Hair Designs

I came across an old collective ornament in my house which my parents have collected through their parents, and it was this one that caught my eye the most. It reminded me of the young Estella in the Great Expectations film. With her hair pulled back loosely and a ribbon headband around her head really captures the young Estella. Also with the added detail of the high neck dress portrays her innocence in the beginning of the film.





















These are the hair templates which i have come up with, i want to achieve more detail in the hair design than i do with the makeup as i am trying to create the young estella she wouldn't have worn makeup. By creating rolls with the hair at the front of her head, styling the rest of the hair back into a bun, leaving some loose curls at the back of the head and topping it off with a head piece, i will be able to achieve a sweet and innocent hair style.

Joan Bennett, 1935 Blonde                                                           Betty Grable, 1940


I was looking through a blog site of famous Hollywood actresses of the 19th century and came across these two photographs. Imediately my thoughts focused straight on Estella and how these 2 ladies hair styles are perfect for her. The effect of this appearance produces a meek, sweet innocent type character.                                  

Estella' Hair

After rewatching the 'Great Expectations' film, I have noticed that Estella wears her both up and down. This makes it more experimental for me to chose a hairstyle to do on Wednesday. I am most likely to do a half up half down hairstyle, this allows me to keep the curls in the bottom half of her hair and a bun on the top.

So last week I learnt how to create a standard victorian hairstyle. This is one that i can use to create the character Estella. It was so simple to do but yet so effective because now I can take this skills and make new styles. Using the heated curlers i can create rolls in the hair, these can be made in many different places on the head.

Victorian Children...

Victorian Fasion...

During the early 1800's dress colours and prints were pastel and soft for a refined proper appearance. 

Lower cut necklines were worn only by the middle/upper class women as evening wear.

Young appropriate girls wore silky, delicate dresses to symbolise innocence. 

Its crazy to think that fashion from over a hundred years ago is being brought back into fashion again? Take this victorian top/blouse for instance from a high street shop Miss Selfridge.

The Last Of England- Madox Brown

This painting, 'The last of England' portrays a family leaving the shores of England to start a fresh start in Australia. Thousands of working class and lower middle class people, who were totally fed up with their life of poverty packed up the few possesions they had to make a long memorable journey to the other side of the world.

This painting and meaning reminds me a lot of the scene were Pip and Abel Magwitch are trying to escape across the sea.

"I have been bent and broken but hopefully into a better shape"

Estella is an emotionally crippled character, she is cold hearted. This is a character we have been asked to create again , but our own way. This doesn't mean we can add our own modernised twist though. I am excited to recreate this character as i feel it will be a challenge to try and make someone look younger than they are to get the youth effect of Estella. On the other hand i cannot wait to begin because there is one thing which i will be mostly focusing on, this is the hair. This is a crucial element of Estella, as she was too young to wear makeup. By rolling the hair and twisting it to the back i can create a child like look. i noticed throughout the film that Estella always has something in her hair whether it is a bow or a larger headpiece.

What is Beauty?... A Destroyer

Was Estella just afraid to love like Miss Havisham did...

But why still such perfect hair after all those years?

“You are not afraid of a woman who has never seen the sun 

since you were born.”

For a matter of fact, when i first saw Miss Havisham walking down the stairs i was scared. I dont like ghostly figures and the first thing i thought was that it was a ghost. In the film she describes her self as 'The ghost of the bride'

This makes me feel as though she believes she does not live a life ever since been left heart broken. She wants to be the bride of her husband who no longer exists to her.

I believe the lighting around Miss Havisham' scenes are thought through with care to create this ghostly illusion. When Pip first met her she glided down the old wooden oak stairs in her rotting mansion. Behind her is a curtain with a slight gap in allowing natural daylight to shine through, this backlights her figure and features.

Reading The Characters...

I am not a very strong reader at all, and find it so much easier to understand things when i can visualise it. So to get a better understanding of Charles Dickens 'Great Expectations' I chose to watch the film myself. This helped hugely with being able to connect with the characters involved and understand their meanings. 

This is Pip. 

He enters the film as a young orphan, living in the southest of England, Kent, with his sister and brother in law

• Romantic
• Passionate
• Caring
• Morally & Socially improving

Young Estella.

Estella was brought up by Miss Havisham to tourment men and 'Break their hearts', Estella wins pips deepest love.

• Cold 
• Cruel
• Uninterested
• Heartless

Miss Havisham

Miss Havisham is a character who is broken over her wedding day which never happened. She lives in a rotting mansion and still wears her wedding dress every day, as she is determined never to move beyond her heartbreak. She adopted Estella as a weapon to achieve her own revenge on men. but soon begs for forgiveness when she realises she has caused Pips heart to be broken in the same way as her own.

• Cold
• Heartbroken
• Mad
• Vengeful 
• Sympathy Seeking

19th Century London...

Victorian London

London became a magnet for immigrants from colonies and poorer parts of Europe, it was transformed into the worlds largest city and capital of the British Empire during the 19th Century. With its population expansion to 6.7 million within this period London became a global political, financial and trading capital. Throughout this position it was unrivalled until the following part of the century, when Paris and New York began to threaten its dominance.  

Although the city advanced with wealth in the 19th century it was also a city of poverty; millions lived in overcrowded and unsanitary slums. However Charles Dickens made the life of the poor famous in such novels as Oliver Twist.