How to do my hair for the Titanic...

[FraeuleinBerlin]

Ladies! I know this is a little before our collective time, but I am going to a Titanic-themed ball in a few months' time. I have plenty of inspiration for my dress, but... my hair and make-up!

It's difficult finding good pictures of the hair and make-up c.1912... I know they used a lot of pads and combs in their hair and didn't wear much make=up, but finding more info than that is proving a challenge!

Could anyone help me?

Thank you!

Fräulein Cherry Berlin
xxx

 

[rue]

My friend Nikki is an authority. Her blog is here:
http://www.thescarlettrosegarden.com/
Also study the make-up of the movie Titanic. They did an excellent job of keeping the feeling of the time.
I found this too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ8JiK8xroE

 

[I Adore Film Noir]

Here's Rose from the movie Titanic, if your hair is curly, you're halfway there:

and here's the same hairdo without the tendrils:

 

[rue]

If she can nab Leo for a date she's set

 

[I Adore Film Noir]

If she can nab Leo for a date she's set

:eusa_clap​

 

[rue]

Thank you thank you very much lol

 

[Romy Overdorp]

About the make-up: If you are married you can wear some white powder and rouge with red lipstick.
If you are 'available' don't wear any make-up as you are supposed to look young and fresh.
This is what I've been thought at beautyschool about the very beginning of the 20th century.

As for the hair, you can make a horizontal roll, a bun or/and get creative with beads, decorations.

 

[certainlyred]

Look at the series Dowton Abbey, as well. It has some of the most superb Edwardian hair and wardrobe I've ever seen! It's currently available on Netfilx Watch Instantly.

Lady Mary wears her long hair up in fashionable rolls and buns.

And her sister Edith wears her hair shorter, with curls around her face.

Their mother gathers up her curls (kind of Gibson-girl style) and wears lots of big hats!

 

[FraeuleinBerlin]

Thanks for the replies, ladies! Sorry I'm so late; I had a hectic couple of weeks.

I realise they didn't wear that much make-up back then (vulgar, doncha know!), but this is a very formal ball, so I'd feel kind of like I haven't made an effort if I didn't wear any... so that youtube video is really useful!

I also LOVE Lady Mary's hair... any idea how it's done? My hair is very curly but only about shoulder-length. I read that they used a lot of pads under their hair, but can you still buy those?

Thank you!

 

[Kitty_Sheridan]

you can buy the sponge rings at Claire's Accessories, they come in a circle but just cut them! Also if you're feeling studenty and broke (been there done that lol!) get old tights and stuff them with your own hair from a hair brush or cotton wool.
Look for nice strings of beads to decorate your hair with, I look for broken diamante at car boot sales for my Edwardian formal do's....good luck, sing out if I can help-and post pics afterwards!
Kate

 

[FraeuleinBerlin]

Oh yes, I have some of those that I use for victory rolls (curly hair = nightmare to wrap into a roll on its own!). I'll just play around then I guess.

Yep, I think I'm going to put pearls in it... will work it all out when I have the dress... I think i'm going to have to MAKE the dress even though it's been a while since I sewed anything!

Do you dress in Edwardian things a lot? I don't normally go that far back!

 

[FraeuleinBerlin]

Pale make-up and seaweed in my hair?

 

[Kitty_Sheridan]

Hi there, yes primarily I did WW2 living history but I've been doing more and more WW1 /Edwardian events here in the UK. My hair is very long and wavy, so for once it's pretty ideal for the era!
I love your 30s pink frock/nightdress-reminds me of a photo I have on my wall- June 1936 Claire College Ball!

 

[Mojito]

It's an interesting period, as you're already seeing the smaller, "tighter" hairstyles in reaction to the earlier bouffant Gibson Girl styles. Rather than being swept off the forehead, it tended to fall quite low, often in "wings", sometimes to the brows. Hairstyles also echoed a certain classical style, and the whole Directoire look (Empire style, high waisted, often classical e.g. Roman or Grecian hair embellishments or bandeau style hairbands for evening dress).

Because I write a lot about the "Titanic" era I'm often invited to functions where people who want to wear costumes adopt an earlier, generic Edwardian look - a more exaggerated S shape with the waist at close to the natural waistline and heavily corsetted to a wasp waist, pigeon fronted bodices and towering hairstyles. Already, though, you had the influence of designers like Poiret (who bragged of freeing women from corsets while hobbling the legs!).

The movie "Titanic" did some nice work on costuming (many vintage gowns were used in making it, or vintage costumes)...Rose's "Jump" dress was fairly typical of evening wear, with its empire waist and the use of beaded illusion over a contrasting under dress. They also did a good job of her hairstyling, if I remember correctly. I few older ladies were shown with more bouffant hairstyles and slightly earlier gowns, but I've seen photos from the era indicating that, as ever, a few people were a bit behind the times, and it was still acceptable to have some volume in the hair.

If you haven't already done so, you might want to look up Lucile (Lady Duff-Gordon) on google images - a highly influential couturier of the time who actually was on the Titanic. I have a belt she designed in the teens in my collection - very ornate. Her designs do tend into the frou-frou - she was very fond of ribbons and bows (she had a philosophy that men loved to see bows on lingerie because they could imagine untying them) - but there is also some of the orientalism we see in Poiret and other designers of the era.

 

[MaryMary]

If you would like more help on what would be Edwardian-era appropriate, I recommend the ladies over at the yahoo group Titanic Dresses. I am the creater/moderator of the group and can vouch for the experience of everyone there! (Nikki, who was mentioned earlier, is a member and she has much knowledge on the subject!) I have made a few Edwardian gowns myself including the jump dress from Titanic and let me just say, hand beading that was no picnic, lol!

 

[FraeuleinBerlin]

Thank you very much for the replies and advice (sorry about my patchy replies - I've been abroad with no internet for a while)!

I can imagine what a nightmare the beading must have been! I'm not going to be that hardcore, but I have lots of rose-coloured (fake!) pearls that are going to be included somehow, including in my hair!

I think I'm going to go for smaller hair, Mojito - especially as I AM a young lady, after all Just up in simple waves, maybe with a band made of the same fabric as my dress, like these ladies:

I bought this pattern if it ever shows up in the post from America, and I plan on either trying to make it (the one on the right) myself, or taking it in tears to a dressmaker:

http://butterick.mccall.com/b6630-products-1076.php?page_id=385

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Ladies! I know this is a little before our collective time, but I am going to a Titanic-themed ball in a few months' time. I have plenty of inspiration for my dress, but... my hair and make-up!

It's difficult finding good pictures of the hair and make-up c.1912... I know they used a lot of pads and combs in their hair and didn't wear much make=up, but finding more info than that is proving a challenge!

Could anyone help me?

Thank you!

Fräulein Cherry Berlin
xxx

His name escapes me at the moment - he lives in Vegas and is always a snappy dresser, but hasn't posted in awhile. But for Halloween of 2009 (year before last) or perhaps even 2008, he was outstanding in his Titanic outfit. Grayed skin tones, blue lips, a morning suit, bowler, walking stick and even a monocle as I recall. But he found something for his eyebrows, goatee and here & there on his outfit that looked like frost. IMHO - adding that to your outfit, similar makeup and other touches (try to find the post on the What I'm Wearing Today string) would make you totally stand out from the crowd. He even had a copy of the NY or London newspaper of the day announcing the sinking. It's all in the details...

Always being interested in the Titanic made me have to look at this post, and comment, even though it's in the ladies room...