Stylish Hair Civil War Style

In many Civil War photographs women wear smoothed-down, center-parted hair styles with buns and braids, such as these.

These practical styles were a quick and easy way to deal with the long hair favored at the time. However for special occasions, women often added bulk to their hair by using “cats,”” “rats”,” and “mice.”

An 1863 Godey’s Lady’s Book describes it in this way:

“Perfect scaffoldings of hair are built on the head–roll upon roll–puff upon puff. Some of the styles are extremely odd; not the least odd is that, for which are used two rats, two mice, a cat, and a cataract. Lest, however, we should be the means of some pussy being cut off by some premature death from the circle of which she is an ornament, we hasten to explain. The rats are the long frezzeta of curled hair for the side rolls; the mice are the smaller ones above them; the cat is for the roll laid over the top of the head; and the cataract is for the chignon at the back of the head, which is sometimes called the waterfall, cataract, and jet de eau.” (p. 500 vol. 66-67)

Puffed hair grew in popularity during and after the Civil War and continued into the late Victorian period. During the Edwardian period, hair rolls formed the foundation of the Gibson Girl look. Even today, models and actresses often used the technique to add body to the hair.

Making a “Rat”

Cats, rats, and mice referred to the different sizes of hair rolls used to add bulk to a hairstyle. To make a rat, the first thing you did was collect your hair from your hairbrush regularly. When you had enough, you would roll it in your hands until it formed a sausage-like shape. This video shows how it is done.

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More on Cats, Rats, and Mice

Check out these articles for more details on this technique.

Beyond the Chignon

Cats, Rats, and Mice . . .Oh My!

Rolled Coiffures of the 1860s

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Have you ever used hair rolls? Let us know what your experience was like!