Skip to main content

Why Oh Why? Peaky Blinders and the mystery of Grace's Crappy Hair

There are many unanswered questions out there. Many, many mysteries that will never be unraveled. But amongst those, the one that keeps me up at night is why was Grace's hair so crappy during the first season of Peaky Blinders?


Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Peaky Blinders. I'm human, believe it or not. I've watched all its five seasons (twice) and I'm impatiently waiting for its sixth season with bated breath. And I can vouch for it: it's a quality show. Good storytelling, good acting, great photography... and for the most part, great character design both in costume design and hair and makeup.

That's why I'm still baffled by the decision of having Grace's character sporting what amounts to limp California Beach Waves for the whole of the first season. 

Because, while it is true that the first season had a considerably lower budget than its following installments, a shitty approach to historical accuracy wasn't the general tone for the character's looks even back then. 

So why oh why would they do that?

THE BASICS. WHAT, WHEN AND WHERE?

For those who have lived under a rock for the past 5 years, Peaky Blinders is a British period crime drama television series created by Steven Knight. It boasts a great ensemble led by Cillian Murphy, Helen McCrory, Joe Cole and Paul Anderson with Sam Neill, Tom Hardy, Paddy Considine, Adrien Brody, Aidan Gillen, Charlotte Riley, Sam Claflin and Anya Taylor-Joy having recurring roles at various junctures of the series. 

Its first season, which is the one we are occupied with, takes place in industrial Birmingham in 1919 and follows the upward climb of Thomas Shelby, a local petty criminal, and his family as he embarks on a spectacular rise amongst the criminal world.

With that clear, let's talk hair.

THE MEN'S HAIR

The hairstyle choice for the men of the Shelby family is without a doubt one of the most iconic images of the show. It even made the hairstyle extremely popular again!


The hairstyle is a short crop with shaved sides and back. Up top, the styles vary between the hair swept forward creating a short fringe to the hair swept completely back.

Back when the show first premiered many people wondered about the hairstyle and its accuracy, precisely because it looked so jarring to modern audiences. Funny enough, it is actually very period-accurate.

This style was very common amongst working-class men from the 1910s up to the 1940s in England's industrial areas, and never really went completely out of fashion after that.


The iconic newsboy cap was essential headwear for these men back in the day, and the show did not fail to add it as well to the characters' look, rounding up this very authentic yet unique look.


All in all, it is clear they did a flawless job for these male characters: it's historically accurate, it points both at their economic background and social status and it is hella cool.

You could say that the show proved very early on that trendy and cool could come hand in hand with accuracy. A fact often disputed by producers and creators.

THE WOMEN'S HAIR

The hairstyling choices for the women of the Shelby family are overall quite historically accurate if a bit more "interpretative" and less literal than those of their male counterparts. Please allow me to explain.

Around 1919, right after the Great War, most women would have worn their hair long and styled in a wide array of updos not dissimilar to those fashionable before the war. While it is true that the overall fashionable hair trends of 1919 were simpler than those fashionable in the prior years as a result of the moral and social devastation caused by the war, the similarities were more present than people tend to realize. 


And yet, none of the Shelby women, during the first season, sports anything remotely similar.

For example, Polly Gray, the boys' aunt and resident badass lady of the show, has it styled pinned back at the front but loose and tightly curled at the back.


This style, while not widely used in the period, is not actually made up or completely fabricated. It is hugely influenced by the fashionable styling of the early Hollywood cinema stars, who would often sport it like this.

The following photographs of Lillian Gish and Mary Pickford, both taken at the end of the decade, are a marvelous example of the style. 


The show's stylist decided to draw inspiration for her character from a more "bohemian" style to signal her to be different from most women in 1919. She's not proper or respectable, she's a gypsy, a thief, and a gangster. So her hairstyle is more dramatic and out there. And it works well for the character.

On the other hand, Ada, the younger sister and Shelby princess, starts season 1 already sporting a bob. Which is pretty inaccurate by most accounts. 


The hairstyle known as the bob imploded into the world in 1924, and many working-class women didn't actually start sporting it until 1926, so she's basically 5 to 7 years ahead of the rest of her family.


This inaccuracy is clearly a stylistic choice meant to signal her youth to the audience as well as her tendency to look forward to the future and embrace new ideas. After all, she does become a Communist and tries to make a life of her own separately from her brother's criminal life. 

To be honest, it doesn't particularly bother me. Yes, it's inaccurate, but at least she has on a period hairstyle, merely off by a few years.

Also, it does help that her hats and other complements are consistently on point for the period.


Interpreting the period is an essential part of the process whilst designing a period piece. You need to choose amongst several trends and fashions to best highlight the character and the story. Bending the period lightly by using obscure/not common styles or even using styles slightly out of period is not always as terrible as purists might think.

