During the reign of Queen Victoria, a woman’s hair was considered an essential part of her identity. It set her aside and marked her femininity and status. A core part of her appearance determined how she was viewed.
At that time, it was common to see women who grew their hair long as the great length of hair was viewed as a woman’s crown of glory. Long hair made it possible for women to make their complicated hairstyles without using the hair extensions popular in the Victorian era or rats and pads.
However, despite many women having very long hair, they still used rats made from their hair when a style required a lot of volumes. While the idiom “Letting her hair down” means to get relaxed these days, in the Victorian era, it signified an act in the bedroom when a woman took the hairpins out, let her hair loose and brushed her long hair.Â
This act was only to be seen by her husband and her maid. The idea was that the long hair was a romantic gesture of femininity. It was a way of identifying “respectable” women, too, as they were not going to wear their hair down in public as loose hair in public was mainly used for art sake and advertisement.
Girls were free to wear their hair down till they turned 15. However, loose hair was worn by actresses and models to be sexually arousing. The middle and upper class of society viewed a lady’s hair as the main point of her femininity. The poor lower class who could not maintain their hair cut it and sold it for cash.
Hair neatness was also emphasized in Victorian society, and not only was it essential for the hair to be clean and shiny, but it also had to be styled in a way that balanced the body’s appearance.
