OTMA - 'look'

[carkuczyn]

interesting.  i just read somewhere that also they used to put their hair cuttings in little pouches and use them to add all the body and poofiness that you see in the victorian hairstyles.   you know......kind of pin the pouches  underneath the parts of the hairstyle that they want to look really bouffant.  makes sense, i guess.

[lori_c]

Regarding hair of the dead into wreaths:

I live in Louisiana and at Oak Alley Plantation here there is a wreath to memorialize one of the daughters that died young on the plantation.  They display it during Civil War re-enactments on the property.

I have seen and did not even know it was hair.  It was quite a craft to learn I imagine and rather wonderful.  What better way to have a keepsake of someone you love?

It was dated approximately 1866.  It isn't macabre as you would think.

[grandduchess_42]

that must be very interesting to see

yes they did keep the hair in a pouch

or a locket of some sort.

[Romanov_fan]

Thanks for giving an example, Loric, of those hair wreaths. I don't think it is as morbid as it might seem either. It's an interesting custom, and it was a special way to remember the dead. The Victorians were sentimental, and might have at times sort of lived in the past. But I think they just wished to remain in touch with the past, and to keep people in their hearts. Life was more uncertain back then, and it was more common for untimely deaths to occur than today. Because of this, hair wreaths were one way to memorialize the dead.

[lori_c]

I have often wondered if the hair found by Sokolov in the Ipatiev house was recovered by the White Army or ever returned to the State Archives (or destroyed).  But this and through the photo history we have of the family, i believe there can be no doubt that the girls were well maintained (as were their parents and other members of IF) even into exile.  The Fate of the Romanovs by Greg King also mentioned the girls and their parents liked to take more than one bath a day.  This was an absolute luxury during that time and place which presented problems during their imprisonment, where the working class and peasants took maybe one bath a week if they were lucky.  The book also mentions that the IF was chatised for this and were only allowed 1 bath a day because of their overuse of water.  Their hygiene was very important because of their royal status and their upbringing. (i.e. Alexandra's fantastically maintained platinum crowns in her mouth).

So even under the Red Guards, the girls more than likely cared for themselves and had their hair at least trimmed.  Alexandra cut both Nicholas' and Alexei's hair as they were denied the services of a barber.  I would thingk the same would be for her daughters.

[Romanov_fan]

I am not sure what happened to that hair. I think there have been debates on other threads about this.

[grandduchess_42]

I have often wondered if the hair found by Sokolov in the Ipatiev house was recovered by the White Army or ever returned to the State Archives (or destroyed).  But this and through the photo history we have of the family, i believe there can be no doubt that the girls were well maintained (as were their parents and other members of IF) even into exile.  The Fate of the Romanovs by Greg King also mentioned the girls and their parents liked to take more than one bath a day.  This was an absolute luxury during that time and place which presented problems during their imprisonment, where the working class and peasants took maybe one bath a week if they were lucky.  The book also mentions that the IF was chatised for this and were only allowed 1 bath a day because of their overuse of water.  Their hygiene was very important because of their royal status and their upbringing. (i.e. Alexandra's fantastically maintained platinum crowns in her mouth).

So even under the Red Guards, the girls more than likely cared for themselves and had their hair at least trimmed.  Alexandra cut both Nicholas' and Alexei's hair as they were denied the services of a barber.  I would thingk the same would be for her daughters.

really!
Thanks so much

i found a picture of a hair wreath


you can definatly tell where the hair is.

[lori_c]

I agree.  you can see the hair in that one.  The one I saw had more intricacies like the smaller loops so it wasn't as obvious until you got real close to it.

Thank you for the great picture!

Lori

[Romanov_fan]

That is a great example of a hair wreath. It is a very interesting picture, and custom. I have seen other photos of hair wreaths, but I am not sure where. Discussing whether or not, and when otma got their hair cut may not be scholarly, but discussing this intriguing Victoriann custom is. If anyone has more information or examples of hair wreaths, please post them!

[grandduchess_42]

its amazing what people can do with hair these days 

[carkuczyn]

in regards to the issue of the girls using their haircuttings  to create the victorian hairstyles.  i believe the hair pouches were called "rats".   has anyone else ever read anything about this?

[Taren]

in regards to the issue of the girls using their haircuttings  to create the victorian hairstyles.  i believe the hair pouches were called "rats".   has anyone else ever read anything about this?

http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php/topic,8107.0.html
There's also Google. I've found quite a bit of information on the Victorian era there, as well as in the "Their World and Culture" sub-forum here.

[Eddie_uk]

It's not good to drink cola, is wretched stuff - awfully bad for your teeth and doesn't do your skin any good. The best thing to drink is water, water, water. Keeps your cells from dying and great for the kidneys, everything in fact. It's all I drink and I have a very healthy complexion.

Just a peace of important health promotion....back to the important topic of this thread 

[Olga Maria]

I just wonder did the grand duchesses wear their hair loose after turning 16? If they did, will someone please post a picture of them or anyone from them? It's just because I haven't seen one yet.

[Sarushka]

No, they definitely kept their hair long and wore it up after age 16. Only Tatiana's hair was cut, and that was because of typhoid a few months before her 16th birthday.

You can see the large twists of hair on the back of her head in these photos of Olga:



Also, here you can see Olga's long braids in the spring of 1917: