, would have been even without any hair at all), bought it as soon as I saw it. Please keep up the historical work, you're one of the very best out there!
This interested me and I started looking at my runtime and then by PAs' possible hairs to use or build a early or later Regency period or early to mid-Victorian hair. I found some information on a Jane Austin site: https://janeaustensworld.com/2009/11/07/regency-hairstyles-and-their-accessories/
So here are some of the hairs, not in any particular order. Some have options that appear in their promos as a possible hair and some will need shaders.
https://www.daz3d.com/classic-updo-hairstyle-for-genesis-3-female-s
https://www.daz3d.com/truli-updo-hair-for-genesis-8-81-and-genesis-3-female
https://www.daz3d.com/galene-hair-for-genesis-3-female-s
https://www.daz3d.com/geegee-hair-for-genesis-8-female-s
https://www.daz3d.com/odessa-hair-for-genesis-3-female-s
https://www.daz3d.com/courtney-hair-for-genesis-3--8-females
https://www.daz3d.com/pandora-hair-for-genesis-3--8-females
https://www.daz3d.com/mercedes-hair-for-genesis-3-and-8-females
https://www.daz3d.com/elegant-bun-hair-for-genesis-8-and-genesis-3-females
https://www.daz3d.com/fantasy-hair-for-genesis-3-female-s
https://www.daz3d.com/dolly-changable-hair-expansion-for-genesis-3-and-8-female-s
https://www.daz3d.com/dolly-changeable-hair-for-genesis-8-female-s
https://www.daz3d.com/helena-hair-for-genesis-3--8-females
https://www.daz3d.com/hy-ponytail-lowbun-hair-for-genesis-3-and-8-females
https://www.daz3d.com/braided-band-hair-for-genesis-8-females
https://www.daz3d.com/sp-hair-006-for-genesis-3-and-8-females
https://www.daz3d.com/cecilia-lau-character-and-hair-for-genesis-8-females
https://www.daz3d.com/double-braid-updo-hairstyle-for-aubrey-8-and-genesis-8-females
https://www.daz3d.com/sp-hair-002-for-genesis-3-and-8-females
https://www.daz3d.com/xue-hair-for-genesis-8-and-81-females
https://www.daz3d.com/augusta-hair-for-genesis-3-females
https://www.daz3d.com/sprites-leisure-hair-for-genesis-8-females
https://www.daz3d.com/pure-hair-darling
When I looked at the work by the various PAs, it occured to me that there is already a number of them that have hairs that start with the hair base, then have various tails, braids, or buns. If they could do another that is surrounding curls, ringlets, those weird hair sculptures that happened at the early Victorian period that might give one an ability to mix and match for the 1800 - 1840 period, along with shorter hair for the classical look of the early Regency years, along with accessories for day to night.
Some of the hairs I have there are not necessarily for elegant ladies, but rather a common woman or servant, whose hair may have fallen down or just needs to get it out of the way, or is in a conservative religion.
This is an interesting period, so add me to the list of folks who would purchase this era hairs.
This is exactly what I've been thinking, too. I've got most of the hairs you listed, and many of them would be a good base for a Regency and early Victorian style. The problem is that even if you have a good base and then find some ringlets somewhere else that would work, it's really hard to attach anything convincingly to that flat, center-parted base that is needed. So both would indeed need to be created together, to match and work together. Oh, this would be so, so lovely to have, a historical mega-pack like OOT's updo packs! AND accessories, absolutely! Flowers - jewelry - hats (oh yes, hats, with matching morphs for the hair dos!) - maybe even (dare I dream?) a working fan to go with it all ...
oh shucks! Thanks :)
memcneil70 said
" When I looked at the work by the various PAs, it occured to me that there is already a number of them that have hairs that start with the hair base, then have various tails, braids, or buns. If they could do another that is surrounding curls, ringlets, those weird hair sculptures that happened at the early Victorian period that might give one an ability to mix and match for the 1800 - 1840 period, along with shorter hair for the classical look of the early Regency years, along with accessories for day to night. "
I will have to go through that list to see. Yes, bits of hair that fit together to do mix and match packs would be great.
@Lully, I hadn't been on Rendo for a bit, but I just looked up the referenced dress and bought it and your Edith outfit also.
Thank you for making two lovely period outfits that look like they could have come from an actual clothes closet/chest.
Mary
Cheers memcneil70. I do enjoy historic stuff. I watch a lot of historic costumer on youtube plus I relish in period dramas, so whatever I make is usually inspired by TV of some sort. The Edith dress came after binge-watching Downton Abbey, lol
Ive also spent a bit of time trying to make some passable ringlets, not sure yet, as they look a bit naive up close, but for promos they might work. If I finish them up I will probably give them to anyone who wants, but wont put them in freebies anywhere as it might impede on a hair vendor who has been lurking and decided to do a pack. I only did a transmap as you can easily copy the base hair from the main hair and add the transmap after so it matches. I have used a bun hair from OOT here, think its one at rendo
Oooh, the ringlets are very nice and attach well! I'd absolutely love to have them. Would probably put them on a base with a center parting then. Neat job!
Come to think of it, I am actually wondering now how they achieved that 'super straight flat center part plus bunchy side ringlets' look in real life back then. Probably with hair irons. But how to keep the part on top of the head nice and flat and not being lifted upwards by the curls? Pins maybe? If so, then this might be a very neat and also historically super correct way to attach the ringlets in 3d as well ...?
How sure can we be that their hair actually looked like that back then? And how sure can we be that it was their real hair?
