Creating a 1940s wig

alinarads
Nov 14, 2020
9 min read

Updated: Jan 15, 2021

Research into 1940s history:

The 1940s era lasted from 1940-1949, with the era mainly consisting of the Second World War which lasted lasting from 1939 – 1945, the culture of the 40s was very different from any other time period. From the glamour of the 1920s and 1930s came the practicality and hardworking 40s.

Figure 1, 2, 3, 4

1940s men:

When not in uniform men worn suits in public ‘single-breasted suits replaced double-breasted suits to preserve labour and materials. Suits and shirts were made with fewer pockets and narrower lapels. Trousers weren’t allowed to have cuffs, many men purchased a size too long and had them altered.’ (Morton S, 2020) Clothing was adapted to save on resources.

‘Men’s haircuts were almost universally based on traditional ‘short back and sides’, itself based on army regulations. Therefore very short at the back and sides and much longer on the top, the long top could be parted in different ways: left, right and centre, though the most common was a side parting with the hair swept all the way.’ (Brown, 2006, p.103) Men were called to war with propaganda to fight for their country, forced into terrible conditions and starved with small rations while women were called to the factories to maintain work and replace men in the workplace.

Figure 5, 6, 7

1940s Children:

Everyone was effected by the war including the children, with The Blitz ‘a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941 during the second world war’ (Wikipedia, ND) wiping out houses in London and major cities, children were evacuated in mass amounts to families in the countryside away from the bombing. They became evacuees. ‘With such restrictions, second-hand and homemade clothing was especially popular for children during the war. Hand-knitted garments like sweaters and cardigans were easy and popular items for young children. Young boys wore shorts or trousers with a blazer or jacket for more formal occasions or sweaters for casual wear.’ (Reddy K, 2019)

Figure 8, 9

With men at war women were left home tasked with running factories, making bullets and making uniforms, women took over men’s jobs to keep everything running while they were away.

Figure 10, 11

1940s Fashion:

With the whole country rationing, luxuries such as makeup and hair products were cut back. Clothing was also rationed for women as well as children ‘fashion during the war was dominated by rationing. Utility clothing and uniforms were the most ubiquitous forms of “fashion” during the war. Utility clothing could be bought with ration coupons.’ (Reddy K, 2019) With women taking over men’s jobs, trousers became widely worn for the practicality of working women. Dresses and skirts were still worn, often had collars and padded shoulders with skirts below the knee, the everyday fashions were very formal with suit type dresses also very practical while still accentuating the figure with synched in waistlines. Swimwear also developed during the 40s with the bikini being evented in 1946. Show below are examples of women’s clothing during the 1940s.

Figure 12, 13, 14, 15

1940s Makeup:

With limited luxuries women adapted their hair and makeup to fit the rationing. ‘European women dealt with huge cosmetics shortages, as petroleum and alcohol - some of the main ingredients in makeup at the time, were used for the war effort. When makeup ran out, women turned to home remedies to substitute, such as using beetroot juice to stain lips and petroleum jelly to darken lashes and shape eyebrows.’ (Vintagedancer, 2014) The makeup consisted of a natural look, with rounded eyebrows, an eyeliner to define the eyes and red lips.

Figure 16, 17, 18

1940s Hairstyles:

The hair of the 40s women was very practical to fit their roles in the factories and other workplaces. The hair was usually away from the face and shoulder length, certain jobs had hats and rules that the hair shouldn’t touch the collar. Women still styled their hair to keep their beauty and feminine looks, doing so with curls, victory rolls and pin curls. Creating very soft feminine styles. Due to the rationing hair was mainly wet set and made into simple designs.

‘Hair was cut with a rounded U-shape at the back, curving up towards the ears. For factory and farm work, longer hair would often be set and left in pin curls under a headscarf or a turban. Alternatively, for less dangerous work, the back could be secured in a snood with the front waved or pinned off the face. This kept the hair protected and away from machinery. It was then easily let down, spruced up and dressed for a night out. Women in the armed services had to keep their hair above their collar while on duty and the shorter hairstyles suited their occupations well.’ (Hair and makeup artist handbook, 2012) Below are examples of women’s hair styles during the 40s.

