Final Evaluation

Evaluation of The Fundamentals of Hair and Postiche 'New Elizabethan's' hair style. 

How did I overcome any problems? 

I think the main problems that I encountered in terms of designing my hair style would be getting the balance between the elements of historic and contemporary. For example at the start of the project I would either be thinking of something really contemporary or historic and there would be no in between. However once I had found the balance I think my design came together quite well. 

Another problem that I found with the project was with my partners design. When creating the look my partner did not want to include and crimping in the design, therefore when creating the design I found it quite difficult to clip the hair to the padding without loosing any of the volume that the backcombing had given the hair. However this was a minor problem as it just meant that I had to be a little more careful with placing the hair and allow extra time to perfect any parts of the hair that may have lost their volume slightly.

Another problem that I think I have faced with this project was allotting my time out of lessons for each section of the course. I believe that going into the next project I will need to manage my time a lot better. This is a personal issue that I will hopefully overcome next project. 

How did I develop my research?

When researching for my design I think the main thing I wanted to take into consideration was the natural length of my own hair. Therefore I always had in mind that I would like to keep the bottom layer of hair down and so researched frizz textures from the catwalk that I could re create for my design. 

I also developed my research by thinking of/ finding an element that I would like to include in the final design and practicing it with my partner to see if it would be possible to create. 

When developing my research into historic ideas I believe the trip to the London Portrait Gallery really helped my develop my ideas. This is because before this trip I was feeling lost with the project and didn't really have an idea of what to include in the design, however after the trip I was feeling very inspired by the portraits and what i could actually create in terms of the historic element of the hair design. 

How did I find it working to my partners brief?

I think that I found it fine working to my partner's brief. However I think that this is because I had a dedicated partner who was willing to explain and help me with the design. This made it a lot easier to understand the brief and going into the assessment we had spent a lot of time together practicing each brief so that we could achieve the best results in the allotted time. 

Bibliography

First post:

https://www.pinterest.com/makeupbyclaire1/makeup-hair-elizabethan/ Author: Makeup by Claire

http://erzetfashion.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/braided-hairstyles.html Author: Reeta Larsson, Date: Sunday 9th November, 2014 

Second post:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2031177/Elizabeth-I-Virgin-Queen-She-right-royal-minx.html Author: A N Wlison, Date: 30th August 2011 

http://www.dollhousebettie.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&Itemid=80&lang=en&show=History-of-Lingerie-Part-Five-The-Elizabethan-Era.html Author: Dollhouse Bettie 

http://www.elizabethancostume.net/lowerclass/lcolors.html Author: Drea Lead

Third post: 

https://www.tumblr.com/search/elizabethan

Fourth post:

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/topshop-unique-spring-2011 Author: Summer Luu, Date: 22nd September 2010 

Fifth Post:

https://corsetsandcutlasses.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/fun-footnotes-to-elizabethan-england/ Author: Jennifer McGowan 

http://www.bottesfordhistory.org.uk/page_id__354_path__0p3p78p.aspx Author: Bob Sparham, Date: 30th November 2007

Sixth post:

https://www.pinterest.com/angelabarnes100/period-hairstyles/

http://www.elizabethancostume.net/headwear/snood.html 

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/108667962/caul-cap-italian-renaissance-inspired

http://thepragmaticcostumer.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/fashions-least-sexy-accessories-the-coif/ Date: 9th January 2012 

Seventh post: 

http://www.becomegorgeous.com/hair/newest_trends/milkmaid_braids_runway_hairstyles_2010-1761.html Author: Diana Jone, Date: 15th February 2010

Films:
BBC drama 'The taming of the shrew' aired Nov. 2005
http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/shakespeare/tamingoftheshrew/shirley_henderson.shtml
'Elizabeth' (1998) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0127536/
'Elizabeth: The Golden Age' http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0127536/

Books:
'Historical Wig Styling' Author: Allison Lowery, Publisher: Taylor and Francis LTD, Publication Date: 4th April 2013 

Peer review of timed assessment

How did I overcome any problems with the design?
I think the main issue I had with this design was the fact that because the design did not involve any crimping, which would allow the hair to be easier to apply to the padding, the hair would often slip off the padding due to being too smooth. I had to overcome this by being very careful when I was clipping the hair to the padding, so that I did not lose any of the volume that was put into the hair by back combing.
I think that working with someone else's design was ok in this circumstance. This was because my partner was willing to out in the time out of lessons to meet up and practice the design, therefore going into the assessment we both understood what we had to do and what was expected with the design.
With my design I think that I could have practiced with the pearls a few more times to see if I really did like them in the overall look therefore when explaining the design to my partner she would have had a clearer understanding of if she needed to put time aside during the assessment to apply them to the hair. What I think could have been more explained to me in regards to my partners design would be the curl with the front section of the hair as this was only created by chance and not really mentioned again until the assessment.

Assessment part 2: My partners design

Here is the outcome of my partners design that I have re created. In general I believe this look was successful, however I feel disappointed with the fact that you can see some of the clips from the back and that one side of the padding looks a little bigger than the other. 

Assessment part 1: My design

Here is the outcome of my final design that my partner re created on me. During the timed assessment I decided not to include the pearl headband around the hairline because this looked too much and distracted away from the curls that were decorating the padding. I like the outcome of this and I think it looks really dramatic from the back.

Final design instructions

Here are the instructions and images that I provided for my partner, along with my final design sketches on the day of the assessment for her to follow. I have done this to make the assessment as simple as I could for my partner. I think this was good to do as it also proved that you had a clear idea of what you wanted the final look to be.

Final Hair design.

Here is my final design for my New Elizabethan hair style.

