My hair.
It’s been long since….8th grade, I think? A long time, let’s leave it at that. I never used to know what the heck to do with all my hair, so it was habitually put into a messy bun at the back of my head. I’ve gotten better with finding different ways to style it, but I love the styles from the ’40s and ’50s.
The problem is that hair was usually worn (much) shorter then. I can pin curl and victory roll ’til I drop, but it never looks quite right, as it’s about 8 inches longer than it should be for those styles.
I could just cut my hair, but that is something We Shall Not Speak Of.
Lately I’ve been looking back to eras when women wore their hair long, which landed me in the Victorian era. And can I just say, oy gevalt. Holy moly. Shut the front door. Sweet fancy Moses. Apparently, this was the time period when going to a hairdresser became popular, and it shows. Some of those styles look like they require 6 people, 2 hours, a Nembutal, and a yak to put it all together.
Eventually I remembered the Gibson Girl. The Gibson Girl, who wore her hair piled on top of her head. Now that I can handle.
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Here’s the result of one of my attempts. The good news is that this style is supposed to be messy, so I’ve got that going for me. Which is nice.

You will need a hair brush and bobby pins. That be all. Your hair also needs to be long enough that it can all reach the top of your head. If it can’t all be piled up on top of your head, it’s too short for this style.
First, brush your hair. Next, part your hair from one ear across to the other ear.





Pin the coil into place. Crossing your pins over each other in an X shape around the perimeter of the coil is the easiest way to go.


I've been looking at your overnight curling methods and having a lot of fun — thank you! I've got long straight hair and am trying to find things to do that don't involve blowdrying, so your site has been very helpful.
My hair gets the texture of a cactus if I blowdry it, so I know the feeling!
Thanks. I enjoyed your site. It was easier to follow.
I love the Gibson girl era!I have photos of my great grandmum and aunt with this lovely do',I am so happy you have listed the directions to fashion it the correct way; I would simply twist my hair and clip it to my head.It looks really nice on you!!
Thank you! I've gotten better at it with practice, but sometimes it's hard to get all that lovely height on top. Big hair for the win!