Guest Post: Pete's Mad Men Wet Set Series / Peggy

Pete from Incurlers is back! You may remember his previous posts; Here and Here;  on wet sets for vintage hairstyles. I recently asked him to give us some insight into Mad Men era hairstyles. In this three part series, Pete explores the hairstyles of Betty, Joan, and Peggy as they would have looked from the pages of 1960's Good Housekeeping magazines!

Take it away, Pete: 

When Karen suggested I do a Mad Men hairstyle article, I thought it would be quite easy. Just look though some old magazines in my collection, pick out some hairdos similar to what the main characters wear and my work would be mostly done.  Not having having seen an episode of Mad Men in over a year, I set out to do just that and was quite pleased with what I found. That is, until I looked at some pictures from the show and while the hairdos I had selected were similar, they were not identical to what is actually used on the show. Even with a bit more research my original choices did not change, so these articles are about the hairstyles that Betty, Joan, and Peggy might have worn had they been reading Good Housekeeping (GH) or any similar magazine as many women would have done at the time.

Peggy Olson

In spite of her ambition, Peggy always seems slightly less elegant than either Betty or Joan.  Somehow this hairstyle seems to really fit her character and, of all three hairdos, this is the one that is most stereotypical of the 60s. 

(Photos below from GH Nov. 1964)

And the instructions from almost 50 years ago:

"Tease top and sides, then brush to back crown. Fluff bangs forward, blending side ends upward toward crown. Now place hand behind crown and push teased hair forward for rounded height. Discretely tucked hairpins at lower crown will secure ends. Comb back down, flip ends up over hand. Twirl side tips out. "  (GH Nov. 1964) 

The trickiest thing here is teasing, which in spite of what the instructions say, probably applies more toward the back, and is not completely necessary if you don’t want as much volume.  Instead of trying to explain teasing, the best thing is to watch it being done. A quick Google search brought up this YouTube video  which is a pretty good demonstration.  More than either of the other two hairdos in this series, this hairdo requires careful combing of you hair into the desired shape and strong hairspray to keep it that way (which is also so authentically 1960s). This page has an interesting discussion of hairspray (and lacquer!)  that is very appropriate for this style. 

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I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into the past. Since these photos and instructions are taken from vintage 1960s Good Housekeeping magazines, thousands or even millions of women in the 1960s would have actually duplicated and worn these exact hairdos. It doesn’t get more authentically vintage than that! 

The advice I always give is, it does take practice and experimentation to get good at any vintage technique or successfully create a vintage hairdo, so try these hairdos a number of times at home when the results really aren’t that important so you can simply wash them out if thing don’t work out as you had hoped. And above all, have fun trying some authentic vintage hairdos.

***

Thank you Pete for this lovely series! 

In case you missed it, check out Betty and Joan! 

 For more vintage hair style fun, read Pete's blog; Incurlers and follow him on Twitter @incurlers! 

Guest Post: Pete's Mad Men Wet Set Series / Joan

Pete from Incurlers is back! You may remember his previous posts; Here and Here; on wet sets for vintage hairstyles. I recently asked him to give us some insight into Mad Men era hairstyles. In this three part series, Pete explores the hairstyles of Betty, Joan, and Peggy as they would have looked from the pages of 1960's Good Housekeeping magazines! 

 Take it away, Pete: 

 When Karen suggested I do a Mad Men hairstyle article, I thought it would be quite easy. Just look though some old magazines in my collection, pick out some hairdos similar to what the main characters wear and my work would be mostly done.  Not having having seen an episode of Mad Men in over a year, I set out to do just that and was quite pleased with what I found. That is, until I looked at some pictures from the show and while the hairdos I had selected were similar, they were not identical to what is actually used on the show. Even with a bit more research my original choices did not change, so these articles are about the hairstyles that Betty, Joan, and Peggy might have worn had they been reading Good Housekeeping (GH) or any similar magazine as many women would have done at the time.

Joan Harris 

Joan, as office manager, has a more formal look to her. This might have been her style.

