1. "Lizbeths Hair Style"
Posted by stargazer on Mar-9th-03 at 1:24 AM

I notice Lizzies hair never changed. How does one manage that?

That is a good question. And that was an odd hair-do,
those wide set bangs fluffed up there -- maybe she just
couldn't do anything else with it? No hair stylists then?

Her hair was supposed to be naturally curly.  Like everyone I know who is blessed with naturally curly hair (I am not) they probably hate it while the rest of us are wishing it was ours.  There may not have been too many ways for her to wear her hair.  And she did have features that might not have looked as good with other styles.  Doesn't the photo of her older have her hair different?
I do know some people who never change their hair. 

They did have salons, Susan.  I recall reading about one that had a manicurist, I believe, who was supposed to have had some info on the Borden case but the police could not find her.  At least they had places where you could get your nails done.
It'd be interesting to know when hair salons started.

I think beauty salons (and the like) are incredibly old.  I believe I've read that they existed in ancient Egypt, where makeup was considered an art. There are remnants of some similar establishments in the ruins of Pompeii.  As I recall, Andrew Borden stopped by a barber shop for a shave on the morning of August 4.  If men had such establishments, women would definitely have had them too.  If one looks at a lot of antique photographs, it's obvious that Lizzie's hairstyle was a common one in the 1890s.  Maybe she thought it looked good on her and never bothered to change it, because I agree that it looked pretty much the same in all the photos I've seen of her.

Not changing one's hairstyle much in a lifetime might also be indicative of a person who does not like change. Or a person who does not particularly put much emphasis on a personal appearance that changes with the times.

Have you ever seen really old women with really long hair. I find it cool that they have not adjusted their hair style to "fit" their age.

Lizzie, on the other hand, kept it pretty much arranged the same way forever. She might also have been somebody who didn't want to fool with her hair and thus used one style to keep it simple.

She owned more dresses than Emma and Abby, so we know she liked clothes. And her choice of the pink wrapper on the day of the murder seems a bit out there. Wearing such a jolly color when your parents were murdered that very morning. You would think she would have chosen a more subdued color. But then, she could have worn it to make everyone notice it. Keeping everyone's attention on the second dress and confusing them as to the color and design of the first. Which is exactly what happened. But that scenario would ential great forethought on her part, wouldn't it?

I think this is an interesting question, stargazer, and feel it might add to the psychological understanding of Lizzie, whether you subscribe to the she did it theory or not.

I liked her hair. I just noticed that she never changed it. I think she also idolised her mother. She probably longed for a good mother figure all her life. I also find it odd she stayed in Fall River, altho of course, she had every right to.

Her young photo has her hair down.

I think Andy stopped for a shave because at 70 yeats his hand was not steady enough for a cut throat razor. What is your experience?

Maybe that was the only, or newest, dress she had. And wanted to look neat when company came?

My Italian great-grandmother was born in late 1800s and was brought up with a Victorian ideal.  Til the day she died in the 1980s she always kept her hair long and wore it up in a bun and never applied a drop of make-up to her face.  I think that Lizzie was brought up the same way and didn't change her look with times.  When I think of the 1920s with the flappers with their bobbed hair, it was mostly younger women who did that.  Lizzie was in her 60s at that time.

It just made me think of older women I have seen that are still doing their make-up like they did when they first started using it.  Colors that are too strong for their coloration, plus blush that is applied so liberally it looks like war-paint.

I noticed that Lizzie's hairstyle did indeed change a little.  In this photo taken around 1892, Lizzie looks to have her hair up in a French roll, though I have seen it listed that Lizzie wore her hair in a Chignon.    You can see a bit of it peeking over the top of the back of her head.

In this photo taken after the murders it looks as though Lizzie has resorted to wearing her hair in a bun.    You can see her hair is gathered lower on the nape of her neck.

Yet later in life, it seems as though Lizzie has resorted back to her French roll. 

I personally have done a French roll myself for special occasions, its very sophisticated looking.  I've included some links that show how-to create the style if you've never done it and a bun too.

