Estella Inspired moodboard

Estella inspired hairstyle

Hair stylist- Me
 Model- Rachel Hogg

This is a hairstyle we created in class which is quite a classic Victorian looking hairstyle. This hairstyle was sourced and inspired from Estella’s look in great expectations. Within the Victorian period a bun in the hair was a popular way of putting the hair up it would be a more elaborate bun than we would do as a look of today and would have more going on around it a lot like the look created in the image. During the Victorian era woman rarely cut their hair as a woman’s hair was considered to be her pride and joy. Some woman would wear fake hair to create a fuller effect with their hair. The hair was usually styled into buns with gentle curls at the front and back or sides of the hair to emphasize the face. Oils would be applied to the hair to give the hair a sleek and smooth appearance, pretty hair combs and clips were then used to decorate the hair once it has been styled up.

 

Model Me
Hair Stylist - Rachel Hogg

Victorian Make-up

Queen Victoria rose to the throne in 1837 and marked the decline of the use of cosmetics. In the Victorian era there were lots of strict moral codes including the use of makeup products. Cosmetics such as make up were frowned upon and only woman such as prostitutes or actresses would wear a lot of it. Make up was banned in a lot of religions and was labelled to be immortal and the tools of the devil. Victorian woman didn’t completely stop using make up products though they would just keep it to a very minimum amount. The Victorian era was very much about natural beauty woman of a higher class actually restraint from wearing a lot of make up as they knew it was frowned upon but it was found hard to not completely wear it. Ladies who were well of in this period wanted the allusion of delicacy, fragility and to be seen as very feminine as this was seen as desirable and beautiful. Actresses and prostitutes which at this time were seen as the same thing wore a lot more make up that was more visible to the eye than what most other woman as this time would wear. A pale complexion was still seen at this time to be a sign of nobility and wealth a lot like the Elizabethan era this meant that you had money and did not have to work outside in the sun resulting in tanned skin which was seen on as vulgar. To achieve this pale complexion woman started using zinc oxide which is a white mineral powder. This was considered to be a lot safer than products used in earlier periods, even though some of the deadly mixtures used in earlier decades were still around. Because there was a decrease in the use of cosmetic products ladies of the Victorian period would preserve their skin pale by avoiding the sun and fresh air. To avoid the sun when going outside they use to shield themselves with parasols so the skin couldn’t tan. Woman would also go to deeper measures such as drawing veins on the skin and also making the dark circles under their eyes more prominent so the skin would look even whiter. They would also drink vinegar to achieve a pale complexion or use a white powder which would tone down the shine on the skin and give the skin a slight glow powders were using very sparingly at this time. Eye shadows and lipsticks that were used at this time were very pale in tone and were applied very carefully to look as natural as possible. The eye shadows worn were made from lead and antimony sulphide and lipstick were made out of mercuric sulphide. They would apply beetle juice to the cheeks to give their cheeks a natural colouring; lemon juice was also applied to the skin to try lighten it.

Hair Designs

My drawing of Hair Design

Here is a Hair design which I previously drew for a project before based on Queen Elizabeth and the Elizabethans style. While looking back threw my sketchbook from this previous project I noted similarities between both the Elizabethans style and also the Victorians. Since looking into the Victorians I realised this Hair design i had drawn for an Elizabethan look in which I had never used or tested out, actually reminded me more of a mid Victorian hairstyle instead. This is because of the elaborate shape of the hair built up on top of the head with the Incorporated Jewelle's designed into it and the flowers. when i first drew this hairstyle for my Elizabethan look i drew it quite near the end of the project and never actually got to experiment with it. I think when looking at the style it would be a quite time consuming style to do and not having a lot of hair experience i would struggle and have to give it a few time and re design the hairstyle so it worked properly.

Miss Havisham inspired Hair design

Model- Me
Hair Designer- Rachel Hogg

As the story of Charles Dickens Great Expectations is set within the Victorian era all aspects of the period need to be taken into consideration when looking into creating a final look of two characters from this time. This was a hair style which we got shown how to create and had to re-create on a model. This hairstyle has influences from the Victorian period with the shapes within the hair the textures and the extravagance of it. Compared to some of the hairstyles they supported then and the effort they went to too create them this style was a basic and simple style which was effective and a good starting point. I feel it was a good and successful hairstyle and was achieved well and referenced the Victorian period. to create this hairstyle and the texture within the hair we used crimping irons this gave the hair the tight waved effect and also added volume to the hair. After crimping all of the hair you could then start to shape the hair by back combing the hair and rolling in into big rolls clipping them as you went along i cant explain the full procedure went to create the look as it would have to be shown by video but this is the end result.



