Elizabethan Hood and Hairstyle

As part of my outfit for the event I recently attended, I decided to make an Elizabethan Hood. For ease of wearing, I replaced the hood with a caul. I used a Tudor hood pattern that I adapted from the one in the Tudor Tailor. I was very happy with my Tudor hood except for the fact that the buckram in the 'visor' went quite limp. The fit was good and I felt that it looked good.

These images of Queen Elizabeth I show the sort of style I was going for, although I wanted my hood to be very understated:

from: http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/elizface.htm

I cut the hood base back by about half to allow for the padded rolls of hair to be worn in front. I couldn't find my buckram, so I used two layers of stiff needlepoint canvas, a think layer of interfacing and a layer of felt. These were all stitched together and wired along the front brim. The fabric 'case' was then inserted over the top, and the caul gathered up into the back of the band. I added a billiment of beads and pearls with gold trim at the front and a piece of starched gold lace at the back. I added a wig clip inside the brim, but I didn't need to use it; the hood stayed fairly secure without it.

To do the Elizabethan rolls in front of the hat, I parted my hair horizontally just behind my ears (because my hair is very thin right now,) and barrel curled the front section. I sprayed the hair with strong hair spray and teased it. I managed to put it up over the 'hair riser' combs quite easily and smoothly. Then I pinned it behind the combs and tucked the ends into the bun that I had made with the rest of my hair. Another hefty spray of hair spray and the whole 'do' was as solid as a rock. I added a pearl drop and put on the hat. Easy.

Getting the teasing and spray out of my hair was not quite as easy. When I took the hair riser combs and pins out, my hair wanted to stay in the roll shape. I could have pinned it all back up and worn it again without the combs, it was so stiff.

Post-revel hair!

Luckily, my sister was on hand to give me some hair treatment gel that really helped. Once the hot water from the shower hit it, all the spray and tangles just eased away, and a bit of shampoo and thorough conditioning brought it all back to normal. Flat, boring, normal. I was never a fan of big, 80's hair, but I do love my Elizabethan hair!

Tools of the trade: bun clips, hair riser comb and barrel curler. Plus hairspray and pins.

One of my previous Elizabethan hair styles, done using the same techniques (just different hair accessories).

Elizabethan Hairstyle Accessories

Here are the photos of the items that I use to do my Elizabethan rolled hairstyle. The only things I have left out are the beaded bun cover, the hairspray, and the headbands I wear behind the rolls. I like this particular type of comb as the extra teeth help to hold everything in place and reduce movement.

The bun clips came from The Undertailor (http://www.facebook.com/TheUndertailor?fref=ts)
I use two of the combs on either side of my part to make the rolls.

And here is the finished style:

In this photo, I have added pearled pins on the rolls and a hanging pearl in the part. Using the barrel curler means that I don't need to tease my hair to make it stay in place.

Bun clips for Kristin

Bun clips from The Undertailor: http://www.facebook.com/TheUndertailor

Great for Elizabethan hair dos!

Elizabethan Hair

I have hair that will just not stay in place when I style it unless I use so much product that it looks like I am wearing a shiny helmet! My hair has a lot of movement in it, and lots of little 'fuzzies' that pop out around the hairline, especially near my ears. In the past I have done an Elizabethan style hairdo by crimping my hair with my old 80's crimper, and then backcombing and spraying it into place. It works fairly well, but doesn't give much height or support ornaments.

This week my Awesome Sister solved my problem. She curled my hair with a three prong barrel curler. The curls added a lot of body, which gave me the idea to try an Elizabethan hairstyle. It was just a test, so it is not perfect, but it only took about ten minutes after my hair was curled. I did a centre part, and then a part from ear to ear. I pulled back the back part of the hair with a clip, and brushed the front forward over my face. Then I put one of those 'hair riser' combs on either side. I drew the front part of the hair firmly over the combs, and secured it behind the combs with a couple of long bobby pins flat against my head. Then I drew all the hair into the back part and secured it into a ponytail in the middle of the back of my head. I added a little hair donut that I previously made out of a sock, and arranged the hair over that. I tucked the ends in and used the bun clips I got from The Undertailor to secure the bun. I added a fancy bun cover and some pearled pins. I did a light spray of hairspray at the front, and then added more jewelled pins and a drop pearl. Then I put on a beaded headband (behind the combs).

I am very pleased with how it all turned out. I took the ornaments out, but kept the bun and clips in for the whole day to see how well the style would last. It felt unusual, but didn't hurt or feel uncomfortable, and the clips didn't slide around or drop. All in all, it is a style that I could comfortably wear for a day. I will have to be careful getting into the car with the combs in though!