 (Photos below from GH Nov.1963)

And the instructions from the article:

"Make a 3-inch part at right side. Draw right side sleekly back and secure at crown. Fold left and top hair over back of head to shape it into circlet shown, covering right side hairpins. Secure strategically with fine hairpins.  Draw forelock across left brow to ear. Spray lavishly to hold. " (GH Nov. 1963)

Like Betty’s hairdo, medium larger rollers are used to add volume and, if you hair is naturally wavy, straighten it bit as well. The instructions sound amazingly complicated, but in the end all they are saying is comb you hair into the style shown in the photograph and pin into place, hiding the pins as best as possible. 

***

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into the past. Since these photos and instructions are taken from vintage 1960s Good Housekeeping magazines, thousands or even millions of women in the 1960s would have actually duplicated and worn these exact hairdos. It doesn’t get more authentically vintage than that! 

The advice I always give is, it does take practice and experimentation to get good at any vintage technique or successfully create a vintage hairdo, so try these hairdos a number of times at home when the results really aren’t that important so you can simply wash them out if thing don’t work out as you had hoped. And above all, have fun trying some authentic vintage hairdos.

***

Thank you Pete!

Stay tuned for Peggy, next week!

 For more vintage hair style fun, read Pete's blog; Incurlers or follow him on Twitter @incurlers! 

Guest Post: Pete's Mad Men Wet Set Series / Betty

Pete from Incurlers is back! You may remember his previous posts; Here and Here;  on wet sets for vintage hairstyles. I recently asked him to give us some insight into Mad Men era hairstyles. In this three part series, Pete explores the hairstyles of Betty, Joan, and Peggy as they would have looked from the pages of 1960's Good Housekeeping magazines!

Take it away, Pete: 

When Karen suggested I do a Mad Men hairstyle article, I thought it would be quite easy. Just look though some old magazines in my collection, pick out some hairdos similar to what the main characters wear and my work would be mostly done.  Not having having seen an episode of Mad Men in over a year, I set out to do just that and was quite pleased with what I found. That is, until I looked at some pictures from the show and while the hairdos I had selected were similar, they were not identical to what is actually used on the show. Even with a bit more research my original choices did not change, so these articles are about the hairstyles that Betty, Joan, and Peggy might have worn had they been reading Good Housekeeping (GH) or any similar magazine as many women would have done at the time.

Betty Draper/Francis

This beautiful yet simple everyday style is what Betty might have worn as a housewife who's fashionable appearance was very important to her self image.

  (Photos below from GH Nov.1963).

Like almost all hairdos of that period, it was done with a wet set and Good Housekeeping provided both a setting pattern, instructions and advice: 

"Brush all hair back; let sides come forward. Push in shallow dips at temples and ears; hold as you brush sides and back smooth close to the head. Cup all ends under. A soothing creme rinse after shampooing helps tame flyaway hair." (GH Nov.1963)

The main thing to point out here is that this hairdo uses medium or larger rollers to add volume, and you don’t need to be overly concerned with setting you hair perfectly since it will be mostly the brushing (or combing) that will be used to create the final shape. 

***

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into the past. Since these photos and instructions are taken from vintage 1960s Good Housekeeping magazines, thousands or even millions of women in the 1960s would have actually duplicated and worn these exact hairdos. It doesn’t get more authentically vintage than that! 

The advice I always give is, it does take practice and experimentation to get good at any vintage technique or successfully create a vintage hairdo, so try these hairdos a number of times at home when the results really aren’t that important so you can simply wash them out if thing don’t work out as you had hoped. And above all, have fun trying some authentic vintage hairdos.

***

Thank you Pete! I am inspired to try this!

Stay tuned for Joan, next week!

 For more vintage hair style fun, read Pete's blog; Incurlers or follow him on Twitter @incurlers! 

