Tokens of Love and Loss: Hair Jewelry in the Regency Era

September 16, 2024

History

Molly Higgins

Guest Writer at Bond & Grace

“I am sure they will be married very soon, for he has got a lock of her hair.” —Jane Austen, Sense & Sensibility

Early in Sense and Sensibility, Marianne Dashwood observes Edward Ferrars, her sister Elinor’s love interest, wearing a ring with a plait of hair set into it. She assumes the lock to be Elinor’s, a token that would signify a serious romantic attachment. Marianne, not wanting to embarrass him if her assumption is incorrect, inquires if it came from Edward's sister, Fanny. Unwilling to reveal that the hair actually belongs to Lucy Steele, to whom he has been secretly engaged for years, Edward reluctantly agrees that it is indeed from Fanny. Both Marianne and Elinor privately assume the hair is Elinor’s, although Elinor, understanding the intimacy such a gift implies, suspects it was scandalously taken without her knowledge and is both thrilled and anxious by the possibility that it was a covert profession of his love. Later, when Lucy reveals her secret engagement to Edward, she confirms it by asking Elinor if she has seen Edward's ring with Lucy's own hair set in it. This revelation leaves Elinor heartbroken and shatters her hopes of a future with Edward. This ring, set not with a gemstone but a “plait of hair in the centre” and the hidden identity of that lock of hair, along with the lies and secretive intimacies it represents, drives the central romantic storyline of the novel.

Although the practice of crafting hair into jewelry may seem strange to the modern reader, hair jewelry was widely popular in Europe and the United States throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Gifts of courtship in the Regency era (1811-1820) were often symbolically related to the body like gloves, garters, or lovers’ eyes (miniature portraits of a beloved’s eye often set in jewelry). Hair jewelry, however, escalated this trend by utilizing something that literally grows from the body. Hair jewelry is deeply intimate; giving a piece of your hair to a lover is akin to giving them a piece of yourself. Moreover, since hair does not decay, hair jewelry served as a token of everlasting love and devotion. This is why exchanging plaits of hair was a sure sign of impending engagement.

Hair jewelry reached its height during the Victorian Era (1837-1901). This period was marked by sentimentality and a fascination with the macabre, influenced by Romanticism (~1798-1837), an artistic movement that celebrated emotion, imagination, and the sublime beauty of nature, and embraced the mysterious and supernatural. A lock of hair would be crafted into jewelry and worn as a symbol of affection, to commemorate an engagement or marriage, to preserve a connection with someone who is far away or at war, or to serve as a memento of a loved one who has passed away. Before the advent and accessibility of photography, hair art served as a way to remember the deceased. As the Romantic movement gained momentum, people were captivated by hair’s enduring nature—its ability to retain its form and color long after their loved ones were laid to rest, making it a living extension of the departed.

The art of creating hair jewelry is believed to have originated in Sweden in the seventeenth century. Traditional Swedish hair jewelry from the 1700s was likely influenced by the craftsmanship of the period, such as weaving, needlework, wig making, and bobbin lacemaking. As wig and lace-making declined in popularity later in the century due to shifts in cultural and fashion trends, artisans (known as hairworkers) from Våmhus began to adapt their skills to new forms. This shift gave rise to a new trend: hairwork. During a time of heightened cultural sentimentality, this new art form resonated deeply across multiple continents. At first, hair art was distributed through custom orders from artists, mail-order catalogs, specialty retail shops, and exhibitions.

By the Victorian era, hairwork had become a popular pastime and a status symbol within Europe and the United States. Hairworks applications were remarkably diverse, spanning from a simple lock of hair placed inside a locket, to elaborate wreaths crafted from woven hair flowers, and even to miniature paintings made from finely chopped hair. This jewelry was not exclusively reserved for the wealthy. Edward Ferrars' ring, for example, features a modest plait of hair behind a pane of glass, demonstrating that hair jewelry could be quite simple and relatively accessible. More ornate pieces worn by the wealthy typically also included longer strands of hair, as long, healthy hair often signaled affluence. Intricate pieces such as watch chains, bracelets, brooches, and necklaces were hand-crafted, often incorporating hair from multiple family members.

Women's magazines of the period featured patterns for making hair jewelry at home, and local woodturners created molds for spiral weavings used in earrings and brooches. Manuals like Mark Campbell's 1867 Self-Instructor in the Art of Hairwork provided detailed instructions for crafting these pieces, making hairwork a common craft among upper and middle-class women and part of their training for marriage.

After Jane Austen’s own death in 1817, her sister Cassandra cut off locks of her hair to distribute to her loved ones. Cassandra had a lock of Jane's hair incorporated into a pearl ring for her own keepsake, while their niece Fanny had a brooch crafted with a lock of hair. Hair jewelry gradually fell out of fashion at the turn of the twentieth century. With the onset of World War I, the public directed their resources to the war effort rather than crafting time-consuming memorial jewelry. This period also marked the increasing accessibility of photography, with photo lockets emerging as the preferred keepsake. However, some remnant of the historic practice remains, most often in the form of parents keeping a lock of their child’s hair.

Hair jewelry was more than just a fashionable accessory; it was a potent symbol of love and devotion. A lock of hair, intricately woven into a piece of jewelry, served not merely as an adornment but as a vessel of emotion and memory. Today, we use totes, scarves, jewelry, and other accessories to signify our love and allegiances. The Bond & Grace Heroines Twilly tied neatly in the hair is a contemporary parallel that is both beautiful and a powerful display of the things we love.

Selecting such accessories is an intimate act of self-expression—a way to communicate our inner worlds and passions in ways that words alone cannot.

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