A successful regency hairstyle

I recently was able to create a REALLY successful Regency hairstyle for a fashion show I did at the Smithsonian.

 I think what put this over the top was the recent addition of bangs.  They hang down to the top of my cheekbones in real life, and I wear them swept to the side, but boy howdy did they do the trick for pert little Regency curls!

 I did have to sleep in old fashioned curlers, because my hair has a really difficult time holding the curl, but I think the result was well worth it- and I think it would have held all day had I needed it to.  (I came home, changed, and ran the hose over my head while I was watering the garden!)  I used one curler for each curl- just a little bit of hair, and sprayed them the moment they came out of the curlers.  I didn't do ANY fluffing of futzing or anything.

This is 100% my hair, which is very long and thick.  I really wanted a high, large bun though, and I think I found a really good trick!

(wow...so much grey!)

I started off doing a half ponytail high on my head, leaving the rest down.  This is a trick I learned at the awesome historic hair class that the Regency Society of Virginia put on.  You then do a second ponytail around that with all of your hair, and the first one keeps the second one up high.  I don't know about you, but my buns tend to wander down the back of my skull until they are mousy little 1840s things at the back of my neck by the end of the day.

But I deviated a little bit.  I put that first half ponytail in a bun, then I wrapped the second ponytail around the first, and it really gave me a lot of extra volume!  It was almost like I made a hair rat out of my own hair...while it was still attached to my head.   It worked really well, and the original bun gave me something to jam my bobby pins in, which helped it to stay put.  Well, that and half a can of hairspray.

A little braid across the top of my forehead added some extra visual interest, as well.

And I wore my new bonnet:

Don't worry!  I took the bonnet off halfway through the fashion show.  I didn't want to hide that hair I worked so hard on!

And here's a picture of Drunk Tailor and I with the hostess of the fashion show, my new hero Sandy Lerner!

Accessorizing Head-to-Toe Challenge

I really love all these creative bloggers who come up with awesome historical costuming challenges, but I've never joined in before.  I'm not sure why- perhaps I just didn't have confidence in my ability to keep up with the rigorous schedule they often impose.  But this has all changed with Trystan's Accessories Challenge!

Check out the Challenge at Trystan's Blog!

Doesn't that sound awesome!  She's already put up the first three challenges- September is HATS (my favorite thing in the world, OF COURSE!) then purses and bags in October and fans in November!

Totally doable and super fun challenges!  So exciting!  Exclamation Point!

Anyone else joining in?