Figure 19

Figure 20 - 25

When choosing a 1940s hairstyle for an actress it is important to research the characters line of work and match the style to the characters description, this will create more accuracy and a realistic look. It is also important to consider the makeup rationing and how that would effect the character.

1940s interpritation in film and televison:

Ratched - Netflix series, 2020

Set in 1947

Sara Paulson as Mildred Ratched

Cynthia Nixon as Gwendolyn Briggs

Paulson's personal hairstylist = Michelle Ceglia

Figure 26, 27

The Edge of love - Film, 2007

Set during WW2 Blitz 1940s

Keira Knightly as Vera Philips

Hair designer = Daniel Phillips

Figure 28

The Notebook - Film, 2007

Set in 1946

Rachel McAdams as Allie Hamilton

Joan Allen as Anne Hamilton

Head hair department = Milton Buras

Figure 29 & 30

A common theme through the examples above is the makeup is very light with the traditional 40s red lip and rounded eyebrows. In Netflix's series Ratched, a human hair wig is used to create the hairstyles, as well as The Notebook using a human hair wig on Rachel McAdams character. Depending on the character description and budget of the production it would be possible to use either a wig or the actress' hair to create many 1940s hair.

Setting and dressing the wig:

Figure 31, 32, 33

To set the victory roll hairstyle, the hair needs lots of volume at the roots. Using green flocked rollers, the front of the hair is put into a middle parting with the rollers ‘on base’ rolling towards the ear. The side of the hair are rolled towards the back to give it a lift when later placed into barrel curls for the victory roll. The green rollers are available from wig dressing suppliers such as The Wig Department from the following link: https://thewigdepartment.com/collections/wig-dressing-materials/products/781-24mm-green-flocked-hair-roller-6-5-cm-long

The back of the hair is set into a traditional brick set with larger brown rollers and smaller red rollers underneath.

Figure 34, 35, 36

The roller set is placed under a hood drier; the rollers are removed to reveal bouncy curls. The hair is brushed out with a wig brush, the front sections of the hair are backcombed slightly underneath. Using a cylinder object, the hair is wrapped round and smoothed with hairspray then pinned in place.

Figure 37, 38

The hair could be left as a 'half up half down' hairstyle figure 37, or further styled. The back of the hair is pinned round at the base to give structure with hair pins crossing over. This will ensure the victory rolls have something to clip into and stay in place.

Figure 39, 40

The back of the hair is placed into more victory rolls, with trial and error the student found a way to achieve this look. With the wig hair being long it was difficult to roll smoothly, therefore the hair was split into two ponytails with rubber bands, the ends of the ponytails were also tied making it easier to contain the hair, the student proceeded to barrel curl the hair into final victory rolls.

Final images:

Figure 41, 42

Applied wig:

Figure 43, 44

Reflection:

In refection to the final images, the student followed Allison Lowery’s wig styling book: Historical wig styling - Victorian to the present, to create the 1940s Victory roll style. After following the first stage of the setting pattern the second stage was confusing and difficult to follow, therefore the student adapted and changed it to a brick set which worked successfully. Dressing out the hair was challenging to get the victory rolls smooth and correct size and shape as well as them being balanced and even. To match with industry standards the hair would have to be smoother on the victory rolls and look seamless, this will progress over time if the look is practiced multiple times.

In refection to the application of the wig and makeup, the student struggled with the wig as it was small for their head, therefore making the hair line appear higher than it is. By using a head scarf the student strategically hid the hair line to make the overall look cleaner. The makeup application was successful although next time the student would block out the eyebrows to make them thinner and pale down the body as well as the face and neck, the student added a modern twist with a winged liner to pull the look together. Unfortunately, the student didn’t have a relevant outfit to wear to finish off the design.

Comparison:

Figure 22 & 41

When comparing the students work to an original 1940s photo, it is evident that the students work emulates the 40s, however next time the student should try a side parting to give a more organic look and leave the back of the hair down. To fit industry standards the hair will have to be smooth with no fly aways and consistent for continuity purposes.