Basic Setting Patterns for Vintage Hairdos by Pete

Guest blogger, Pete from incurlers, is back with the second installment in a series about classic hairdressing and wet sets. If you haven't read the first article on Basic Wet Sets, please do before continuing.
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The whole idea of a wet set is for the hair to retain some of the shape given to it by being wrapped around curlers as it drys. As you can imagine, the pattern of how you set the rollers does have an effect on the finished hairstyle, but not as much as you might think. The combing and teasing can significantly shape the final hairdo. The great thing about this is that even if you are new at wet sets, and you curlers aren't as neatly set as you might want them to be, you can still turn the result into a great hairstyle.
There are probably about four basic setting patterns. Perhaps the most common and easiest to do is the one shown below:

Set 'n Style 1976

Set 'n Style 1976

To set your hair this way, comb you hair from the forehead back, and then left and right towards each of your ears, leaving about a roller's width of hair going back from you forehead. Start with the roller at your forehead and add one after another going back till you run out if hair at your neck. Once done with that row, put an extra pik though each adjacent pair of rollers if you feel any are in danger of falling out.
Now do the left and right rows in a similar way, and then fill in the spaces in the back with rows if possible. Once dried, this is often used as the foundation for hairdos with a lot of volume on top,and/or a bit of flip on either side. Comb back and sideways for a style as shown. You can vary the set with different size rollers or the direction in which you roll them. If you want a very curly tousled look, try rolling smaller adjacent curlers in alternate directions.
The second most common is the halo pattern:

Set 'n Style, Winter, 1982 Set 'n Style, Winter, 1982

As you can see for the diagram, its called a halo because a row of curlers forms a halo around your face. The rows are wound towards the ears left and right from where you want the part in your hair to be. The back then filled in with neat rows. A setting like this often lends itself to itself to beautiful gently flowing waves combed left and tight from the part as shown in the photograph. Be sure to wind the curlers left and right form where you want the part, otherwise you will end up fighting the set when trying when combing out you hair.

The brick pattern is a slightly harder to do setting pattern:

American Hairdresser, July 1971

American Hairdresser, July 1971

This pattern is either for more solid styles, or curls all over. It is of course called a brick pattern because every row or rollers is often offset by half a roller length, so they resemble bricks in a wall (although in the example picture this is not the case). To set you hair like this, start with a neat ring of curlers around your face, then work back row by row. It gets harder to keep the rollers in the required pattern as you get towards the back. If you are lucky enough to have half length rollers (common in the 60s, rare today) you can use them to re-position your row of curlers. Otherwise , just make do – its less critical in the back anyway. Like the other settings, if some of your curlers are in danger of falling out place a pik though a few rollers to hold them in place. Comb upwards for a style like in the diagram.

And finally random rollers, the easiest to do:

Over 200 New Hair Setting Patterns 1969

Great for lots of “mussed up” waves or curls, pick smaller rollers for curls, and larger ones for waves, and set them in no particular order. Just make sure that all of you hair is in in curlers, and and try an keep most of the rollers the same size for best results. Easy to do, and great results!

Slight variations on each of the above can be done to emphasize certain styles, often by placing rollers in front in slightly different directions. An example is shown below:

Set 'n Style, Winter, 1982

Set 'n Style, Winter, 1982

Notice how the two angles rollers on the forehead adds just a bit of curl to the part in her hair and looks great!

The best source of more information about setting patterns and how they relate to hairstyles are vintage magazines. The ones to look out for are titles like “200 Setting patterns”, “Set 'n Style” and some issues of “Woman's Day” and similar household magazines. eBay is a good place to look if your interested, but be warned: sometimes people seem to go a little bidding crazy – you really shouldn't pay more than $15 or so for a vintage magazine. If you can get one of these vintage magazines that is devoted to setting patterns, you will have about the best piece of reference material you can find. And remember, don't hesitate to experiment: the great thing about a wet set is you can always wash it out if you don't like it.

*****

Thanks Pete for another informative and inspirational article!! I myself can't wait to try the Halo Setting. I think it will work well with my long hair.

Dear readers, don't hesitate to send me pics of your settings and styles that you have learned here. I'd love to feature you!!