Early Victorian Hairstyles

Early Victorian hair was between the 1800's till the 1860's. Early victorian hairstyles can be recognised from the very famous middle parting and the apollo bun which is considered to be pre-Victorian. The hair was very symmetrical as it had the middle parting and tight curls. The sides of the parting also has a braid or a twist going into the bun. The hair was presented as it being short and and normally above the ears.As time went by the curls started getting looser and soon started hanging till the jaw line. Looking at Queen Victoria on her wedding day she had a centre parting, curls, plaited loops that sat just on the jaw line. As the buns were high by this time they started getting lower and then formed the clean simple precise hairstyles.

This image of Queen Victoria shows the early Victorian Hairstyles. This is an image from her wedding day. The middle parting is so clear and really stands out as it is very straight. It is almost like its been measured. The braided looks only reach till the ears as this was the common style of the time. The hair looks so sleek and it had to be that way with no loose of fly hairs.

The braided loops on either side must have been taken over the bun at the back and tied in place. By this time the buns had lowered from the high apollo buns and turned into braided low buns. As she became queen bonnets became really popular during that time. In the image she is also seen wearing a head piece. The braid that formed a loop had to begin from the temples of the head as the hair had to be sleek down from the centre parting.


Victorian men also had early victorian styles.  They usually had puffy long hair that was curly. Men would usually style their hair as the women did. This is because they too wanted to appear as having amazing hair. During this time it was very popular for men to have very large facial side burns, moustaches and side buns. Instead of men having a centre parting they usually had a side parting that just like the women was also very sleek.

The image on the right shows William Henry Lytton Bulwer in 1845. This shows the very typical early victorian styles that men wore during that time. The image shows the puffy curly hair and the very sleek side parting. As men kept their hair slightly long this enabled them to be able to curl it. They used tiny thin metal tongs at that time to curl their hair. These tongs were heated on a source of heat and then used to curl the hair.


After looking at these images of hairstyles of the very early years of the victorian era, still staying in this period a little later women's hair started being a little looser and dropped till the jaw line instead of just staying till the ears. Below are some images that show how the hair dropped loose in the early victorian era and hanged till the jaw line.

Ref:
Corson R, 1965. Fashions in Hair: The First Five Thousand Years. Peter Owen, London

Bryer R, 2000. The History of Hair: Fashion and Fantasy Down The Ages. Philip Wilson, London