Historical Hair: The Little Dorrit Wedding Hairstyle Tutorial!!

Dear Bloggeresses Who Have Hair and Love Period Dramas and Have Been Waiting An Age For Another Tutorial:

Here is the moment you've been waiting for!!! Yes, I know I did a whole big "There will be lots of new tutorials on this blog and which ones do you want?!" You may have been wondering if all my sisters-who-act-as-my-models-and-victims had contracted Scarlet Fever and lost all their hair. ;) But truly, I have had no time to dabble in fun historical-hair styling this summer. Until today.

Eeep! I had to let that out because this style turned out so amazingly more beautiful than I imagined, and that's a bit of an exciting event to a girl who loves to succeed in her hair-ventures. :D So with great pleasure I introduce: "The Little Dorrit Wedding Hairstyle Tutorial". As usual I will illustrate the direction with pictures that I hope are pretty clear. :)

We begin.

Step One:

Curl the hair. Usually I would set the hair in bandana waves (which I explained how to do here) but in interest of time I used a curling iron. Ahem. :P The front of this hairstyle is supposed to be loose and a little wavy, so I just curled a bit of Sarah's front hair to get some volume and wave going. After you curl the hair, or take it out of the bandanas, finger through the curls.

Step Two:

Gently French-braid the hair on one side of the head, until you get to the back. Clip in place temporarily while you work on the other side. :)

Sarah's hair on the left side, and below you will see it on the right side. And look at those lovely sun-kissed streaks! That, dear ladies, is not something that you can get with a chemical dye! That's called one of the bonuses of spending your life out in the garden! :D

Step Three:Finger through the French-braids, loosening the pieces of it and making it pouf a little. :) See? At this point both sides are clipped back temporarily so you can arrange the front. :)

Another shot where she was playing dramatic "hair-model"... :D

Step Four:

This may be the trickiest part of the style, merely because it would be nice to have an extra hand holding all this hair. :) But all you have to do is unclip the French-braids, gather them into your hand with the left-over hair, and make a short, regular braid. Pull the braid a little bit toward the left side so that it falls a bit over your shoulder.

You can see it more from the left side below...

Step Five:

As hair-bands are entirely *un*historic, you may take a section of the hair beneath the band and wrap the strand around the hair-band, and pin it in place, or tie it in a loose knot, if that's more convenient. :)

Step Six:

Using small pieces, curl the ends of the hair with a curling iron. I alternated curling the hair under and over so that the curls would look interesting. :) If your hair doesn't take kindly to staying curled, spray some hair-goo over it. :)

Step Seven:

Add some flowers down the left side, and a couple near the bottom of the braid. :) I used the sweetest little red rosebuds with charming effect. :)

And voila! You have completed the not-so-complicated Little Dorrit Wedding Hairstyle!! :) Here are some of the "Victory-shots" ;)

(Next time I would like the hair a little wavier, and perhaps a bit more French in the French-braid, but it's still lovely. :)

*GAH!* Isn't it simply beautiful?!? I was surprised at how gorgeous it turned out! Especially with the red roses. :) This style is perfect for a 1800's ball, a wedding, or any other special occasion when some timeless elegance is required! :) I hope you enjoyed this hair-tutorial, and that you found the directions clear enough. Tell me what you think? Do you have any suggestions for following historical-hair tutorials? And as always, would you like me to do more of these how-tos?

~Rachel

True Femininity: How to be a Heroine

With a recent viewing of the 1995 Pride and Prejudice fresh in my mind, and my thoughts still bent on wondering how it would feel to be Lizzy Bennet, I thought now was as good a time as any to do my "How To Be A Heroine" post. :)

Who has not watched a movie and sat through the end credits, wishing and dreaming that she was Elizabeth Bennet, or Jo March, or Emma Woodhouse or a score of other heroines?

I've noticed a trend in the blogging world of using popular heroines' names as a screen=n

ame.

So what is it that makes up a heroine that is laudable, worthy of imitation, and unforgettable?

How can we become such a young lady?

Here are some of my thoughts on the subject:

A heroine is beautiful-- I am a bit reluctant to address this

subject, as the whole self-image thing can be an issue for many girls. There are two sides to the beauty subject. I will address the less important side, that of outward beauty, first.

