Diamonds and Dames Does: Lina Aysgarth

It's been too long since I've visited my favorite Youtube series. This is the new entry to the Diamonds & Dames 'All Request' series, where I somewhat recreate styles from the golden age of the silver screen. This look has been on my list since forever ago and it's a very simple one to do for even longer hair. My own hair is about four inches shorter than Joan Fontaine's was in the film, 1941's Hitchcock thriller called Suspicion, and it still looks fine with shorter hair as well. Since the movie took place in the early part of the decade, it was'nt really a 'faux pas' yet for ladies to grow longer locks, and this is a great representation of era-specific hair that also retains some length. For this style, I chose to use larger pin curls but larger foam rollers or a hot set could also work, depending on your climate and hair type. Don't expect it to turn out the same way twice.

A little about the movie...

Suspicion (1941)
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Lina McLaidlaw is a conservative English lass with a not-so-conservative bank roll. She has been unlucky in love until she meets gambler and charmer, Johnnie Aysgarth on a train. Quickly, the two fall in love and marry but soon Johnnie's style of living begins to give Lina adequate cause for concern as he can't seem to find a consistent line of work that doesn't require taking major chances. As time passes, she begins to suspect he is also capable of much darker things and to fear for her life.

On the tails of her game-changing role in Hitchcock's hit from the previous year, Rebecca, Joan Fontaine slips easily into this part. Her Lina is smart and capable, but also loyal and sweet. Cary Grant is uncharacteristically serious in the role of Johnnie but still maintains his charming aloofness and easily pulls the viewer into his plight. Although this movie is not the masterpiece of cinematography that Rebecca was, it still stands strong among other Hitchcock classics. This may be the more relatable story as well, since it really does dwell more on the relationship between the leads than the plot itself, drawing on thrills only where absolutely necessary.

My rating: 8/10

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The Tutorial:

For the style, as I mentioned, I used large pin curls all over, using no particular setting pattern. I would typically use side combs for these partial updos but in this case, the combs seemed out of keeping with the casual look of her styles. They seemed like an afterthought, created by a busy lady with little passion for coiffure. Therefore I didn't plan this style at all, creating it on the fly as it appears that Lina would have done.

After removing the pin curl clips, I simply brushed out the set and freely arranged the sides up and over a bit, allowing it to fall loosely over the pins and hide them. You can almost see my thought process in the embedded video, as I make it up.

For a simple and elegant updo, similar the the ones worn by Joan Fontaine's character on her days and evenings out, simply add a rat (You can purchase these at a local beauty supply shop or on Amazon. Some have a snap on the end so they can be turned into a bun form as well. Those are my favorites.) at the nape of the neck, over the hair, gather hair around it and pin loosely in place.

Joan has a lot of curly hair so naturally our look will be quite different. To get a closer look with straight hair, try rolling the top of your head on medium foam rollers instead of large and working with the natural texture you create by playing with volume. Teasing straighter hair will tend to look a bit matronly with this style, which is why I kept mine mainly free of volume.

Here is the video tutorial, as promised, and please keep your Diamonds and Dames requests coming!!