Early Victorian Hairstyles

Mid Victorian Hairstyles.

I started Researching into the Victorian period to see what different looks could be achieved and how I could use them when creating my final characters set within this time. Looking threw books in the library i came across a book which displayed different hairstyles that were worn and created within different periods of the 1800's. Above are some hairstyles from the early Victorian period and also from the mid Victorian period. You can see similar styles within both of the photographs but there are also different elements within the hair indicating how different styles evolved. By collecting images like these it enables me to see different styles that were worn in different decades of the 1800s and allows me to distinguish what styles i feel suite my characters style more referencing it back. When looking at both pictures of hairstyles i feel within the tale great expectations from watching the film  there are links within both the early Victorian and the mid Victorian hairstyles meaning when it comes to looking and designing a hair style for both characters i can take elements from both early and mid styles.

 Here are some Images from books i scanned in of real Victorian Woman. These were pictures i looked at refrencing towards hairstyles mainly for my characters as it shows real woman and what they actually looked like at the time along with there clothing and accessories.



Womans Victorian Clothing

young wealthy Victorian woman.

 

Woman’s outfits throughout the 1800s changed rapidly meaning the wealthy could usually only afford the up to date trends. If you did not have enough money woman and men would then get there clothes from second hand shops from people who of a higher class had discarded. The upper class lady would usually wear very extravagant dresses and took huge pride in there appearance and be dressed up to the full no matter what the occasion was. Miss Havisham and Estella were two woman who were of a higher class you could tell they came from wealth. This showed within the accessories they had and especially in the way that Estella dressed, she wore nice dresses with nice jewels to match it making her look lovely at every occasion. Miss Havisham of course we only see her in her wedding dress but from the look of the wedding dress it is a nice one which would of cost a fair amount of money at the time. I have included a few pictures showing diffrent looks from the victorian era of the diffrent dresses worn by ladies so i could get a feel when researching of the diffrent colours and materials and shapes of dresses worn in this decade.



Victorian clothing through the 1800's

Above are some Images i scanned from a book, These images show from the early Victorian period to the mid, and the late Victorian period different designs and accessories that both men and woman use to wear at these different points in the 1800's. This was an interesting thing to come across leading to the designs of my Victorian characters from Charles Dickens tale, as i was able to see what props or accessories i would be able to use when it came to the final look and shoot of both my characters.



Creating Bruises

Creating a bruised eye in relation to the character Estella. There is a part in the tale of great expectations where there is referrals to Estella's husband beating her and she has some small bruises upon her body. Looking at this part in the book I wanted to experiment with the idea of placing bruises on my character. By practising and seeing how the bruises looked was a good experiment. to see if i wanted to include these as a final design at the end. The bruise I created I tried to keep quite neutral I didn’t want to create an over the top bruise, by doing this I kept the colours slightly lighter and blended them in thoroughly. I started off by applying a red tone from a Charles fox bruise weal under the eye and on top of the eye using my finger to do all of this for better blending. I then added shades of black and purple to give the bruise different tones to give it a newish bruise feel. After applying this I started applying yellow and green colours around the edge of the eye in the place where the bruise would usually heal a lot quicker and not be so dark showing the different tones and healing stages a bruise has. I think the bruise turned out quite effective and I was pleased with the result and will be practising creating more bruises on other places on the body such as the arms and chest.

Industrial Revolution

Spinning in 1808: moving towards mechanisation's.

First picture- interior of a mule-spinning factory 1835
picture below- power loom weaving 1835

Printed dresses in cotton of 1830-40 by Harrods, with billowing skirts and full sleeves

 

New inventions and the cotton industry.