As you can see I have decided to include the middle parting with the padding which will have a frizzy texture, which will then be decorated in curls for the historic element of the design. Then I have decided to go with the big frizzy ball texture that I have researched into for the contemporary element of the design. I have chosen to do this as when practicing I think the outcome was quite successful and looked  quite strong. Finally to add an elegant element to the final design I have chosen to take pearls to decorate the hair line, the pearls are a historic element while the placement of them around the hairline of the head will be a more contemporary look. 

Practice for the assessment: My partners design

This weekend I met with my partner Sammie to practice her hair design. The design included padding pointed upwards on each side of the head, with a french plat which leads into a fishtail plat directly down the middle of the head. The padding was the covered with layers of backcombed hair and the front layer was twisted against the padding to create a curl on the top of the padding. Above are the images we took after I had finished styling the hair. I think this design is very fun and looks Elizabethan with the padding, yet contemporary with the plat down the middle of the head. With a bit more practice I feel I will be able to execute this design to a good standard.

Practicing with ribbon and plats.

Recently I posted the initial designs for my New Elizabethan hairstyle. This included a bun and with a plat wrapped around it. Which can be seen below 

When looking into how to make this more modern, I looked at the Oscar De La Renta spring 2010 show which included the models styled with a milkmaid braid with ribbon threaded through it, situated on the top of the head. This links to the work we had previously been doing in our lesson in which we practiced incorporating ribbon into the plats. I feel this would add an elegant element to my design therefore I have recently been practicing with threading ribbon through plats. Here is the outcome.

I feel this worked quite well and with practice could be something I decide to use in my final design. 

A modern take on plats with ribbon: Oscar De La Renta spring 2010

When looking into how to make Elizabethan hairstyles modern, one particular look kept popping up in my research, this was the Oscar De La Renta spring 2010 show. This has a very Elizabethan vibe to the hair due to the fact that the hair has been milkmaid braided and threaded with various colours of ribbon. The hair has been styled all up with the milkmaid braid across the top of the head. I really like this look and I feel that this will be something to consider when finalising my own designs as I feel it gives the overall look an elegant, pretty feel. Here are some of my favourite images of the hair from this runway look.

Reference: All images sourced from google images, research and images originally from here

My partners final design.

Here is my partners final design sketches. For the final assessment I will be creating a look that has a french plat down the middle of the head, which then leads into a fishtail plat. Then there will be padding on the back of the head which is pointing upwards. This will then be covered with big, backcombed hair and the front section twisted against the hair to create a curl. 

How did Elizabethan's decorate their hair?

The coif:
This would usually be worn by women and children from the poorer background. This is because it would be used to protect the hair from the weather. The coif was usually made out of white linen and fit over the hair, tying under the chin.

Image sourced from google images, originally from here

The caul:
The caul was usually made from netted rope, however could also be made from wire. This was the embroided with pearls, gems and more expensive decorations, therefore this would have been worn by the more wealthier members of society.

Image sourced from google images, originally from here

Reference: Research on the coif and coil from 

http://www.elizabethancostume.net/headwear/snood.html

The Pillow Box hat:                                                                           

You can infer from the name that this type of item the Elizabethan's used to decorate their hair resembled a box. These would usually sit at the back of the head, holding the hair.

Image sourced from google images, originally from here

Ribbon, pearls and gems: 

Image sourced from google images, originally from here

Ribbon, pearls and gems:

Once again, this method of decorating the hair was favoured by the wealthier members of Elizabethan England, particularly the royal. This was because it represented the status of wealth and having the means to afford luxurious fabrics and items that poorer people did not. This was also a very beautiful method of decorating the hair. As you can see in the image above the ribbon has been threaded through what seems to be a twist rather than a plat and has then been decorated with various pearls and gems.

Experimenting with padding for my design

 In todays lesson my partner and I experimented with the padding that I have included in my initial hair designs. I think this worked well and with a bit of practice could looks quite successful. Practicing this has also lead me to realise that due to the length of my hair, I could make the padding a lot higher and therefore adding a contemporary twist to the historical element of my design. 

Initial hair designs

Here are the initial designs for my take on a contemporary yet historical Elizabethan hairstyle. On the right I have drawn a bun with a plat wrapped around it to decorate, this would be the contemporary element of the design. The historical element of this design is the heart shaped padding with curls to decorate on the top of the head, with the curls left down at the sides. The left design is more contemporary than historical. This is because there would be a big crimped/frizzed texture to the hair. The only historical element to this hair design would be the pearls used along the hairline/through the hair to decorate and the middle parting. When looking at these designs I think it is important to now look into finding a way to incorporate both of the designs, remembering to keep the final design as much historical as it is contemporary. 

Experimenting with Historic Elizabethan hairstyles.

Here is the outcome of my experimentation of using curls to decorate the padding used to create a historic Elizabethan look such as these ones

Image sourced from google images, originally from here

Image sourced from google images originally from here

When experimenting with these historic looks I used padding then crimped the hair in order to cover the padding. Following this I decided to curl some of the hair in order to cover the crimping. Here is the outcome of this.

 I feel that the outcome of this was good. I think the curls cover the crimping well and add a pretty element to the overall look whilst still looking like the texture and shape of the historic Elizabethan portraits. This is definitely something I will take into consideration when designing my final Elizabethan hairstyle.


Another way that I have experimented with to cover up the padding needed to create a historic Elizabethan shape was to wrap the hair around a clip in a figure of eight, pin in place and heat using straighteners. This created a wave to the hair that when placed over the padding created the texture that was featured in most historic Elizabethan looks. Here is the outcome of this.

 Again I think this looks quite successful and is again something I will take into consideration when designing my final new Elizabethan hairstyle.