Styling the Heart Shaped 1940s Hair Silhouette

Silhouettes like this heart shape were an important part of the design in hairstyles in the 1940s.

• What is the silhouette of a hairstyle?
• Short/medium length heart shape hairstyle
• Heart Shape Half up/Half down Hairstyle
• Heart Shape Updo
• Heart Shape Bangs

What is the silhouette of a hairstyle?

When I teach, I am always bringing up silhouette. It is a very important part of capturing the right era for a vintage hairstyle. Silhouette is the outer line of a hairstyle. If you took a black marker and colored in all the detail of a hairstyle, so you could no longer see the strands, you would be left with the silhouette.

This blog post is all about this great heart shaped silhouette.

We so often see, in 1940s hairstyles, a side part and the height of the hairstyle reaching it’s peak right above the center of the forehead. But this silhouette, shaped like the 2 peaks of a heart, is so dramatic and gorgeous.

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Heart shaped short to medium length hairstyle

Actress Theresa Harris wears the heart shape in a silhouette that curves into a beautiful halo framing her face. This is a great option for girls trying to accomplish a vintage natural hairstyle.

Heart shaped Half up/Half down hairstyles

Ginny Simms gets her heart-shaped hair from big, back-sweeping waves.

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Lena Horne, shown here in the 1943 movie Stormy Weather, wears a heart silhouette created by 2 upsweeping victory rolls.

Here’s another heart shaped hairstyle on Lena Horne. I think this might have been from Stormy Weather, but it’s been a long time since I screen grabbed this one. It doesn’t show the style really well, but the silhouette with the chignon at the nape of the neck is great.

Heart Shaped Updo

Here are more examples of the middle parted hairstyle with waves going back on actresses like June Vincent. This comes from a scene of the film noir movie Black Angels. The back of the hairstyle is pinned up in a series of twists.

This all up-do hairstyle on Dolores Moran has all the height drama.

I making some guesses on what the back might be styled like, but I picture it would be something like this with grip-tuth type combs holding it up. It was very common to use these combs in the 1940s instead of bobby pins due to rationing of metals during the war.

Heart-shaped bangs

I think this image of Debra Paget is from a 1950s movie publicity pic, but I still really like them, very cool and different.

Alice Faye’s hair is shaped with a pompadour that spans from ear to ear.

Next time you are in front of the mirror, take that pink rattail comb and part your hair down the center and play with the heart shaped silhouette. You will be hooked!