Bibliography

The Hair in Ancient Times [online] [15/10/14] Available from: http://thehistoryofthehairsworld.com/old_age_1.html

Ancient Chinese hairstyles before and after marriage [online] [15/10/14] Available from: http://www.wuxiaedge.com/ancient-­‐ chinese-­‐hairstyles-­‐before-­‐and-­‐after-­‐marriage/
A history of Chinese hairstyles [online] [20/10/14] Available from: http://cn.hujiang.com/new/p533598/
The symbolism of a medieval haircut [online] [20/10/14] Available from: http://www.historytoday.com/simon-­‐coates/scissors-­‐or-­‐ sword-­‐symbolism-­‐medieval-­‐haircut
Notes on the symbolism and meaning of the topknot [online] [20/10/14] Available from: https://japanesemythology.wordpress.com/notes-­‐on-­‐the-­‐ symbolism-­‐and-­‐meaning-­‐of-­‐the-­‐top-­‐knot/
METZGER, SEAN, 2014. Chinese looks : fashion, performance, race Bloomington : Indiana University Press 2014
BIDDLE-­‐PERRY, G. CHEANG, S. 2008. Hair: Styling, Culture and Fashion. Hair devotion in India. 

Project Evaluation

I have never worked with wigs before, although I have always been interested in learning how to do so, I was excited to learn the skills required to style wigs and how to knot. I have really enjoyed this unit, particularly the learning of new skills in the practical lessons.

I started my research by looking into various cultures, learning how they use hair as a symbolism. I found it really interesting how different cultures have such different rituals and traditions when it comes to their hair, and how different styles and cuts can mean different things in different countries and cultures.

After completing the summer homework, I thought it would be interesting to look further into Chinese hair culture and symbolism, and decided to base my story on this.

A problem which I encountered in this project was the fact that I bought my wig before finalizing my idea – as I wanted to ensure that it arrived in time. This meant that I had a blonde wig when usually you would typically associate China with black hair. I feel that in the end this actually worked really well, as I had to alter my story to fit in with the colour of the hair. I think that it gave a twist to my story, and added more of a contemporary element.

Working with the nylon wig was a lot harder than I anticipated, and I found it difficult to style some of my initial designs. To solve this I had to alter my designs slightly, so that it worked better with the wig.

I was really happy with the outcome of my photos, and I think that the lighting worked really well. I was initially concerned about the outcome of my simple design – as I ran out of time to finish and attach the knotted hairline to the wig, I was worried that the hard edge wig would look really unrealistic once on my model. I used the flowers and braids to disguise this slightly, and I think that it worked well and ended up looking like the models own hair.

Simple final shoot

Moderate final shoot

Extreme final shoot

Testing of ideas

In my designs I have included the 'Chinese staircase braid', which I found when doing my research. As I have never created this before I tested it out on a dolls head before doing it on my nylon wig. 

The braid was actually easier than I thought it was going to be, just quite time consuming. Its consisted of notting the hair, which was quite difficult to get out. Also it was hard to make it look smooth and sleek, although I think the end result actually looked quite effective. After doing this practice I have decided to do these braids using hair extensions instead of on my wig, as it will mean that I won't have to try and un-knot the hair each time I have to restyle my wig.

Final Idea - Extreme

I want my final extreme idea to show my character as she is marrying the Prince. I wanted this to be really elaborate and detailed, so I have made the entire middle section of the hair into a mixture of small and large plaits, incorporating ribbon within the plaits. I used aspects from both traditional Chinese royalty hairstyles, and how traditionally married women in China style their hair. 

For the bottom I am going to twist and pin the hair into place, and for the top I am going to use hair doghnuts for the main structure, then pull the hair through and pin in place. 

I have still used aspects from my initial design, but after feedback from my presentation of ideas I changed the bottom section, and changed the top section so it wasn't too over the top.