Invited to 1920's fancy dress party - but what to do with long hair??

[mew]

Dear Lords and Ladies, has someone here a good idea how to wear mid-back length hair in 1920's style? I googled around for fashion pictures, and it seems short hair and finger waves were all the rage back then. The character i am supposed to play is the respectable major's wife (it's a murder mystery), so i was thinking some sort of bun with maybe curly strands hanging out here and there. My hair is horribly thin and slippy so i don't expect much luck with any kind of exotic style... ;)

If you have any ideas, i would be delighted to hear them :)

cheers, mew xx

[Loviatar]

I love those kind of parties.

I'd either:

pull it all back in a severe braid, then bun the braid and use a mantilla comb or bakelite rhinestone comb to secure the bun

loosely bun most of it, but wet some pieces round the front of your face, spray with aloe gel + water mix, and rag roll for curls
buy a Marcel wave wig from ebay or a decent wig shop and wear that (I did that once and it was pretty cool)

[Redheaded Raven]

Dear Lords and Ladies, has someone here a good idea how to wear mid-back length hair in 1920's style? I googled around for fashion pictures, and it seems short hair and finger waves were all the rage back then. The character i am supposed to play is the respectable major's wife (it's a murder mystery), so i was thinking some sort of bun with maybe curly strands hanging out here and there. My hair is horribly thin and slippy so i don't expect much luck with any kind of exotic style... ;)

If you have any ideas, i would be delighted to hear them :)

cheers, mew xx

I can relate to slippery hair, mine is too! And thinner than most because it is VERY fine, so here are my suggestions, I know that there were at that time some that wound their hair around a torque kind of thing and so it looked short but wasn't. I remember that some one one the old boards had done an up-do like that but I don't remember who it was. It looked lovely though.
Good luck, I would suggest looking at pics from the 70's version of murder on the orient express, as they had some lovely styles, almost any Agatha Christie movie with Peter Ustinov would have some styles that might work. HTH:D

[saracuda]

I found these pictures, hope they give you some ideas!

http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/245/938/1024/1928vintagehairdo.jpg

http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/245/938/1024/1923hairdo-vintage.jpg

http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/245/938/1024/1923-Hairstyles.jpg

http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/245/938/1024/Hairstyles1927.jpg

[Lamb]

This picture shows a 1920s bun. Many women faked short hair by pulling their hair back in a low bun, allowing the hair at the sides cover their ears. Of course, hair was fingerwaved and "plastered down" for this hairstyle too, just like bobs.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd305/E_Agnes/1921b.jpg

ETA: saracuda, I cannot see your pics - perhaps it is just me?

[Haith]

How about this: the Hocus-Pocus Bob. All you need is a cute hat!

http://bellasugar.com/706651

[Liluri]

You could do the fake bob (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=43611&postcount=11) thing with you hair depending how long your hair is?

[mew]

Thanks for the many suggestions, I could really try the fake bob/low bun option because i got ample shorter hairs around the face that could be curled a bit. :) Just gotta browse ebay for a horrible hat now...;)
Cheers all! :)

[Stevy]

Maybe try parting it on one side and then putting it in a low bun? Best of luck finding a hat!

[Kuchen]

Or part hair in middle and make two low but loosely coiled cinnabuns secured with hair scroos which sit half over your ears.
Agent Provocateur managed to make Catherine Bailey's long hair into a convincing 30s bob and my suggestion's sorta based on that. There's a photo here (http://blogs.fashionweekdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/newagentppicsok.jpg) but it does feature someone in lingerie so isn't 100% safe for work. I've been rocking a variation of this lately (but with one bun on one side) and love it. Hair scroos mean it stays all day but can soften and look a little dishevelled.

[MadPirateBippy]

A snood might work! Also, let's not forget that most people don't know that much about historical accuracy, so you could get away with something like a french twist with a nice retro comb.

[Magdalene]

Try googling Myrna Loy- I don' t have time right now to link it but when I was doing Murder on the Nile I found some good shots of her in a faux bob- basically marcel-waved in front, and a very FLAT bun at the nape. 20's fingerwaves were a lot frizzier than 30's were. You can also wrap a scarf (headache band) or turban to hide length.

I wound up using a wig so I wouldn't have to marcel wave it every night, but for a one shot deal fingerwaving wont hurt you (I have a marcel wave iron that's awesome, but not for every day!)

[BittSweetCherry]

I'm afraid I don't remember where I got this image from (sorry, copyright people!) but this seems like an option:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v518/philopsylinnia/1924hairbun.jpg

My intention has always been to do this, but try and get some finger waves at the front.

Often it's the make-up rather than the hair that pulls it all together. Cupid bow, red lips, thin pencilled brows in arcs rather than the batwing arches and pale skin with blush should work.

Zoe Wanamaker played Ariadne Oliver in the BBC version of Agatha Christie's Cards on the Table; she had an excellent style used by older women who didn't want to cut their hair in that era, but I've never managed to find a good screenshot. I mean to rent it sometime for that purpose.

And lastly, these might be of use - it seems parted, slicked and low at the back were also in: http://www.costumegallery.com/movie1a.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b116/taytaylorD/1920_1930_hairstyles.jpg

[awesometruffle]

I have been meaning to post pictures forever of my fake bob, but I don't think it'd be a good 1920's look--my hair was much poofier than I imagine a 20's bob to be.

[Xanthippe]

I'm afraid I don't remember where I got this image from (sorry, copyright people!) but this seems like an option:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v518/philopsylinnia/1924hairbun.jpg

My intention has always been to do this, but try and get some finger waves at the front.


Oh, I think that style is lovely! I'm going to try that one out. I found the website it is from too, so the copyright people can leave us alone :D http://www.fashion-era.com/C20th_costume_history/1924_silhouettes_1.htm

[jojo]

oh how exciting i love nights out like this, i got an idea! because the 20's was a 'bob' era why not do a fake bob (somebody did post instructions for it) but before you put it up and your hair is damp, put hair grips in to cause waves at the front then do the bob thing, once your hair is dry take the clips out and voila! 20's finger waves (think there called this!)

heres a picture of what i mean http://www.acewigs.com/shop/image_uploads/WiggedOutWigs/FlapperS.jpg

[k_hepburn]

You might find these two websites helpful:

http://www.nocturne.com/swing/hair/hair.html

http://frazzledfrau.tripod.com/titanic/hair.htm

Greetings

katharine

[anna1850]

Zoe Wanamaker played Ariadne Oliver in the BBC version of Agatha Christie's Cards on the Table; she had an excellent style used by older women who didn't want to cut their hair in that era, but I've never managed to find a good screenshot. I mean to rent it sometime for that purpose.


There's a picture of her here (http://agathachristie.bravehost.com/media/wallpaper50.jpg) but I can't find any others.