Regency Hairstyles

As I mentioned in my very first post, Regency men and women's clothing was inspired by the Greek and Roman classical style. This also applied to hair.

Women's Hair:

Women’s hair was kept simple and natural during the Regency. During the day was worn up with ringlets framing the face and some women even had their hair cropped short (Sullivan, 2007).

Regency woman. Note the ringlets framing her face and the knot at the back of her head.

At night, hair was decorated with silk ribbons, diadems (a tiara-like crown), ornamental combs and beads (Sherrow, 2006). Bandeaux (similar to a cloth headband) were also popular and some women even wore turbans in the evening if they had short hair, making sure to curl the hair that was left out (Brown, 2008).

Regency woman with turban

Because curling irons weren’t invented yet, women used paper strips or pieces of cloth to curl their hair. They would wrap the cloth around sections of wet hair and leave it to set over night (MacDonald, 1971).

Men

Men’s hair, unlike the previous period, was kept short, layered, natural and free from hair power used in the previous period (Byrde, 2008). Still, older men continued to wear hair powder and would be ridiculed for their old-fashioned tastes.

One of the most popular styles was achieved by combing the hair forward to create a wild, windblown look (complete with sideburns!) popularised by romantic fiction, but some conservative men would comb their hair backwards and have it neat and tidy (Reeves-Brown & Reeves-Brown, 1997-2003). 

Classic Regency style

Men even curled their hair as curls were so much in fashion! This style of hair combed forward was meant to resemble the Roman Emperor Titus and was actually known as the Titus (Between a Gentleman and His Tailor, 2006).

Notice the how the hair is combed forward

Sources

(2006). Adornment, Ornamental. In V. Sherrow, Encyclopedia of Hair (p. 3). Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Between a Gentleman and His Tailor. (2006). Retrieved May 4, 2012, from The Georgian Index: http://www.georgianindex.net/tailors/tailor.html

Brown, L. (2008). Lisa's Guide to Helping 21st Century Women Dress for a Regency Ball. Retrieved May 4, 2012, from Country Dances of Rochester: http://www.rochestercontra.com/WomensBallClothing.pdf

Byrde, P. (2008). Jane Austen Fashion. Ludlow: Moonrise Press.

MacDonald, S. S. (1971, November). Curling Hair the Old-Fashioned Way: Paper Curls. Retrieved May 4, 2012, from Mother Earth News: http://www.motherearthnews.com/do-it-yourself/curling-hair-zmaz71ndzgoe.aspx#ixzz1X7aKOK3U

Reeves-Brown, J., & Reeves-Brown, D. (1997-2003). A panalopy of HAIRSTYLES sported by gentlemen. Retrieved May 4, 2012, from Jessamyn's Regency Costume Companion: http://www.songsmyth.com/menhair.html

Sullivan, M. C. (2007). The Jane Austen Handbook. Philadelphia: Quirk Books.