The French pleat, otherwise known as a French roll is a classic look that goes back to the 1940s era. Throughout the years the pleat has evolved and can be very veratile and act as a base for a number of styles as you can see below! It can be messy and romantic, or sleek and ultra neat.
The style itself has a long history which started in the 40s and became ever more popular during the late 50s and all the way through into the 70s.
French pleats are most commonly worn to special occasions such as proms and weddings, however you could wear a looser look to work or a more avante garde one on the runway!
1. When it comes to a french roll, prep work beforehand is benefical. Not only will this make your job easier, but the style will be alot neater. For this lesson we decided not to set the hair before hand, however in a period lesson also with Emma we set the hair using our Carmen Rollers. I could instantly a difference as the hair was easier to manipulate. For the set I used larger rollers on the top of the head and small ones at the nape.
2. Next I backcombed the sections I planned on using for the pleat. This helped to create lots of volume and give the pleat a more defined look.
3. After this I swepted all the hair which had been backcombed to the side, using hairspray and a smoothing brush to get this as neat as possible. Once this was done I took my bobby pins and created a line of overlapping pins from the nape of the neck up to the top.
4. Once this was done, I took the remaining hair and twisted it up and round and brought it to the head, without letting go. At this point it was important to hold the hair with a firm hand. This creates tension so the pleat is flat at the nape and gets bigger towards the crown. Then I took some bobby pins and pinned inside the roll until it was secure.
5. Now it is time for the crown section and there is various ways you could dress this out. Having done a pleat a couple times I wanted to try a couple different looks. For the first attempt I backcombed the crown only slightly and incorporated the hair into the pleat. For the second attempt I went for something more ambitous and backcombed the crown alot, pinned it down and with the remaining hair created a cute bow which gave a really nice effect.
To evaluate my work..I feel that my first attempt at a pleat wasn't very good. I struggled to understand the movement of the hand to create the pleat and as a result, the bottom of my pleat was loose. However, I was really pleased at my second attempt. Once I had wrapped my head around the formation of the pleat I was able to get it tight to the head. I also liked how I dressed out the crown and used the bow element to hide any unforgiving mistakes.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_twist_(hairstyle)
http://hairdressing.ac.uk/node/779