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Shared January 7, 2026
“In the Victorian era, the woman’s hair was considered an important part of her appearance and it marked her status and her femininity.”
“Women in that era were often expected to grow their hair to great lengths, and it was common knowledge that a woman’s crowning glory was her hair.
Growing long hair was done in part so that elaborate updos could be treated using the voluminous hair that grew – as opposed to using rats, pads, or the Victorian versions of hair extensions.”
““Letting her hair down” is an idiom today for getting relaxed, as opposed to being “up tight.”
In Victorian times it wasn’t just an idiom, it was an act that only occurred in the bedroom when a woman took the hairpins out and brushed her long hair.
Only her husband (or her maid) could see her that way, though the romantic notion of flowing tresses implying femininity was depicted in paintings and advertising—beautiful women with impossibly abundant hair.”
“Loose hair wasn’t something that “respectable” women would wear in public and was mostly a style used for the sake of art. Girls often wore their hair down, but were expected to begin wearing it up around the age of 15 or 16.”
rarehistoricalphotos.com/victorian-long-hair-photo…
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