Timeless tresses

Throughout its illustrious 128-year history, The Lady has always been an arbiter of style and beauty. Alongside the advertisements promoting the best cosmetics, the magazine’s pages of the 1940s and 1950s are fi lled with illustrations depicting the most fashionable hairstyles of the day. With the vintage look never being more popular, we enlisted the help of celebrity and royal hairdresser, Richard Ward – the man behind the salon frequented by the Duchess of Cambridge – to discover how to recreate these classic looks at home. Rollers at the ready… 

FEBRUARY —˜1940s CURLS

‘This look would have been created using small rollers,’ says Richard. ‘They would have been placed vertically around the front of the face, positioned away from the side parting, and then horizontally towards the back of the head.

‘Once allowed to fully set, the hair would then have been pulled and styled into place. The fi nger-wave detail can be pulled and pinned back using bobby pins, while the rest of the hair can be positioned into a ponytail and secured at the nape of the neck, before allowing the curls to spring back on to themselves, adding an attractive detail to the fi nished look. The style would have been fi nished with a strong hairspray.’

Perfect product: L’Oréal Elnett Satin Extra Strength Hairspray, £6.60, will keep hair in place without making it sticky

SEPTEMBER 1950s GLAMOUR

‘The 1950s was a period of experimentation. It was during this time that the hairdryer and hot rollers came fully into play, allowing women to be more experimental with their hair. This led to the classic Hollywood glamour styles that were made popular by Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. Madonna brought the trend up to date in the 1990s in the video accompanying her song Vogue.

‘This style was achieved by applying setting lotion to wet hair, before working it around small rollers across the full head. Once completely dry, the rollers were removed before a little wax was applied to the hair, to separate the curls and style them into a more structured shape.’

Perfect product: Osis+ Whipped Wax by Schwarzkopf, £9.75

NOVEMBER 1957, WAVES

‘This late 1950s style is a step forward from the look above. To achieve the look at home, pin curls were applied in small, one-inch sections around the full head of damp hair. Once secured into place using bobby pins, the hair was often slept on and in the morning, it was fully set: the style didn’t hold if the hair was still damp. In the morning, the bobby pins were removed, before the hair was brushed through gently, parted and set into place. To get the finished style, bobby pins were used to hold the curls into position.’

Perfect product: Fine hair would benefi t from being prepped using Richard Ward Couture Hair Plumpifi er Thickening Spritz, £19

For more information on Richard Ward’s salon and products: www.richardward.com