Deadlines Part 2!

Last time we spoke about using different techniques to create curls and texture with hair. On this post I shall be focusing on how I used these techniques to create a ‘Gibson Girl’ hairstyle and a brief overview of its history.

What is a Gibson Girl? Sometimes referred to as ‘The New Woman’ they were created from illustrations by Charles Dana Gibson in the 1890’s. He wanted to create the perfect victorian ideal of effortless beauty, clean and clear skin, soft hair and a corseted waist. He was a respected illustrator who drew for popular American magazines and based his drawings on observations of thousands of American women. Not only was a Gibson Girl a thing of beauty she was also headstrong, charming and typically from the upper-middle classes. She had to be contradictory, slender but still voluptuous, charming yet ruthless. Somewhat similar to the suffragettes who were also carving out a different kind of femininity, but kinder and definitely more appealing to men whom she could dangle on a string and drop them on the slightest whim. By the turn of the century her appeal had started to dim with the approach of the first world war but the Gibson Girl paved the way for the flapper girls of the future.

What does all this mean for their hair though? It had to be practical enough to cope with their adventurous activities (like cycling, tennis or golf!) but still soft and effortless - which resulted in the high pompadour with wisps of curls framing the face.

As I was working with human hair I decided to use heated tools to create this style and I started off by curling the hair over a small barrel curling iron I decided against allowing the hair to cool in pin curls as I wasn’t going to need the hold of the curls I was using them more to add body and volume. I back brushed the hair around the crown of the head and pinned it into a brown hair pad, smoothing off the top layer of hair. I pulled out a few curls around the sides of the head to try and achieve the more relaxed feel of the style. I tried to arrange the ends of the curls into a small almost bun shape to disguise the pins holding the hair to the pad.

I was really pleased with the final result however there is a small bulge in the front that I would take more care to avoid and also I should have left more hair to smooth over the back brushing as I can see the texture peeking through at the side.

I attempted this look again with a synthetic white blonde wig which was much longer and a much higher density than the training block hair. This did not go as well as I had hoped as I couldn’t use any heat to create the curls. I didn’t not have time to steam set the wig or to place it in a wig oven as I did this on the last uni day before lockdown! I also didn’t do any back brushing on the wig as its really really difficult to undo that with synthetic hair. Had this wig belonged to me or was for a real tv/film shoot I would back brush it as I could use multiple of the same wig if I needed a performer to have the same hair in different styles. For example, one could be fully styled and one could be left in curls etc.

This wig already had its own parting and would not easily be brushed out of it and so when I attempted to fold the hair over a hair pad it split apart. I added in a blond oblong hair pad and also a small domed hair pad in the front, ideally I could have added another in the nape of the neck to create that baggy feel of the first attempt. As it is it ended up looking somewhat flat and droopy in the back. I also ended up almost wrapping the hair around the pads as it was so long, if I’d had time to set the wig into curls it would have been easier to manage. I also need to work on hiding pins better and to use shorter, thinner pins that don’t show through so easily. I did like that I had more hair for the top curls as it added much more shape to the crown of the head.

Overall the wig attempt wasn't that great but I did learn a lot about working with synthetic hair! I think with more practice I could make it into something good so stay tuned for an update!

Thanks for reading,

Fern xx

Bibliography

Bulo, K. (2018). The Gibson Girl: The turn of the century's "ideal" woman, independent and feminine. Retrieved 23 April 2020, from https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/03/01/gibson-girl/

Campbell, C. (2013). Make Up: A History - The Victorian Era, Gibson Girl Style. Retrieved 23 April 2020, from https://hellogiggles.com/fashion/make-up-a-history-the-victorian-era-gibson-girl-style/

The Gibson Girl Look - Myth or Reality | Glamour Daze. (2011). Retrieved 23 April 2020, from https://glamourdaze.com/2011/03/edwardian-fashion-gibson-girl.html