{"id":245,"date":"2011-07-15T04:56:06","date_gmt":"2011-07-15T11:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trystancraft.com\/costume\/?p=245"},"modified":"2022-09-12T17:15:18","modified_gmt":"2022-09-13T00:15:18","slug":"elizabethan-hairstyles-1560-1600","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trystancraft.com\/costume\/2011\/07\/15\/elizabethan-hairstyles-1560-1600\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabethan Hairstyles, 1560-1600"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article is an accompaniment to a lecture and demonstration class I taught at the SCA West Kingdom’s Collegium Occidentalis XLV in November 2010 and at Costume College in July 2011. It’s intended as a practical lesson in how to recreate the look of upper-class hair fashions of late 16th-century England.<\/p>\n

The first half of the class was a slideshow of period images, and in the second part, I styled my own hair and a wig, plus discussed tools. My notes and resources are collected in this article. I hope that those interested in Elizabethan hairstyles will use this as a starting point to both learn more about period hair and to recreate it, with either historical or theatrical methods.<\/p>\n

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Hair Rats:<\/h3>\n

The essential tool to creating the large hairstyles of this period is a pair of hair rats. These are soft pads you roll the front sections of your hair around and pin securely into your hair.<\/p>\n

\"Queen<\/a>

Queen Elizabeth 1580<\/p><\/div>\n

In Queen Elizabeth’s Wardrobe Unlock’d<\/em>, there is the notation that the queen received “two payer of Rolles Delyverid to Bridgett Carre to our Use.” Janet Arnold explains this as: “The rolls delivered to Bridget Carr were probably of tightly packed hair held together inside nets, making foundations to support the natural hair beneath a French hood, or a caul” (page 204).<\/p>\n

You can make hair rats from your own hair — simply collect hair from your brush or comb for a few months (OK, it took me about a year because my hair is so fine!). Wash it up, let it dry, then stuff it tightly into a fine hair net, the kind used in the food-service industry or to protect a hairdo. Dark colored nets are often sold at drugstores; blondes may need to look at a beauty supply shop.<\/p>\n

My hair rats have lasted for several years and through lots of use. If you like this era, it’s well worth making your own rats of this type.<\/p>\n

Some people have had luck using fake hair stuffed into hair nets. I find that synthetic hair can be more slippery and may fall out of nets, but it’s worth trying.<\/p>\n

A down ‘n dirty option is to stuff a stocking with soft tulle. You can’t stick hair pins into this rat, so it’s not as easy to work with. But it’s very fast and easy to make and the materials are super-cheap.<\/p>\n

For larger hairstyles, consider buying a set of rats. Search online for “hair rats” and you’ll find soft, sponge tubes like these<\/a>. They’re very durable and can handle a lot of hair! They also work well in wigs since these rats don’t add much weight.<\/p>\n

Tools You’ll Need to Recreate an Elizabethan Hairstyle:<\/h3>\n