Whiskers: A Growing Fashion
Prior to the Victorian era, men in England maintained cleanly shaven faces. With the mid-eighteen hundreds came a widespread shift toward facial hair in a multitude of styles (Camellia). The ability to grow whiskers began to be regarded as a sign of manhood. In pictures and photographs from the era, it is rare to find a male, past the age of manhood, depicted without facial hair in some capacity. As the century continued, the preferred style of facial hair grew progressively longer, bushier, and more pronounced (Nunn), but it remained “stylish for men to wear facial hair of all sizes and descriptions” (Camellia).
Whiskers of all types adorned the faces of Victorian men, from thin side-whiskers to full, bushy beards in accompaniment with thick mustaches.
During the nineteenth century, side-whiskers, beginning as short sideburns, were “allowed to grow further down the face” (Nunn) and developed into a variety of styles. Mutton-chops, “side whiskers that are narrow at the temple, broad along the lower cheek or jawline, and separated by a shaven chi...
Jablonsky and Chaplin states in their article that when it comes to us not having as much hair, we have looked a...
For example, during the Renaissance, well-born European women plucked out hairs, one by one, from their natural hairline all the way back to the crowns of their heads, to give them the high rounded foreheads thought to be beautiful at the time. Those who didn't want to resort to plucking used poultices of vinegar mixed with cat dung or quick-lime. The latter often removed some of the skin as well as the hair.
Alice Walker’s short creative nonfiction, Dreads uses imagery to convey her narrative about a hairstyle that was inspired by singer, Bob Marley. Dreads are defined as a “hairstyle in which the hair is washed, but not combed, and twisted while wet into braids or ringlets hanging down on all sides”, according to howtogetdreads.com. Imagery was chosen for this paper by the depth of Walker’s illustration of beauty that natural hair has that might seem to be abonnement or not professional by society standards. This reading sparks interests just by the title a lone. That people have mixed feeling about dreads, some might see it as being spiritual; or as a political statement. However, Walker loves the way her natural hair is supposed to form without
... the 1860’s, hair was always combed flat on top and parted in the center of the head, with the adornment of the hair done in the back. Some women wore curls or braids in the back of their heads, where others wore it all in a tight bun. Large ringlets were also popular for a time during the sixties although the flat topped center part remained a staple even with ringlets. (Setnik 46).
The year of 1660 was a year which was full of change, the rich people were coming over with new styles from France and Britain. This hair style pulled back most of the hair and coiled it in the back, and then the excess hair was curled and made to cascade around the face. Often time pearls and ribbons were added to the coil in the back.
1) Frith, Wendy, "Sex, smallpox and seraglios: a monument to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu," Femininity and Masculinity in the Eighteenth-Century Art and Culture ed. Gill Perry and Michael Rossington, (Manchester University Press, 1994), 99-122.
When it became clear that the establishment felt so strongly about hair, the attitudes of young rebels changed. One young man responded after being questioned about his unkempt appearance: Growing hair does not mean that I am or am not a homosexual. It does mean that I am willing to stand up for my rights as a human being, and that includes my right to be harmless to all people. It also indicates my unwillingness to get on the treadmill of killing for a vast machine-like government.
...n was outwardly viewed as a lowly things to do, it was a large part of Victorian age culture among successful men.
One major trend of the 1920s was the short bob. This hairstyle was innovated by Coco Chanel. Before women cut their hair they used to wear their hair long so as a result, cutting their hair shorter was a form of rebellion. Another item of clothing that often went along with the bob is a hat called the cloche hat. Cloche is the French word for bell. They were decorated with different kinds of appliques feathers and brooches. During the 1920s most women were found wearing the cloche hat. When women were not wearing hats, they were found wearing headbands to compliment their bobbed hair. They also came in a variety of designs with gold accents, gems, and feathers.
Rastafarians appearances and beliefs distinguish them from what society dictated them to be. Amongst themselves hair culture began in 1934 with the origination of members growing beard and being called the bearded men. But soon after it became normal ...
“Ever since African civilisations bloomed, hairstyles have been used to indicated a person’s marital status age, religion, ethnic identity, wealth and rank within the community” (2002:3)
The beard, which was worn in full at the beginning of the twelfth century, was modified both as to shape and length. At first it was cut in a point, and only covered the end of the chin. But the next fashion was to wear it so as to join the moustaches. Generally moustaches went out of fashion. Beards were worn only by country people, who, desired to preserve a "remembrance of their participation in the Crusades." At the end of the twelfth century, all chins were shaved.
In the early 1900’s the ideal woman would be dressed with long dresses and would normally have long hair. Several events such as World War I, in July of 1914, changed women’s role in society. They were not only taking care of the children and the household but they were also taking the role of a man. As men went to war, women replaced them in factories. This caused woman to be more independent. Women realized that having a job was something that could be done; their sex didn’t restrict them from taking this action. This was extremely important as it lead to women being more confident and capable. In the 1920s young women began to change. They went from having long dresses and long hair, to a short haircut and wearing dresses that were above the knee. Women developed a greater interest in looking attractive. According to Russell L. Johnson, the beauty industry grew rapidly as cosmetic expenses sky rocketed from 750 million to 2 billion dollars (Johnson 3). This was one of the causes of the sexual revolution. Women became “ less formal but more expressive (Mag...
Hooks, Bell. “Straightening Our hair”. Good Reasons. eds, Lester Faigley, Jack Selzer. Boston: Longman Publishers, 2001. 446-452.
The Victorians' obsession with physical appearance has been well documented by scholars. This was a society in which one's clothing was an immediate indication of what one did for a living (and by extension, one's station in life). It was a world, as John Reed puts it, "where things were as they seemed" (312).