Each heroine makes the most of her beauty, however much she has. And believe me. There is some beauty to be found even in the plainest of faces. A young lady ought to be careful to dress herself tastefully and neatly, without a bunch of extra feathers and furbellows

.

This is not what we're looking for, although it has it's place, I suppose.

Ahh! Much better! Beautifully feminine and simple all the same.

Every girl, regardless of her natural features can take pains to make the most of her temple and prepare herself sweetly and modestly for the day. And remember girls, the girl who smiles is always the most beautiful! :)

Now for the second, and more important, side of beauty. A heroine is always a girl who has strength of character, nobility, and a sweetness about her that blesses everyone she comes in contact with. She is cherished, not because she is outwardly beautiful, but because she is a heroine in every sense of the word.

A heroine is a lady: I cannot stress the importance of this one aspect of a heroine. Before I go further, I must tell you that a guy will not act like a hero unless the girl is a lady and lets him act heroically. If a girl is out to prove herself all the time and charges forward in life, leaving all she passes breathless, the guys will steer far away, relieved to have escaped her steam-roller attitude.

So, what does ladylike-ness look like in a heroine? Well, if you notice, a heroine typically is not a Lydia Bennet. In other words, a flirt.

Such a girl who flaunts herself and fills the air with senseless chatter only to elicit laughter and attention from the guys will never end up with a hero. She might catch a Wickham, though.

Ahem.

A heroine who is a lady is socially graceful. She knows what to say and when to say it.

One of the things I admire in other young ladies and am striving to cultivate in myself is the ability to make real conversation with ease, to have substantial conversations with people, and to have a ready and thoughtful answer to give when required.

"A girl of sense is infinitely preferable to a sensible man...."

Truly. It is not the flirtatious, cavorting girls who are the respected, well-loved sisters in Christ.

If you are a Lydia Bennet, you will have the attention of Wickham, but miss out on the regard and honor bestowed on the true heroines by the Mr. Darcy's of this world.

A heroine thinks of others above herself.

I think of Molly Gibson in Wives and Daughters who was constantly giving of herself to others, even when the situation was awkward, and it cost her her reputation. This is another treasure of a heroine. She is always indispensable to her family, friends, and community. :)

A heroine is accomplished and productive.

The heroines we all love best are full of spunk, creativity, and profitable ventures. Who can help admiring and loving a girl who keeps busy and cheerful doing productive things? :) And for many heroes out there, this is one of the most attractive things about the heroines.

A heroine, in short, is a truly womanly woman. She brings out the most manly side of the men and the most beautiful side of her fellow women. She does not put herself out to have all the attention, but says things worth saying, listens to others, and is dependable, graceful, beautiful, kind, accomplished, sweet, and patient. I think we could all use to take the example of the Lizzy and Jane Bennets, the Emma Woodhouses, the Molly Gibsons, and try our best to be true heroines. :) It isn't easy, but I think the world needs a few girls who are determined to be heroines, don't you? ~Rachel

I Feel a New Passion Coming On ;)

I have had a new passion shaping up recently. You wanna know what it is?

*happy sigh*

Costume designing. Specifically for period dramas. Like the BBC movies! :)

Okay. So I don't know anything about designing clothing, as of yet, but I can sew, and I love costumes, and love drawing elaborate clothing so it all kind of fits together! (Right?)

So I found a couple of costume designer's blogs and discovered through the grapevine that the BBC people get many of their costumes from Cosprop. Click Here to swoon with delight.... :)

You'll be invited to wander through a gallery of pictures... and you might find me fainted away in some corner over the beautiful costumes. :P

Unfortunately I can't share any pictures, so you'll have to go over and look at them yourself, but here is the sort of costume I'd love to design...

The "Think of Me" dress...

Pride and Prejudice! Wedding clothes! What could be better? ;)

The costumes in the 2009 Emma were superb, I thought! :)

Not sure what movie this is, but that dress is so neat! :) (maybe "Daniel Deronda?")

Love this dress of Jo March's in Little Women! :)

So this is where my little creative side of my brain has been wandering from time to time. Now if only Daniel would decide to make period dramas for a living.... ;) And give me free reign of the fabric store! :D -Rachel