 

Britain was the world leader for the new movement that was transform the world with its new processes. Britain's cotton was the first major project to be made and was going to transform the world and ordinary woman's dress. By the mid eighteenth century the quickening of science and invention had increased national production and manufacture of goods for both England and over seas trade. This idea was aimed to increase wealth for our nation and its people. The greatest obstacle to growth of production and sales was the shortage of spun yarns. This means ways of speeding up spinning and weaving of cloth were needed if kept ten individuals to keep one weaver fully supplied. It was from then that the invention of the first successful spinning machine came about in Blackburn. This then led on to being successful in factory's creating greater income into Britain. The inventions of all these machines within the Victorian era allowed woman and both men to change fashion sense more as greater things were invented when looking into material and patterning



Workshop with Kate Benton

Not great pictures but was amazing in person and very effective.

These are some images I took from a lecture we had in our Make-up class by a Make up and hair artist called Kate Benton who trained with the BBC and worked closely with a Make-up company called Pam. Kate has been a Make up artist and Hair designer in the industry for over 30 years working closely with the BBC this means she had a lot of knowledge to share. Within this lecture we got shown how to apply wigs and how to also age a person in terms of creating a character. The lecture was such an eye opener to the different products you can use to age someone and completely change there appearance. It was helpful and a great learning experience and inspirational hearing the many stories and productions she had worked on creating different characters using many prosthetic pieces, wigs and Make-up. The lecture helped in terms of the project we are currently looking at Charles Dickens great expectations. Within this project we have to apply similar effects onto are own characters such a ageing and creating a character who looks slightly withered and older than possibly should appear.

Different moustaches and sideburns she had all made from real hair.

More different hair, prosthetic pieces in a variety of different colours and textures.

Introduction to Estella

 

 Estella on first glance seems to be a sweet and innocent charater as we see her first as a young girl. Estella has been adopted by miss Havisham and has been brought up with everything she needs, and wants in life apart from love the main thing a parent should give to you and teach you how to feel. In the case of Estella and Miss Havisham this isent shown miss havisham has shown estella no love since adopting her as a child and has taught estella she should never fall in love this is due to miss havishams fiance disapearing on their wedding day. This means when pip comes onto the scene and falls head over heels for estella he gets shown no attension. Estella i feel wants to love in ways but has no idea how and i think from being brought up by Miss Havisham makes her a slightly evil person which i feel we see in shorts snaps of the film and series. 

Introduction to Miss Havisham

 

Miss Havisham is a memorable character within dickens great expectations. Her appearance as a character makes her memorable for one with her wearing a wedding dress which she has not taken of since her tragedy at the altar where her fiancé left her. She has never got over this and this is why she still wears the dirty yellow tinged wedding dress throughout. It’s almost as if she is in a trance and wants to keep hold of that day and the memories it holds that was meant to be all so special rather than getting over her broken heart. Since her fiancé left her at the altar she has become bitter and changed her prospective on men and wants to take her heart break out on any man alive. This is wear Estella comes in, a young girl in which Miss Havisham adopted at a young age. She has brought Estella up to believe all men are evil and their hearts should all be broken like hers was many years ago. Throughout the film Miss Havisham tests Estella to see if she is strong enough which is wear pip starts to play a big part.

Thoughts on the project

The project i have been set is based on Charles Dickens famous tale Great Expectations. With this project i will be researching and re creating two of the main characters from the story which include Miss Havisham and Estella. I will be getting a strong grasp on each of the characters identities and characteristics in helping to develop my own versions of the two characters.
By doing this I started of by watching the TV adaption of great expectations, and getting a real feel of each of the characters and the influences in there lives within the programme. I hope From watching other adaptations I will be able to see how other make up artists and designers along with film producers, have styled and characterised each of the characters and made them there own.

I find it exciting that i will be able to re create the famous characters from the Charles dickens tale great expectations tale and be able to pitch the idea and apply my own ideas across for both characters. One thing i am not looking forward to doing is pitching my idea threw PowerPoint presentation as i find it hard to get across what i wanted to achieve and why and am not a very confident person when it comes to pitching my ideas.

An image from the new TV adaptation of Great Expectations which was aired in(2011)

It all starts here!

Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham in Great Expectations directed by Tim Burton 2012

This is my new blog for Styling for Stage Screen and Television.  My first project brief is on Charles Dickens classic text, 'Great Expectations'.

I am currently studying a degree in Make-up and Hair design and I am new to blogging. On this blog I hope to show my design processes and ideas behind looks through visual research and show how I have developed and researched into them.