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References:

Brown M, (2006) The 1940s look recreating the fashions, hairstyles and makeup of the second world war. Kent, Sabrestorm Publishing

Hair and makeup artist handbook (2012) Women’s 1940s hair styles: an over view https://hair-and-makeup-artist.com/womens-1940s-hairstyles/#:~:text=However%2C%20many%20women%20simply%20set,smoother%20to%20give%20soft%20movement. [Accessed 16/11/20]

Morton S (2020) 1940s fashion: women’s and men’s clothing worn, 1940s-1950s https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/1940s-fashion-women-men/ [accessed 16/11/20]

Reddy K (2019) 1940-1949 https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1940-1949/#:~:text=Hand%2Dknitted%20garments%20like%20sweaters,or%20sweaters%20for%20casual%20wear.&text=Along%20with%20knitted%20pieces%2C%20cotton,26). [Accessed 16/11/20]

Vintage Dancer (2014) Authentic 1940s makeup history and tutorial https://vintagedancer.com/1940s/1940s-makeup-guide/ [Accessed 16/11/20]

Wikipedia (ND) The Blitz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blitz#:~:text=The%20Blitz%20was%20a%20German,German%20word%20for%20'lightning'. [Accessed 16/11/20]

Figures:

Figure 1

(Smashingmagazine, 2010) 51 most powerful properganda posters and the people behind it [Image : Internet] https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/06/100-years-of-propaganda-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/ [accessed 16/11/20]

Figure 2

(Office for natural statistics, 2015) Victory in Europe Day: How World warII changed the UK [Image : Internet] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/articles/victoryineuropedayhowworldwariichangedtheuk/2015-05-08 [Accessed 16/11/20]

Figure 3

(Pintrest, ND) [Image : Internet] https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/337418197063430875/ [Accessed 16/11/20]

Figure 4

(Galmourdaze, 2018) 1940s British women on the home front [image : internet] https://glamourdaze.com/2018/05/1940s-british-women-at-war-the-home-front.html [Accessed 17/11/20]

Figure 5

(Family search, 2020) 1940s Fashion: Women’s and men’s clothing worn, 1940-1950 [Image : internet] https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/1940s-fashion-women-men/ [Accessed 16/11/20]

Figure 6

(For sale.co.uk, 2020) Second hand 1940s military uniforms [Image : Internet] https://www.for-sale.co.uk/1940s-military-uniforms [Accessed 16/11/20]

Figure 7

(Vintage Dancer, ND) 1940s men’s fashion, clothing style [Image : Internet] https://vintagedancer.com/1940s/1940s-mens-fashion/ [accessed 16/11/20]

Figure 8

(IWM, ND) The evacuated children of the second world war [Image : Internet] https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-evacuated-children-of-the-second-world-war [Accessed 16/11/20]

Figure 9

(Guernsey Evacuees, ND) Guernsey Evacuees Oral History [Image : Internet] https://guernseyevacuees.wordpress.com/diary-of-an-evacuee-jun-1940/ [Accessed 16/11/20]

Figure 10

(Weeklysilence, 2011) Research paper – pants phenomenon: The switch from skirts to trousers [Image : Internet] https://weeklysilence.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/research-paper-pants-phenomenon-the-switch-from-skirts-to-trousers/ [Accessed 16/11/20]

Figure 11

(The pop history dig, ND) Women in factories [Image : Internet] https://www.pophistorydig.com/topics/tag/wwii-women-workers/ [accessed 16/11/20]

Figure 12

(Blue17, ND) 1940s fashion [Image : internet] https://www.blue17.co.uk/vintage-blog/1940s-fashion/ [Accessed 16/11/20]

Figure 13

(Marie Claire, 2019) this is what women wore in the 1940s and its pretty damn stylish [Image : Internet] https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/fashion/1940s-fashion-the-decade-captured-in-40-incredible-pictures-108160 [accessed 16/11/20]

Figure 14

(Reveal Vintage, ND) 1940s women’s clothing - fashion on a ration [Image : Internet] https://www.revivalvintage.co.uk/blog/post/guide-to-vintage-1940s/ [Accessed 16/11/20]

Figure 15

(Pinterest, ND) [Image : Internet] https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/532972937137812666/ [Accessed 16/11/20]

Figure 16

(Vintage dancer, 2014) Authentic 1940s makeup history and tutorial [Image : Internet] https://vintagedancer.com/1940s/1940s-makeup-guide/ [Accessed 16/11/20]