Crafty
Nara’s Tips for Keeping Your Veil On
Modern medievalists
know that when it comes to garb, there is often a good reason that they “don’t
make ‘em like they used to”. As modern humans we are used to stretchy fabrics
and modern closures that help us keep our hats firmly on our head. But fear
not! I have found some excellent period methods (and one modern one that stays
hidden) that can help you wear your veil as comfortably as possible.
I have tried these techniques on dry un-washed
hair as well as on wet freshly washed hair and it works equally well. I like to
run some gel through my hair in either case, just to keep the fly away wisps to
a minimum.
This is the secret to my veil success. This is
what keeps your hair back out of your face and gives a stable foundation for
the headband and veil to be fastened to. It works equally well on both thick
and thin hair
It might take a couple of tries before you are comfortable using the
hair fence, but it is worth the effort. If you plan on wearing earrings, put
them on AFTER you put on your hair fence!!
Step 1: Unhook your hair fence and position it
so the closure will be in the back of your head. Alternately you can close the
hair fence around your neck in the front and spin it around to have the closure
in back. Either way you want to have the closure in the back having it on top
can cause it to unhook while pushing it on.
Step 2: Push back the hair fence so it
pushed all the hair back. Take care to move the fence over your ears. Once you
have the fence over your ears, make sure to place it back into your hair so it
can grip that hair too .
Item2:
Linen Headband
The linen headband hides the hair fence and
gives the veil a base fabric that can be pinned to for added stability. I use a
linen headband regardless of the material my veil is made of. Linen helps absorb
sweat and the texture helps keep a silk veil from slipping as much.
Step 1: Using the hair fence as a guide,
bring the headband around your head and tie it behind your head. I have made my
headbands to be shorter than the actual circumference of my head, so you can
get it really snug using the ties.
Step 2: After it is tied arrange the headband, so it is completely covering the hair fence.
Item
3: Veil Pins
Pins will keep your veil in place. You could
use small straight pins if you want them to be discreet, but I never pass up a
chance to add some bling. Longer pins give more stability because you can run
them through the fabric more times.
Step
1: take your veil of choice
and position it where you would like it lay on your head
Step 2: add 2-3 pins and pin the veil through
the linen headband, and back through the veil
These items
above will keep your veil in place. You can add a circlet or coronet for extra
decoration and stability, but they should not be relied upon to keep your veil
where you want. Over the course of the day you will probably have to remove the
pins and veil and re tie your headband, so it is snug fitting again. This is especially
true if you have a very long, or heavy veil. But having to adjust 1 or 2 times
during a day is a LOT better than constantly fighting with a veil that is
slipping off your head.
I hope you
find my veil tips useful. You can email me with comments and questions at craftynara@gmail.com
You can find
all these accessories at my website
Thanks to Lady Lydia for being my Lovely Veil Model
Peace, Love & Happiness
Crafty Nara
