Continuing this month's Sepia Saturday theme of "Portraits" I focus on heads & shoulders, with the emphasis on hairstyles. down the decades.
Nana was born in Wolverhampton in the English Midlands, one of 10 children born to John Matthews and Matilda Such. Her sister Fanny died tragically when her apron caught fire whilst she was carrying a candle, and she died from her burns. Brother Arthur died in the First World War at Gallipoli, leaving a young widow and 3 children.
Her hairstyle is typical of the 1880s and 1890s.
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| My other grandmother Alice Danson, nee English (1884-1945) |
I never knew Alice and she remains my major brick wall as I have been unable to trace her birth certificate and find out the name of her mother This photographs is part of a large family photogaph taken in 1916 as my grandfather was setting out to war.
Again her plain no nonsense hairstyle was typical of the times.
The impact on the First World War on the changing role of women saw an abandonment of the traditional long hair styles of the Victorian - Esdwardian period to the new short styles of the bob, finger-wave, Marvel wave, shingle and Eton crop, with their popularity continuing well into the 1930's.
My great aunt Jennie Danson (1987- who sacrificed her long plait for the new look, without telling her mother. This is one of my favoutie photographs in my family collection. Jennie by all accounts was a feisty woman - she needed to be to hold her own, growing up with eight older brothers whose ages when she was born ranged from 3 to 20.
An elegant unidentified portrait in my husband's collection - thought to be a relation of his aunt Annette.
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My mother Kathleen Danson - Jennie's niece.
 In the 1930''s and 1940's, a softer look crept in, with curls and waves all the rage, and during
the war the "roll" was the defining style. This was the age of trying
to emulate Hollywood glamour, despite the realities of life during the
depression and war
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| My mother - Kathleen Danson |
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| My aunt Edith Danson |
Another new look for my mother who seems to have adopted an Austrian style, with what looks like braids over her head. She was always very proud of her distinctive widow's peak.
Below some typical 1940s looks from my aunt Peggy Danson (in WAAF uniform), my mother and finally my husband's elegant aunt Annette.
Below some typical 1940s looks from my aunt Peggy Danson (in WAAF uniform), my mother and finally my husband's elegant aunt Annette.
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Pigtails to Pony Tails to Perms characterised my look from the 1950s onwards.
Pigtails complete with kirby grips and ribbons.
On
village gala days and on special occasions, my hair was wound into rags
overnight to hopefully create ringlets - which soon fell out.
By my
early teens my hair was long and worn now in a pony tail. It was washed with a final rinse of
vinegar and rain water - my mother's idea of a beauty treatment - and
it took ages to dry in front of the fire as we had no hair dryer.
I became a librarian, so had to work hard at counteracting the traditional dowdy image. So here (below) is the young professional look for my first job - worn with a mini length sweater dress and long necklace - all the rage then.
The
image above is a rare look, where I spruced myself for a photograph taken for a work's annual report. You can tell it is the 1980s and the age of TV's Dallas, Dynasty and Charlie's
Angels, with big hair and shoulder pads all the rage. Less glamorously, I was
also likened to Deidre Barlow of "Coronation Street" soap opera fame. The big specs did it! This style involved too much like hard work and did not last long.
More my current tyle below
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Sepia Saturday give bloggers an opportunity to share their family history and memories through photographs.
Click HERE to see how other Sepia Saturday bloggers
have taken up this week's theme.
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A great group of portraits showing the different hairstyles down through the ages! Like you, like most of us when younger - and in particular, single, I had hairstyles that required wearing curlers to bed at night & back-combing & brushing & arranging in the morning before going off to work. It was fine then. But when I married & had children, my hairstyles quickly became much more simplified. :)
ReplyDeleteYes I wore curlers to bed - until I was married when it seemed very unromantic. It Mrs the I had raptor get up esrlier and put them in before breakfast and hope they would do the trick before I went to work. I never went back to curlers. (Scotsue)
DeleteGreat choices of hairstyles. I know many grandchildren (mostly female) when ages 11-20 seem to like long hair with a center part. It was also popular in the 70s. Saved the money of going to a stylist too, and we (yes I was one) could pin it up in different ways when we wanted (beyond ponytails).
ReplyDeleteThis was a great idea to feature female portraits and hairstyles from your family. I've often wondered what societal forces influenced the change of personal fashions like hair. Women, of course, have always paid attention to hair, but men have their hirsute history too. The clues in a mustache for instance can identify nationality and time period. But after 1918 it gets blurry.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your blocked comments on other blogs, this is what works for me. On your regular browser, go to your Google account and sign-out. In the browser Privacy & Security settings clear the cookie cache. Restart the browser and sign-in to Google again. (You probably will have to sign-in for other websites too.) Hope this fixes it.
Great post. I'm still struggling to date some photos in my collection by hairstyle - but one does learn a bit along the way!
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your kind comments and to Mike for your advice on my commenting problem. I am not very IT savvy but will give it a try.
ReplyDelete