Some of it surely wasn't, you're right about that. I think it was about standard procedure for well-to-do women to own and use hairpieces. But we do have records of women doing their hair in those styles in literature and in paintings.
I used this Apollo Knot freebie made by Modern Wizard https://www.renderosity.com/freestuff/items/75571 in my picture here https://www.deviantart.com/enchanted-april/art/In-the-eye-of-the-beholder-850633326 with a few tweaks and an OOT hair shader.
All parts are hideable so you can mix and match with some newer straight parted flat hairdos. I like it very much because it is the only one I could find but its better for distant views than close ups.
Here is an old thread (2015) about https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/61039/1820s-women-s-hair-bundle-g2f It seems that nothing happened since that times ;)
I remember you recommended the Apollo knot to me in the comments of the 'In the eye of the beholder' picture - it's really the only halfway appropriate hairdo for early Victorian out there I believe. I still absolutely adore your picture, by the way! It's so well made and at the same time, humorous. I've got a save of it on my iPad and show it to people to illustrate the great stuff you can do with 3d :-)
I have sent you a PM here at DAZ with the link. I won't post it just yet as still making my mind up as to what to do with it. you need to copy the main hair mat over to the ringlet, I think most hairdos have a standardized map nowadays and the only differing thing is the transmap, which I have included as a partial shader. Copy over the base mats and then add the transmap option. If it looks over shiny (My OOT hair example did) turn down the gloss or Top Coat to match.
I think it was a result of the rags used to curl the hair, the top wasn't curled and just lay flat. To hold it in place, they probably used hair pins (think bobby pins weren't around during regency era but were in Victorian times)
Thanks for the ringlets and the instructions! I'm really excited to see how they will turn out with the hairs I have in mind. Concerning the historical situation, yep, I hadn't thought of the rags! They're of course so much softer than today's curlers and will make the hair so much less springy. I really wish I had the slightest idea how to even start making good-looking historical hair-dos (or any hairs, that is), I find this all so fascinating. It would be so cool to be able to turn the research into something beautiful and useable. Ah well, you did!
When you have limited hair products, styling gear and whatnot, and fine, thin, fly-a-way hair, that flat look is natural. I know, I have it. It is very easy to part in the center with a comb with a pick handle, and pull back or down or separate into sections. Hair in the front, framing the face can also be separated, then treated however you want, braided, curled, or let the wisps go crazy.
What everyone needs to remember is at that time, ladies had maids who styled their hair, or there was a hair stylst who visited their rooms prior to a big event. And being able to spend all day to prepare for an evening event was the norm for high society.
Thicker hair, might need some fighting with. But still it works.
Here is a link to a pdf that describes hair dressing and hair combs used.
Very interesting link, thanks! - Not everyone had maids or hair stylist available though, and still young women wanted to look nice in every class, not only high society. Women in lower middle class families were often lucky to have a maid-of-all-works for all inside jobs, and had to make do somehow themselves. Also, younger, unmarried women even in higher middle class often had no personal attendants as far as I know. So I guess many did resort to the rags mentioned above, and a do-it-yourself-sides-only-perm ;-)
Makes me think how fantastic it would be if we actually had two styles for each 'hair period', one really stylish and high society, one rather down to earth, but still recognizable for the period. Ah well, one can dream . .
Well, remember that large families were common up until WWII. It is only as we transitioned away from an agrarian society and also became worried about the population overcoming the world's resources that we went to a nuclear family.
Just as my older sister tried to help me put my hair up and I helped her to 'iron' her long hair straight on our ironing board in the 60s, sisters helped each other. Or mothers and fathers today fixing up their little girl's hair into braided hair styles, or the puff ball styles that are so cute.
We do have a lot of tools today to do things we didn't have when I was a teen thanks to electricity and chemistry.
Oh, I did that, too, the ironing I mean! Just remembered when I read it (for my host sister when I lived in Texas for a while. She had lovely strawberry blond waves, but of course wanted them dead straight one day). And how my mom used to do my hair when I was in elementary, pigtails for everyday and braided for fancy. Quite glad I can do it on my own these days, I am ... cause Ouch!
Well my mom was into perming my hair to make me look like Shirley Temple for school each year, and then when I went to stay with my uncle and aunt in the Mojave Desert, my aunt, a hairdresser, would cut my hair short for easy care. No one has every been able to get my hair to stay up, unless they, tease it to death, put in a pound of bobby pins, and two cans of spray on it. Then it takes about an hour in the shower to wash it all out & get the teasing straightened.
In the 80s I had a 'feminine' Billy Idol haircut, as I was on a disaster response team and had to be able to wear a properly fitted gas mask, so long hair in a bun was not happening. Today it is short, natural grey color, and wash & wear with roll brush and blow dryer. Takes 2 - 3 minutes. I will never, ever let a permanent near my head again.
I hear you so well! I didn't get a perm fortunately, but the same terrible, terrible hair cut each time for years that I just hated so much, in the most unconvenient half-length and with annoying bangs. Since I'm grown up, I've let it all grow out, now my hair's just straight and long and in a braid which gets put up in a bun for the day. Sounds awfully oldfashioned, but it's really pure hair bliss: no hair stylists, no blow dryers, no fancy schmancy products, and the best: If I'm in a hurry, I skip undoing the braid and just put it up as is, and it will still look quite nice and tidy for work. But don't tell ...
Shh, secret safe. If I had tried to braid my hair when long, it would unravel. I have hair envy. Seriously.