HISTORY OF DESIGN: HAIRPIN by Kanak shah(22DBI013)

 

HISTORY OF DESIGN : HAIRPIN

MY OBJECT

I chose hairpin as my daily object because obviously i use it daily to keep my wavy hair in it's place! Now its even kind of impossible to imagine our life without hairpins and bobbypins. Then i tried to do research on the evolution of hairpins.

In this research i learnt that even though i have been using hairpins all my life very little i knew about how it evolved into into the form we gen-z kids are using right now. 

The hairpin we wear and know today has come a long way in the history and were not invented until the 20^th century.But we can still see in the portraits of royal women wearing antique hairpins to secure their long hair. So what is a hairpin? They are not as simple to describe as you might suppose. Historically the term hairpin could be used to reference a one or two point pin ornament.

PAST

Originally hairpin was founded in ancient civilisations including ancient Rome, ancient Greece, and ancient China. The single stemmed hairpin was in existence in early Greek, Roman and Egyptian times although some anthropologists believe that even the very earliest cave dwellers used everything from thorns, sticks, bones and stone to fashion crude hair pins.

 Hairpins are an important symbol in Chinese culture. In ancient China, hairpins were worn by men as well as women, and they were essential items for everyday hairstyling, mainly for securing and decorating a hair bun.

 

Chinese Ming dynasty (1368–1644) hairpin

Chinese Ming dynasty hairpins, 15th century

Russian hairpins from Moscow, probably 18th or 19th century

Dating it to as early as the Neolithic Period (c. 10,000–4,500 BCE), hairpins were made of various materials and designs which was used as hairstyling tools as well as status symbols by people from ancient Rome and Egypt to the Shang Dynasty of China. While this particular hairpin is not believed to be ancient, it offers a useful starting point to explore the meaning and function of these delicate and fascinating beauty objects. Due to their high rates of survival in archaeological sites, bone, as opposed to precious stone or wood, is the most commonly found hairpin material in ancient settlements. According to the Museum of London, hairpins are one of the most common artifacts that have survived from Roman Britain.

Major success came in 1901 with the invention of the spiral hairpin by New Zealand inventor Ernest Godward. This was a predecessor of the hair clip which fixed itself to hair unlike the then common straight pin that required constant adjustment.

This crinkle hairpin was an immediate success for Ernest Godward.

PRESENT

After this hairpin continued to be evolved in different materials and designs as per the need of people.Invented as a coiffure tool, nowadays people have also been using the bobby pin as a handy aid for all sorts of things that require a certain precision. From threading laces to picking locks to squeezing out that last breath of toothpaste, there seems to be no end to its use, with people constantly finding way to improve practically any chore or task with the help of a hair pin.

decorative bobby pins

FUTURE

As for the future of hairpins i think there is more to come in this simple yet beautiful design. Technological advancement will surely change the way we use hairpins now. Or maybe our coming generation will see this in museums(just a thought).    

It was an overwhelming experience for me to learn about hairpin and how it evolved.Like how earlier it was a mostly used as a status of beauty for ancient women and now it has more than one use.

Thank you

KANAK SHAH 22BDI013

 CITATIONS:-

https://blogs.brown.edu/archaeology/2021/06/23/bone-hairpin/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

https://www.hairboutique.com/articles_p/hairpins-history-practical-application-2/

https://www.allthingshair.com/en-us/hairstyles-haircuts/hair-trends/bobby-pin-history/