But then there's Grace and her hair.

THE FOLLY OF GRACE'S HAIR

Grace Burgess, an Irish spy who finds herself after Thomas Shelby, is not as young as Ada and she is both a respectable woman and playing the part of a respectable woman (she's undercover as a poor working-class barmaid). So why the hell would she sport loose California Beach Waves that stand out like a sore thumb?


As a rich girl coming from a military family, she would be the definition of a proper woman and would therefore sport her hair in the fashion we described earlier (long hair styled in a wide array of updos). But she's a spy! I hear you say. True, but she's also pretending to be a good working girl in order to do her job. She would definitely not wear her hair in any fashion considered Boheme or unbecoming for an unmarried woman. And definitely not loose hair.

This is even more ridiculous when you consider that this very particular style of loose hair (shoulder length and wavy) would not become fashionable or acceptable until the 1970s. This is a full-on modern style slapped in the middle of a period drama.


It is absolutely jarring. Amidst all these characters in their period updos, she looks completely out of place. Why would someone make such a particularly baffling choice? Why!? Was it trying to keep me up at night? Was it trying to make me roll my eyes so hard I went blind every time the character walks into a scene? Was the bobby pin budget cut mercilessly so that they couldn't put her hair up? Why!? I need answers now!

Unfortunately, I have no real answer beyond the obvious and painful fact that as the main love interest for the protagonist some studio head thought that she needed to be really pretty and believing that modern audiences are too stupid to understand she's pretty unless she looks pretty according to modern standard, this aberration was born. Let's raise our glasses to stupidity.

My only consolation against this aberration is that when the character reappeared in late season 2 and season 3, Miss Grace showed up actually sporting a more accurate hairstyle. Once the show had proven that audiences wouldn't run at the mere sight of historical hair, even the lovely Grace was finally allowed a period hairstyle.


And yes, season 2 happens in 1922 and season 3 in 1924, so her bob is still a bit premature, just like Ada's, but with the show already having another character's sporting one, it doesn't stand out as odd. And it's better than the California Beach Waves.

DEAR PRODUCERS

Audiences are not dumb. Well... I mean... some are, but most aren't. Far from it, actually. Most people understand when a character is supposed to be pretty, even if said character doesn't look like she'd fit right in on the cover of Vogue.

The creators of the show had, clearly, every intention to try and be accurate, and it is very telling that the only character that is so completely inaccurate in the styling department is Grace. 

Thankfully, the show is good enough to survive one set of limp Beach Waves on a character and it quickly became popular enough that the creative team was given complete free reign to do whatever the hell they wanted with it.

So please, stop babying audiences. We are all adults here.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you enjoyed this article and would like to support the blog, 
consider buying me a Coffee? 💛💛

If you want more content like this, subscribe! Or come say hi on FacebookTumblrTwitterInstagram and help us grow!

DISCLAIMER: I claim no credit for images featured on this site unless noted. Visual content is copyrighted to its respective owners, and inclusion here is under fair use for criticism, comment, and news reporting purposes. If you own the rights to content here and wish it removed, please contact me.

Comments

  1. THANK YOU for writing this. I just started watching (late of the party, clearly) but paused mid way through the S1, E3 to text my costume designer friend about how distressing these stupid beachy waves are.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absolutely, they are so distracting! I remember watching the first season with this mild irritation whenever she popped up. I'm so glad you enjoyed this blog post, It was something I needed to get out of my chest!

      Delete
  2. Everytime she popped up I thought the same thing I would just get annoyed! Im glad they changed it later on !

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh thank goodness, Grace's hair bothered me when I watched the first episode when it started, and is bothering me again now that I've got round to watching the rest of it. I am also concerned about the lack of hat-wearing by Ada, I thought that it was a sign of a loose woman to go hatless in the street (or to wear your hair down) back then.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Her new nose in season 2 bothered me more than her hair to be honest... Nice seeing photos of original hairstyles from that period!

    ReplyDelete
  5. This hair business of Grace has bothered me so much I have not been able to watch the series past episode 1!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. thank you so much for writing this. historical fashion is one of my interests and grace’s hair was driving me mad. i’m currently watching for the first time (ep 3 s1) and honestly every time she’s on screen makes me want to rip my hair out. excellent article !!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Eliza Elphinstone8/16/22, 3:38 PM

    I am just now watching Peaky Blinders and am into the second season. I so agree with you. I hate Grace's hair. In fact, I would hate it even if she were in a modern TV show. It's just bloody awful, and a complete anachronism. Ada's too -- it would have taken so little to tweak her bob if you had to have a bob, and make it look right, instead of like my current way of side part and blow dry under -- more page boy. But Grace. I find the character and actress a bit insipid, and the silly looking hair is the crowning glory. Good post!

