Elizabethan and Contemporary Padding Looks

I am really excited at how creative you can be with the shapes and sizes when it comes to padding! I have looked at some of the styles worn in the Elizabethan era and then also some more current padding looks. I noticed that all the Elizabethan hairstyle were very symmetrical.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2eWazr4uBa0/TUtiECjilSI/AAAAAAA
AEAI/zwYQEsgHAjI/s1600/4585185136_0d56b2653b_o.jpg

This is Elizabeth I in the Rainbow Portrait. I think padding was used to create the height and the round shape of the hair. The hair has then been decorated with pearls and jewels and a big hair accessory. There is one jewel that hangs down the middle of the forehead to give a heart shaped look. It looks like frizzing has been used to give it texture or maybe even very tight curls. On the top of the hair, just in front of the 'hat', it looks like the hair has been lifted and moulded into a rope shape and then wrapped round. There are then tendrils coming down from the back of the head. I like this look; however I think I want to do something more dramatic and modern.

http://indianapublicmedia.org/harmonia/files/2009/
07/queen_elizabeth_i_by_george1-940x626.jpg

This is another portrait of Queen Elizabeth I. I think padding was used to create the height and shape of the, almost, heart shaped look. There is more height in this hairstyle which I like and it doesn't seem as flattering as it widens her face slightly. I think the first two rows of curls were pin curls and then the rest could have been created with loose crimpers or maybe the hair was flat and then fingers were pressed into the hair to create those waves. I don't really like how all the pearls are round the edge of the padding because it interrupts the smooth shape; I would have put smaller pearls in the hair in all the pin curls or just kept them inside the shape.

http://runway.blogs.nytimes.com/author/cathy-horyn/page/37/

These are both looks from a Chanel catwalk show and I definitely think padding was used here! They have gone for a dramatic heart shaped look and I really like how tall the look is. Each side of the padding is bigger than the model's heads! I also like how they have put colour highlights into the hair because it adds fun and I love how the coloured highlights match the bow as it ties the whole look together. The surface of the hair doesn't look like it has been crimped, but maybe the whole head was crimped apart from the section on the very top, to give the look a smooth finish. I really like this smooth look!

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/236x/78/2b/a7/
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I found this image on pinterest.com and what really stood out to me, was that there was a french plait that went over the padding. The french plait only seems to be at the front of the padding but if I did this look I would try and do the french plait all the way down, considering how much hair the model has. I think that padding was added along the sides of the head in a hill shape and then hair was added over the top on both sides to cover the padding successfully. I then think that a strip of hair was left on both sides of the padding and then made into a french plait over the top of the padding. I am not definite that this was the technique, however I may incorporate this into one of my final looks and experiment with different techniques.