Here some images that I found and some details that associate with Miss Havisham's character (although contemporary).
Photograph by Irving Penn, Published in Vogue, November 2007
Below image: Great colour of the hair, I would like to keep this in mind for when I'm ready to create the look. Blue and green slight tints in the hair might look good. This uneven colour will suggest that Miss Havisham might have had some mould in her hair (just ideas):
Caroline Trentini Photographed by Irving Penn - Vogue US 2007
I feel that this hair would look even better than the first photograph of Trentini in Nov 2007 Vogue.
It looks so fine and almost cobweb-like.
This amazing SUPER Natural photograph initially I found on juliendys.com. But originally this image comes from the US Vogue magazine, November 2006 issue.
This breathtaking headpiece of fresh roses and hydrangeas was created by milliner Stephen Jones. Photographer: Steven Meisel.
I feel really inspired by this garden theme. When imagination runs wild parts of this can be reinvented into Miss Havishams character. She can be growing into a tree or a rose bush, still beautiful but with dangerous thorns (just ideas).
Warning! Exciting New Idea:
According to the novel, she is aging in her wedding dress. Yet, I feel I'd like to portray her as a comfort and emotional eater instead of thin anorexic type. Why can't she grow into/out of her wedding dress with time? This not only will be very different from any other past productions. I feel this will be so appropriate to an overall human nature, women in particular - especially during the Victorian time.
She is isolated and has nobody to speak to (besides, one of the Victorian precept that a lady was never expected "Explain or Complain" and Miss Havisham followed this rigidly). Hence her dementia and the overeating.
Here I found this pictures of this plump lady in the Victorian Era:
Amelia Hill lounging on a couch. The Fat Lady by Eisenmann
So what did Victorians eat and drink?
No surprise that the poorest Victorians had very little to eat and drink. They had some bread, potatoes from a street stall and basic seasonal vegetable from a market.. It was improved with cheaply imported foods from other countries. They had sugar and tea, which became hugely popular drink.
Where's Miss Havisham was one of the more fortunate and rich ladies and she certainly could afford to enjoy a greater variety of food. Array of meat, shellfish, poultry, and abundance of cheeses not only English Stilton and Cheddar, but also imported cheeses such as Gruyere, Roquefort and Port du Salut. But shall we say her most favorite food was Victorian Sponge Cake..
She eats and eats, and she loves beauty, and flowers. By the way, I'm quite surprised that Charles Dickens did not mention anything about gardens in his novel, English gardens were/are huge and so popular for their beauty all over the world.
As Miss Havisham ages and feeding her body, she may still doesn't wash or look after herself. However, she may dedicate her life to grow roses. Especially in the Victorian era naturalism was very fashionable and all the decorations on the bonnets and hair were adorned with fake flowers and natural corals.
Her hair, as she age, become very thin and cob web like. She is covered in dirt, petals in her hair and some flowers.
Here are some lace, fabric and fake flowers that I just bought from the Fabric Land. So ecstatic!
I found that during that Victorian era their diet was quite rich and fat and, what is more important, huge abundance of this food. Of course, people who belonged to lower class they couldn't afford to eat as much. Most fascinating thing I found that according to the novel Pip was eating mostly bread, potatoes and flour soup, yet their pork pie was only on special occasion like Christmas.
What was called High Tea was a refined dinner for "good breeding".
"It is usual at high tea for everything to be put on the table at once. Meat, sweets, fuit, whatever there is, are on the spot, and it is not unusual for wine to be at hand for gentlemen who are not partial to the more homely beverage" Girl's own paper, 1884.
The Illustrated Police News (1876)
Another funny quote, "I shouldn't like to think your father eating cheese; it's such a strong-smelling, coarse kind of thing. We must get him a cook who can toss him up an omelette, or something elegant. Cheese is only for the kitchen. ("Wives and Daughters" incomplete novel by Elizabeth Gaskell).
Meat in the Victorian era was generally for the elite but poor would buy "broxy", a sheep that had dropped dead with an illness, it was cheap compare to other meat. Broxy could get people ill with tetanus and salmonella. Also, quite common during those times was a bloated herring "Bloater", it was cold smoked. It was street food and was served on a long fork, and eaten whole including head and eyeballs! http://www.swide.com/food-travel/food-trends/food-history-trends-what-victorians-ate/2013/1/24
I think Miss Havisham's the most favourite comfort food was Victorian Sponge Cake. This simple cake was also favourite of Queen Victoria, hence the name
Digital Face chart that I've created for Miss Havisham character:
Testing the look on my model Barbra:
I've chosen my model for Miss Havisham and I am very happy with my choice. I am going to use a wig for her hair. This will require to curl the wig in Victorian style.
I decided to use cold curlers and lots of hairspray to create some crazy ringlets and barrels. I curled this wig with the curlers and left it over night.
Test:
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