    ReplyDelete
  8. From the very first moment Grace walked into The Black Swan, all I could focus on was her hair and not it a good way. Her hairstyle is so historically inaccurate it's distracting. Her look is horrid! Whoever approved her look should be fired for gross negligence.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you SO much for writing this! I thought I was the only one, I was trying to describe to my husband the issue I had with it and many sleepless nights. All she needed was a pinned updo and I would’ve been “okay” with her hair, however her image haunts me continuously throughout the series. I would love to hear the reason behind that dumb decision!

    ReplyDelete
  10. This was such a good read I find myself intrigued by this

    ReplyDelete
  11. There is some precedent for bobbed hair in the 1910s; Irene Castle bobbed her hair in 1915. I don't know whether it would be likely to be seen in the time and place of the show, though.

    I've been enjoying reading your blog! Sorry to see you haven't updated for a while.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I just started watching the show and was trying to figure out what it is that bothers me so much every time I see her character. It's the hairstyle!! It is so distracting! Thanks for posting this, I'm glad there are more people who felt this way.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I’m very late to the party as well as I just started watching the show. If it wasn’t as good as it is, I too would have stopped watching because the costumers dropped the historical ball with Grace’s hair. Every time she’s in a scene I think she must be dressed for rehearsal because her hair style is so completely wrong for the time period! Everything else is quite spot-on but who approved Grace’s beachy wave hairstyle in 1919 grey Birmingham?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Burning Question: What's wrong with Belle's gown?

Since the first promotional pictures of Disney's new Live-Action remake of Beauty and the Beast hit the internet, there has been a lot of discussion around Belle's iconic ball gown. And, even months after its release in cinemas, there still continues to be a lot of buzz around it. Why? Mainly, because a lot of people feel that it is just doesn't look that good. The thing is, Belle's animated yellow ball gown is, at this point, an iconic staple of animated cinema. Everybody knows it and everybody loves it. And, as a result, everybody can see the new one and say "this is not the costume I know". Therefore, everyone can compare it down to the smallest detail and see that it just doesn't quite look right. Today, my goal will be to try and dissect the design in order to answer the burning question everyone has been asking themselves: what's so wrong with the "new" dress? Or, to put it bluntly, why is it so incredibly underwhelming?

A look into Star Wars: Padme's Dresses. Annex B

Love her or hate her, Padme and her costumes can never be far from our minds. They are too iconic, and probably one of the few memorable aspects of the prequels, so it's really fun to talk about them. And so, I've decided to continue what I started and focus on the costumes I left behind from Episode II . So let's dive back into it! A BRIEF REMINDER What are the Annexes? Well, the Annexes focus on all the costumes that were "left behind" in my selection of Padme Costumes for the A look into Star Wars: Padme's Dresses series. Here, I point out influences, likes, and dislikes, and anything that might feel relevant whilst digging into the gigantic wardrobe of this Galactic Queen. With this out of the way, let's go! ANNEX B: THE ATTACK OF THE CLONES Episode II: The Attack of the Clones brings the character and her designs to a completely different level; she is not a queen anymore, which unfortunately means that she no longer has amazingly weird an

Disney's Cinderella(s) and the evolution of the "princess" aesthetics

Every girl, at some point in life, has wanted to be a princess. It has become undeniable that the concept of the "princess" is, for better or worst, inseparable from girlhood. We live in a "princesses" obsessed era, and we have for a long time now. And a lot has been said about it, with loud people yelling over the internet about the positive and negative aspects of it. So it was about time for me to join the yelling contest, I guess. If I'm going to talk about princesses, the logical place to go is to the Global Mogul Conglomerate that has led the trend and, in many ways, defined it: Disney. They have, undeniably, redefined the fairytale and have turned the term "princess" into a best selling Licensed Entertainment Character Merchandise. The thing is, even though princesses have been part of the fairy tale canon for a very long time, they didn't become the central figure until Walt Disney placed them there. In the tales that the G

Historic Accuracy in Costume Design: The 16th century

I've never been a purist with historical accuracy as long as the changes made have real reasoning behind (generally a narrative or symbolic one). I will always think that La reine Margot (1994) costume design is one of the most gorgeous and smart designs ever, even if said designs' main premise is to purposely bend the period in regards to costume. But there are certain things that bother me in regards to historical accuracy in costume which I realized when I found myself constantly irritated while watching The other Boleyn Girl (2008). This led me to post a question: when is it right to bend history? why is it interesting sometimes? whilst other times it's simply horrendous? To me, when these changes are made for the narrative's sake, I'm usually on board (like the 2012's "Anna Karenina" designs, which mixed the 1870's fashion with 1950's fashion in order to enhance the sense of theatricality and falsehood in Imperial Russia). But wh

