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FASHIONABLE FOLKS: Hairstyles 1840-1900FASHIONABLE FOLKS: Hairstyles 1840-1900. Maureen A. Taylor. Softcover, 2009, Illustrated, 125 pp.
Is there anyone who hasn't had a bad hair day or obsessed about the right hairdo for a special event? Probably not, and this obsession is far from a modern phenomenon. Fussing over our hair is one of the things that link us to our ancestors. Maureen Taylor, the Photo Detective, has studied the many fascinating details in nineteenth- century pictures. Early portraits tell us so much about the society, the times, and the trends, and the individuals they feature. And it's often the hair that stands out. Short, long, curled and coiffed manes were as trendy as the dresses and suits worn in each period. Every fashion era had its distinctive hairstyle� functional or fanciful. Using the clues explained in this book, you can learn a surprising amount about your ancestors by studying their portraits. How they wore their locks for the photographer� whether straight or curled, clean-shaven or fringed, oiled or bewigged�will tell you a lot about them. Maureen Taylor's tips for "reading" the clues of clothing and hairstyles will help you discover when those pictures were taken, how old the subjects were at the time, and how wealthy they were. Hairstyles can even tell us a great deal about their personalities: Were they conservative or up on the latest trends? Who were their heroes and role models? What was their relationship to each other? Maureen Taylor shares the mysteries of topknots and buns, braids and curls, burnsides and sideburns, to bring those old portraits to life. Once you've read this book, you'll look at hairstyles�even your own�with new eyes! MAT3490 |