There are lots of movies that aim for a historical aesthetic when it comes to hairstyles and others where it’s a mishmash. But it seems to me that when historical costume movie/TV series hairstyles vary from what WOULD be historically accurate, it’s due to current-to-filming perceptions about hair. So, working decade-by-decade, let’s look at some of these not-so-accurate films/TV series and compare the hair to what’s going on at the time of filming, and see if I’m right! See my posts about the 1910s, 1920s, 1930s in two parts, 1940s in two parts, 1950s, and 1960s in two parts to find out about historical hairstyles in the movie industry’s earlier decades.
I discussed 1970s hairstyle trends and their effect on 1970s films set from the medieval era through the Regency in a previous post. Let’s take a look at later eras today!
Late 19th Century Films of the 1970s
Upstairs, Downstairs (1974-1977)
Upper class Londoners and their servants, spanning 1903 to 1930.
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Set in 1874, you probably don’t need me to tell you it’s not historically accurate but why not.
Ludwig (1973)
Set in Germany between 1864-1886. Luckily we can compare the actors to the real people:
Tess (1979)
Set in rural England in the 1880s. Tess starts out as a naive country girl:
As we’ve discussed at length, young girls did NOT wear their hair down and unstyled. This was an era where very young girls could leave the back of the hair down, although I question a young woman of Tess’s age doing the same.
As her life progresses, she goes for an updo, with the bun on the crown of the head:
Yes, 1880s hairstyles were all about the bulk of the hair being on top of the head!
And those short curly, poufy bangs were ubiquitous:
Early 20th Century Films of the 1970s
Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)
Set between 1904 to 1918. Once again, we can compare to the real people, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family.
Although that styling is accurate for the period, in most images I can find of the empress from this era, she seems to prefer just some curls at the temples like this:
Later on, during World War I:
The Great Gatsby (1974)
The classic 1920s story. Something about Mia Farrow in this always looks 1960s-70s to me:
Cabaret (1972)
Set in 1931 Berlin.
Death on the Nile (1978)
The book was published in 1937, so let’s go with that for a year. Most of the ladies look very 1920s to me:
Poirot sticks with his Marcel wave:
Paper Moon (1973)
Set around 1936 in the American midwest.
Chinatown (1974)
Set in 1937 Los Angeles.
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
Set in 1935.
Voyage of the Damned (1976)
Set in 1939, Jewish Germans of various classes try to get out of Germany on an ocean liner. I weirdly tried to watch this the other day, and…
Grease (1978)
And finally, Trystan’s favorite! Set in 1958 among teens at an LA high school.
Did girls wear pigtails in the 1950s? Maybe really young ones?
But mostly it was a ponytail era:
Then you’ve got Stockard Channing’s short, tousled hairstyle, which always confused me as a kid.
Shockingly, it checks out!
Marty gets a wave/curl that’s straight on top:
But that volume looks relatively un-1950s:
And I’m not even going to try with this:
The boys all wear a combination pompadour/elephant trunk/duck’s butt hair, slicked back on the sides and up and curled forward on top:
Yes, this was a thing! And now that I know it’s called an “elephant trunk,” it just weirds me out.
Which frock flicks from the 1970s have modernized hair? Which ones get it right?
I think the reason Mia Farrow shouts 1970s at you, is because that’s the Biba look we all wanted then, very very fashionable early 70s
Yes! And Barbara Hulanicki was so inspired by the 30’s in those days. Look at the Biba makeup ads! 20s/30s all the way.
Yes, long straight hair was worshipped in the 70s, and those of us with curly hair went to all sorts of desperate lengths to tame that curl, from orange juice cans to ironing!
I’ve been trying to find the Seventeen magazine feature on the Nicholas and Alexandra actresses who played the daughters. I specifically remember it because there were diagrams for recreating the hairstyles they were given in the film. I believe they must have put fake bangs on Fiona Fullerton, the actress playing Anastasia. When you see photos of her at the premiere, she had no bangs and all one length hair. I think I was in middle school when Nicholas and Alexandra came out, but I do remember the older girls in the neighborhood wearing ginourmous curlers, and soup cans in some cases, to straighten their hair. Kind of the difference between Marcia and Jan Brady. The cool sister had the straight hair.
who were the two you noped out on and why?
First of all, Madeline Kahn was a world treasure.
Secondlyl, I’ve always thought that Stockard Channing’s short toussled Rizzo hair was more than a little Liz Taylor-esque. (It’s the same look that Scalet Johannson’s character was going for in Asteroid City).
Thirdly, that is Lois Chiles as yes, correct, Jordan Baker.
Fourth and finally – Maggie Smith looks phenomonal in that suiting!