Sissi Wedding dress

Civil War Era Hair Pieces and Waterfalls

How much hair is enough? For special occasions or the crinoline era lady who needed a little extra fullness, hair pieces came to the rescue. Some of the many forms include curls, braids/plaits, and waterfalls. 

Waterfalls were especially useful in the construction of the Grecian hairstyles that came about around the middle of the era. It consisted of the hair being parted down the middle, and curls at the nape of the neck. Princess Louise can be seen sporting the style. This was a transition style, which retained it's popularity as it was adapted with high crown adornments that became more popular later on in the decade. The pictures below show an early waterfall vs a waterfall towards the middle of the decade.

One periodical story states tells the story of ...

"A lady of most expensive exterior was gliding gracefully up the street, when the networks containing the bunch of hair, at the back of her head, became somewhat detatched, and, shocking to relate, feel to the ground, carrying along its hirsute contents, which we believe is known in the fashionable parliance as the “waterfall.”  The poor protagonist could only watch in horror as a dog darts forward, grabs her waterfall and "proceeded to shake it most violently."

The Godey's 1862 volume has a "glossy braid most assuredly a hair piece." 

Besides written sources, fashion plates from the era also show a variety of beautiful pieces that demonstrate the ingenuity of the fashionistas of the time. After all this research I was more than thrilled to try out a hair piece. I really like the round bun style that can be seen in later years, that show off how full a lady's hair really was.

Maybe our ancestors were on to something, I enjoyed using the braids at least. If I had mathched the hair better no-one would have suspected. They were lightweight and didn't pull at the scalp. Can't wait to try them again and do more elaborate styles with them, maybe add flowers or a hair net