Cleopatra or the Most Undeserved Oscar Win ever

There is a reason why I usually do not review movies from the "golden age" of Hollywood (which means any movie prior to the 1970s), and that is because back then they cared even less about historical accuracy in costuming than nowadays, which is saying a lot. Because of this, most of the "historical" movies generally ignored the period and just did whatever was fashionable at the time with a spice of the supposed period. This is something that usually makes me laugh, rather than angry, because it results in very funny outfits (peplums particularly created a lot of funny imaginary). And Cleopatra , 1963's epic about the Egyptian queen, was for most of my childhood one of those movies. I knew the costumes were not accurate, but they fascinated me anyways in their ridiculousness. That is until I heard that the movie had won an Academy Award for Best Achievement in Costume Design, the same year that " Il Gattopardo  was nominated for Best Costume Design. A

Crimson Peak: Dressing Edith Cushing. The Butterfly

"Beautiful things are fragile" - Lucille Sharpe - Opposite Lucille stands our main character in the movie: Edith Cushing, a young and naive American with ambitions to become a writer. She meets and falls in love with a handsome and charming, but impoverished, English baronet: Sir Thomas Sharpe. They eventually marry and return to England, to the Sharpe's dilapidated mansion: Allerdale Hall. There they live with Thomas's sister: Lucille. The deadly apparitions that haunt the house will force Edith to slowly uncover the buried secrets of Crimson Peak. And so, Edith is to become a fragile butterfly caught in a moth's trap. PART II: THE BUTTERFLY Edith has considerably more frocks and gowns than Lucille does. It's only logical. Edith is our protagonist and, as such, has a bigger emotional arc throughout the movie, and she undergoes bigger changes. These are, in part, expressed through the costumes she wears and how these change throughout the mo

The FollowUP: Disney's Jasmine and the evolution of the "princess" aesthetics

Previously in this blog, I talked about how the aesthetics of the Disney Princess Brand have changed through the different iterations of Cinderella (read here ). Since then, Disney hasn't stopped rehashing and remaking its old animated classics. On the contrary, it has doubled down on this business model and its remakes have become more common, more widespread, and more successful. Since the 2015 remake of Cinderella , Disney has remade The Jungle Book (April 2016), Beauty and the Beast (March 2017), Dumbo (March 2019), Aladdin (May 2019), The Lion King (July 2019), Lady and the Tramp (November 2019), Mulan (scheduled for release July 2020) and Cruella (scheduled for release May 2021). Remakes for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , Pinocchio , The Little Mermaid , The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Bambi are in development. Clearly, the live-action remake has become a staple of the brand and it cannot be ignored. Unfortunately. Seeing that this industry trend will not go any

Moulin Rouge and the art of Kitsch

The spring of 2001 saw the release of Moulin Rouge! unexpectedly shake the movie industry and the box office simultaneously. Despite the many awards, including 8 nominations at the Academy Awards, and the impressive box office numbers, the movie quickly became very polarizing for audiences. Love and hate seemed to be the only two possible reactions to the movie itself. But that should not come as a surprise. The film was directed by Baz Luhrman, who has consistently been, throughout his career, one of the most polarizing filmmakers of his generation. I still have to meet anyone who simply doesn't mind his movies (which include Romeo+Juliet , Australia and The Great Gatsby ); it's either absolute love or absolute loathing. There is no middle ground with him. And that's mainly because he himself doesn't compromise when it comes to his style, which is so characteristic at this point (fast and frantic editing, vivid use of flashy colors and sparkle and stories a

A look into Star Wars: Padme's Dresses. Annex C

It's been a while, but I always come back to her in the end. Padmé Amidala, from the Star Wars Prequels, is a Style Icon and my personal standout from the mess that Episode I to III ended up being. Because of it, I've decided it was time to finish what I started so long ago and finally address Episode III . It took me long enough.  So let's dive back into it for one last chance to love, hate, snark and bark at the astonishing monstrosity that is Padmé's Wardrobe! A BRIEF REMINDER What are the Annexes? Well, the Annexes focus on all the costumes that were "left behind" in my selection of Padme Costumes for the A look into Star Wars: Padme's Dresses series. Here, I point out influences, likes, and dislikes, and anything that might feel relevant whilst digging into the gigantic wardrobe of this Galactic Queen. With this out of the way, let's go! ANNEX C: REVENGE OF THE SITH Episode III: Revenge of the Sith brings the prequel trilogy to a close and, ve