Would Kirsten really have had bangs?

[jenndon]

For some reason, this has really been bothering me lately. I can't see that Pioneer mom trimming bangs every 6 weeks. If she had braids, wouldn't her whole hair have been braided in them and out of her eyes??

Any thoughts or expert opinions?

[Skittl1321]

I really don't know- probably not is my guess- but Swedish immigrents might have done things differently than pioneers who had been in the US for awhile. I don't think that bangs were a) in style until a little later, or b) appropriate for young children.

I do remember in the Laura Ingalls books there was an entire chapter about her cutting her bangs (she was about 15, if I recall correctly) and her mother calling her crazy because they were a new fangled notion (her mother called them "lunatic fringe")

[MollyMolly]

I was wondering about that too when I read Little Town on the Prarie yesterday. [img]graemlins/hmmm.gif[/img]

[moderator]

All three of the first dolls had bangs and similar wigs. Felicity was a new concept. When she was released, I was stunned (literally) at the fact that she didn't have bangs! [img]wink.gif[/img]

I don't think the hairstyles for Molly, Samantha, and Kirsten are at all accurate. If you look at photos from these three dolls' eras, you will notice that most people didn't have bangs during the 1850s, 1900s, and 1940s. Even then, if people had bangs, it was probably not the entire front half of their heads, as these doll haircuts are cut. [img]wink.gif[/img] Mollys, such as mine, originally even had little "sideburns." I wonder if they still do? It must have much more to do with what types of wigs AG chose to use. The dolls released since then have been historically accurate--no bangs.

[mayergirl]

My mom has several old photos of our family, going all the way back to about the 1880s (we have everything from daggeurotypes to photos from last month, lol), and all the way back young members of our family have had bangs on and off, so, I do think it very much depends. I would imagine in the 1800s that bangs were more common in the urban areas. In Samantha's time, many of my family members had bangs. My great aunts all had bangs in the late 1930s early 40s, so while bangs have not always been in style, I would think they've been around for quite some time

[QNPoohBear]

Bangs were not in style in the U.S. but a board member once mentioned seeing photos of her European ancestors with similar hairstyles. The typical Swedish style is two braids pinned to the top of a woman's head like Mama wears.

[ponydreamer]

My mom has this amazing portrait of two young girls, who are somewhere in our ancestory. They are from the Victorian era. The have on very gorgeous dresses, and huge bows in their hair. They also have bangs....

I think that bangs came into fashion around the turn of the century...but I'm not positive.

[robin0850]

Remember, Kirsten was a Swedish immigrant--the Swedish styles for children may well have included bangs; they certainly included braids! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Felicity_Fan85]

Originally posted by JeanieD:
Lucy Maude Montgomery, who wrote the Anne of Green Gables series, also wrote a trilogy about Emily of New Moon. In one of those books there is a lengthy discussion about whether or not Emily can have her hair cut in bangs - her disapproving aunt says of course not, and she is devastated because they are so much in fashion. This would date from sometime in the 1870s.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yes, that is true. (Emily of New Moon and the other 2 books in the trilogy are some of my favorites!)

[GreyMyst]

Bangs were not worn in Kirsten's time. They didn't become popular until about the 1870s. I have NEVER seen a photo from 1830-1864 with bangs.

There WERE a few rare women with sideparted hair or short hair in the 1850s and 1860s. This was uncommon, seen as open rebellion akin to a modern mohawk, and not societally acceptable.

http://www.geocities.com/myrtleavenu...Hairshort.html

I've said it before, regardless of Swedish customs, if she had bangs she probably would have grown them out so she didn't stand out more than she did.

This is why I can't bear to have my Kirsten be a historical (and changed her name to Erica). If i were to have a historical Kirsten, I'd either rewig one or buy an AGT without bangs.

By the turn of the century and Samantha's time, they were everywhere. So Kirsten is the only one with bangs that shouldn't have.

<font color="#051E50" size="1">[ January 24, 2006 01:28 AM: Message edited by: GreyMyst ]</font>