The French Rollhttp://www.virtualhaircare.com.au/virtual%20salon/blow%20and%20style/hairup_french.html

The Bunhttp://www.virtualhaircare.com.au/virtual%20salon/blow%20and%20style/hairup_bun.html

Good post, Edisto.  It's strange we've never heard of a women's hair salon in 1892, tho.  They musta had 'em.

Yes, Stef.  It certainly does suggest a person who does not like change and doesn't put a lot of stock into personal appearance.  But she certainly liked her dresses and jewelry. 

Thanks for the photos, Susan!  I had that oldest one you posted in mind.  I thought her hair may have changed in that one, but no.  Back to the French Roll, which probably looked the best on her.  She probably had one of her maids do her hair.  The milliner used to come to her house.

Yeah, the pink wrapper was a strange choice after what just happened.  I think it was planned.  I hadn't thought what you did tho, Stef, about it being such a stark difference from her morning Bedford cord - to throw people off the track.  Yes, it would have taken a bit of planning.  But I think she did just that.  I was just reading a chapter in "The Proceedings" that pointed out that people with personality disorder - which Lizzie may have had - would have sat there plotting this thing out to every last detail for days and weeks ... years?

That's a good point, Ray.  At Andrew's age it could have been an unsteady hand that prompted him to spend real money on a shave.  I never thought of that.  And I'm sure Lizzie wanted to look fashionable in front of whoever she had to see after the murders upstairs.  Maybe the pink wrapper was like a 'celebration' garment. 

What is my experience with shaving? Or with being 70 years old and having an unsteady hand?  Actually I haven't had any experience with either (yet). 

There are two references to a hair salon in "The Knowlton Papers."  At least it SOUNDS as if it might have been a hair salon, because it employed a manicurist.  This is from page 242 and comes from a letter that was sent on June 14, 1893, from Wilton, NH:

"I was told today by somebody that, while she was being manicured today at Madame Rosalie Butler's (over McDonald's confectionery shop) in Tremont street near Winter street, Boston, Mass., by a girl whose name she does not know, but who is known in the shop as "Titia," and who has bright color and auburn hair, this girl told the following story..."

The story that follows is the infamous one about Lizzie's having beheaded a cat.  The writer, someone named Apthorp, suggested Knowlton send a detective to be manicured by "Titia" and "draw further particulars out of her."  I guess it might have been a unisex place, unless the writer intended the detective to be female.  (There were female detectives.  Remember Mrs. McHenry?)

"Titia," or "Tish" is mentioned again in the ouija board notes.  Her name appears on page 344.

So, in the 1890s, one could have gone to a salon to get a manicure and could have eaten at McDonald's on the way out!

I always assumed women then just let their hair grow
long & rolled it up. It seems like if cosmetics were
no-no's then a beauty parlor would/should have been too.

My mother is one of those long-haired older women -- she
is 61 & has the same early 70's long straight hair she
has had since I was born. Before that she did the little
retro-40's-beauty contest-curly-shoulder legnth-pageboy that I
myself adopted in my 20's before I too went long.

Based on what I heard from old timers when I was much younger. But the safety razor changed a lot of habits.
It became popular during WW I. I just heard that soldiers have to shave to make sure their gas mask fits.

Until now, I thought a French roll what something w/ icing on it!! Show the cultural differences. Ever watch the hands of men or women over 60 years? Some have shakiness, some don't.

This can be verified from the City Directory of that year. Does it in fact exist? Or the writer?

I think that Lizzie was satisfied with her appearance and hairstyle and liked it, as she had so many photographs of herself taken.

I think there's a lot more photos of Lizzie out there, Carol.  She liked to have her picture taken.  And she had her beloved pets.  I would think that there would be some of them, or her with them, as well.  And photos of her with her friends.  It's always been my hope that some of them will surface when someone cleans an attic or decides to share their great great grandmother's Lizzie picture or letter with the public.

They were unable to find that manicurist.  Yes, the salon ought to be in a directory.  Good thought, Rays.  I don't have a directory, darn it.