1860's Evening Headdresses
Based on a headdress pictured in Peterson's Magazine in 1860.
This diadem is made from black velvet ribbon sewn over millinery wire and trimmed with beaded fringe. Ribbon ties make this a size-adjustable headdress.
The wire is bent to form a point at the front.
Detail of the beaded fringe.
This is a complicated asymmetrical evening headdress that was made for "Hell On Wheels" in 2014.
The base was made from ribbon stitched over a circlet of wire. On it are black ivy leaves, black glass raspberries, black lace motifs and an antique black sequin butterfly.
There are also some green glass and fabric leaves twined into the headdress. The right side has more decorations.
The left side has fewer decorations.
The headdress ties at the back, under the hair. There is also a comb in the front.
Detailed view of the antique sequin butterfly, and lace motifs.
Detailed view of the black raspberries.
A closer look at the green leaves and black ivy leaves.
One last look at the left side of the headdress.
Two small bunches of blue flowers were wired together to form this evening headdress.
Detail view of the flowers.
The headdress is built on to a wire comb.
This pearl comb was made from an illustration in Peterson's Magazine from 1860.
The top of the comb was covered with a scrap of velvet ribbon and the pearls were stitched to that.
This is the back view of a headdress made for Virginia Madsen in "Hell On Wheels" in 2012. The scene was a dinner party.
A circlet of wire was covered with green ribbon and decorated with very narrow purple gimp, purple glass beads and buds, green leaves and pearls.
The front of the headdress was left plain so as not to detract from the actor's face.
Side back view of the headdress for Virginia Madsen.
Two shades of green ribbon were used for trailing strings, along with some green leaf trim.
The other side of the headdress for Virginia Madsen.
Made for "Hell On Wheels" in 2014.
A wide peach ribbon bow forms the base of this headdress.
Apricot coloured flowers and rose leaves decorate the bow.
The headdress has a wire comb stitched to the back.
This lace cap was inspired by an illustration from Godey's Ladies Book of 1861.
A circlet of flowers on a wire base was folded to make a half-moon shape.
Two layers of beige pleated lace were stitched on to one side of the half-moon to create a fall.
A knotted strand of pink ribbon was added to create trailing strings.
Back view of the headdress.
This is another headdress made from a floral circlet.
It was intended to be worn with a red and blue plaid gown and was made for "Hell On Wheels" in 2014.
Two sets of wine-red pansies were stitched to the circlet in an asymmetrical arrangement. Tan ribbons were also added to co-ordinate with the gown.
Right hand side of the headdress.
Detail view of the wine-red pansies and tan ribbon.
Deep burgundy velvet balls and a decorative metal piece were combined to create a small hair decoration for "Hell On Wheels" in 2014.
Detail view of the deep burgundy hair decoration. A wire comb was used to keep it in place in the hair.
This ribbon decoration was made for "Hell On Wheels" in 2014 to co-ordinate with a brown and green gown. Three types of ribbon and a spray of tiny blooms were attached to a wire comb.
This tan lace cap has a frill which gives height to the front. This style was popular in 1864.
The cap covers the hairstyle almost completely, and is snugged up to the back hairline with a drawstring.
The front is trimmed with some beige velvet lilacs which help to hide a wire comb that keeps the headdress in place.
This gallery features exmples of several different kinds of evening headdresses from the 1860's. It was very common for ladies to change their headcovering as well as their dress at some point in the day if they could afford enough clothing to do so. As well, ladies didn't feel completely dressed without something on their heads. There were lots of different ways of dressing the hair over the decade and so there were lots of different evening headdresses too. These ones were made for various films and TV shows, and based on drawings from publications of the time or photographs of museum pieces. You can have Victorian evening headdresses made to your specifications for cast, or for background performers. Specify colours and styles; an infinite variety can be produced.
Click on any photo to see a close-up view.