Hairstyles 1840-1900

Is there anyone who hasn’t had a bad hair day or obsessed about the right hairdo for a special event? Probably not, and this obsession is far from a modern phenomenon. Fussing over our hair is one of the things that links us to our ancestors. Maureen Taylor, the Photo Detective, has studied the many fascinating details in nineteenth-century pictures. Early portraits tell us so much about the society, the times, the trends, and the individuals they feature. And, it’s often the hair that stands out. Short, long, curled, and coiffed manes were as trendy as the dresses and suits worn in each period. Every fashion era had its distinctive hairstyle whether functional or fanciful. Using the clues explained in this book, you can learn a surprising amount about your ancestors by studying their portraits. How they wore their locks and their facial hair for the photographer, will tell you a lot about them. Read “the clues” to discover: When those pictures were taken, how old the subjects were at the time, and how wealthy they were. Your ancestors’ fashion sense—were these people trendy or conservative? Which nineteenth-century style mavens they admired. Which hairstyles, moustaches, and beards are still in vogue?