Portraiture Hairstyles

In Elizabethan times there was many different hair accessories that women would put in their hair from pearls and diamonds to feathers and ribbons. It was clear who was wealthy and who wasn't by what they had in their hair or what they was wearing to keep their hair up and out of their face.

Curled almost crimped -
Ladies loved to have really curly hair in Elizabethan times, it was the fashion to have frizzy long locks. Hair down or hair put up, it always had curls, ringlets and frizz. In the picture of Queen Elizabeth you can see how curly and frizzy her hair was, even though it is in a shape and style it still looks untamed. In the modern age frizzy curly hair is a nice natural look, but majority of people like their hair to look smooth and sleek.
The texture and the look of her hair is definitely not something I will see in this day and age but, ladies with afro hair are more likely to have a similar look. Elizabeth's look is very textured and brought back and so is afro hair. 

Feathers -
A Lady who was very wealthy in the Elizabethan times called Elizabeth Cornwallis Lady Kytson, would wear her hair up usually. In some of her portraits she would be wearing a hat with a large fluffy feather coming from the back or the side of it. Feathers showed wealth in those days as no maid or servant would usually wear feathers in their hair.
In the modern day, no one really goes out wearing feathers in their hair, unless they are dressing up or going out to a special event. When I think of someone wearing feathers in their hair I think if an old Hollywood themed party or The Freat Gatsby themed, very 1920's.

Hair piece/hat -
Ladies would wear these hair pieces or hats in their hair so it looked much larger and prettier. The more hair the more jewels and accessories they can put in there. Wearing them would show how wealthy you are, being able to afford extra hair or expensive hats covered in hair, adding jewels was not a common thing. The hats would also keep their hair up and in place, ladies didn't like their hair in their face and so adding extra pieces that would keep the hair up was a bonus for them.
Today we liked to have natural hair or there are many different types of hair extensions available, from clip ins, glue ins, micro bonds and hair pieces such as pony tails and plaits. We like to have the option too whether we would like long hair today or a big bun on my head so having these clip in hair pieces can change your full look and they are very affordable too.

Drop down pearls heart shape -

Heart shaped hair styles were very popular, they shaped the face and in a way made the hair and face look very attractive. The hair would be styles so each side is symmetrical by rolling the hair backwards, or they would add accessories too, so a pearl or jewel would drop down the centre of the forehead to give added glamour to the look.
No one would ever style their hair like this today, unless you use the 1950's victory rolls. This is a very cool look where I think almost any one can pull them off, there much easier to create than a frizzy heat shape, as victory rolls are quite smooth and sleek looking.
A new trend has just become really big with the little head dresses that you can buy, they are very Indian inspired, you have a headband that is a chain, it has jewels on, pearls, almost any thing you want. You put them on the top of the head so one part goes through the middle section of the hair and drops down on to the fore head. You can manoeuvre the hair to make a heart shape if you wanted but most girls have their hair down in a lovely wavey style with the chains just sat on the top.

Hair nets - Caul

A caul is a hair net that you pin into a ladies hair that would be laden in accessories or for the less wealthy they would be plain. They are pinned in to the back of the hair keeping all the hair up and out of the ladies faces whilst working. The jewels or pearls were added for wealthy ladies who could afford them, other wise they were just plain.
If we ever put our hair up cauls or hair nets aren't really used any more, unless you wear your hair in a bun. Hair nets are good for girls who are dancers as they keep all the hair nice and neat when they are dancing, other wise hair nets are very often used, we have other hair accessories that can keep the hair in place all day such as grips, pins and bobbles.

French hood - 

French hoods were designed to keep all the ladies hair from going into the face, it looks like an alice band, but it also has an extra piece that sticks out from the back giving the head 'height'. Going down the back of the head is a veil attached to the band and the lady would have her hair all pinned up or some ladies kept their hair down underneath. around the front of the band it would have pearls stuck or sewn around the edge for decoration and glamour.
Alice bands are very similar to a French Hood, they keep all the hair back odd the face but the only difference is that an Alice band doesn't have a veil or anything coming down the back, you can get all sorts of different Alice bands and in different colours and styles.

Pilbox hat -

A pillbox hair is a circular hat with a flat top, it would be stuck onto the back of the ladies hair keeping it all in the hat, they can be plain or a fabric design or cover in jewels. Later on in fashion they were very well known for air hostesses to wear them, as fashion has changed some things will carry on for years and years but some things will eventually come out of fashion.
In the twenty first century pillbox hats are very well known for air hostesses to wear them, there very smart looking and a lot of air lines have their air hostesses wearing them. You see them in many different colours and some have accessories or veils on them just like how they were in the Elizabethan era but a lot more modernised. Also, Kate Middleton wears a lot of pillbox hats too and so do women who go to weddings and special events.

Children's hair -

Even at young ages children of a wealthier status would have their hair up. The heart shaped hair with a head accessory, or their hair would be accessories and put up with ribbons and headbands to keep it all off their face. Usually the maid would do the children's hair too as they would for the children's parents.
Children like to have their hair styles so differently today, boys want all the fashionable trends like the sweep over or a quiff and girls love to hair their hair long. Having their hair up and styled isn't seen very often unless its a plait, bun or pony tails. Girls love to have their hair long down the back but like boys they like to be in with the fashion too so there are a lot of bobs and shorter styles seen on young girls too.