i’d like to talk a little about felice’s hair in both season one and season two (yes, including the comment from the housemistress).
we’ve talked this one to death but i’ve gone through every episode and there’s a lot. (i also may have gotten carried away and lost the plot a little)
for starters, in season one, no one says anything regarding hair or a dress code and i looked into lundsberg skola (people have said this is roughly the real life equivalent? i think?) and i couldn’t find a dress code on their website but in all of their photos, the girls have their hair down. i would assume this applies to non-white students as well, although i couldn’t find any pictures.
(taken from lundsberg skola website, skogshult dorm)
and in season one, the hillerska girls do too! maddie is the one who most often wears her hair up, and stella does half-up/half-down styles, but fredrika and sara typically wear their hair down, as do many of the other girls in the background.
even on parent’s day, arguably the most important school event in season one, felice’s hair is down, albeit pulled back.
during the formal dinner at the manor house, too, all the girls have their hair down except for maddie.
and, of course, everyone’s hair is down for lucia.
it’s interesting to me that when we see all of these influential parents, the majority of them wear their hair up, and yet the girls don’t follow suit. i don’t know if it’s a cultural thing, maybe a work dress code, or just different standards as girls/women age, but it does seem a little odd. hillerska is meant to prepare students for their futures as rich and influential individuals, so obviously there’s a higher standard for keeping appearance.
for felice, part of keeping appearance is straightening her hair, at least in season one. considering how her style changes in season two, i wonder if part of having her hair down all the time is showing off how much like everyone else she is (even if it isn’t true). she’s trying so hard to fit in and do what is expected of her in season one, and she’s almost hiding behind her hair a little bit. it might not be physically in her face, but straightening her hair is putting on armor that doesn’t quite fit.
in all of season one, the only time felice has her hair up is during riding, when all the girls have their hair up to keep it out of their faces and under their helmets. there is not a single moment outside of riding or coming back from riding that felice has her hair up. and the only difference between season one and season two is that felice is embracing her natural hair.
i do agree that it would have been nice to get more of felice’s individual storyline in season two, but i’m still holding out hope for season three. in any case, the very first time we see felice in season two, she’s at a salon (with other black women - i saw someone say black-owned as well, which would make sense) getting her hair done.
in season two, though, felice actually wears her hair up far more than in season one. in fact, her hair is up almost all the time. i’m not sure whether this is her choice or not. now that she isn’t hiding behind her hair, there’s no reason to keep it down all the time, but the change still makes me wonder if maybe she's been called out for it more than just the one time we see, since her hair is down for the choir performance/first day of class-
-and not much after that-
-until episode four (and the fact that she wears her natural hair for the ball? so much to say about that that i just don’t have the words for).
and then in episodes five and six-
-her hair is mostly down again. with all the drama in the last two episodes with sara, i wouldn’t be surprised if she’s hiding a little bit and (even if she isn’t straightening her hair) going back to old coping mechanisms by trying to treat her hair like she did before. of course, it could also just be that having her hair up is more comfortable now, or that it gets in her face more if it’s down. there might not be some big explanation. anyway, i can’t imagine that the staff are being more lenient about rules, with the jubilee coming up, so maybe there isn’t a rule at all? we’ll come back to that.
the exception, of course, is breakfast in 205, when the housemistress reminds felice to put her hair up.
i originally assumed that stella put her hair up as well even though she didn't get in trouble because she was, as established by fredrika, still drunk from the night before and also not entirely paying attention. however, considering everyone else has their hair up as well (except for maddie? why? idk) i'm pretty sure i assumed wrong.
now (backing up a bit), interestingly, in the formal dining scene in 202 (and all the other meals in season two), all the girls have their hair up, including felice. this is a direct contrast to season one, where they all have their hair down, as mentioned above. granted, this dinner looks less like a performance than the dinner in season one, but sara is still wearing her gifted dress, so i assume it’s more formal than a standard meal.
with all those things put together, i would almost wonder if hillerska changed their dress code. i can't imagine they would do that halfway through the year (and the fact that many girls still have their hair down in various situations, like the choir performances and during classes makes it seem unlikely), but they might have. lending credence to this is both sara and fredrika putting their hair up at breakfast, and then felice and stella later, but i'm still not entirely sure.
and, of course, whatever restrictions hillerska may or may not have regarding the girls’ hair, it clearly doesn’t include dye, considering stella’s purple bangs (and an extra in season one, i think?)
it definitely seems like there’s a double standard or changing expectation here, especially from season one to season two. if hillerska (or just the manor house) changed their dress code, especially in the middle of the year, there would have to be a reason. and as much as i hate to say it, felice is the only one who gets in trouble and the only one whose hair changes drastically. and given the way felice and alexander are treated in the show, it wouldn’t be entirely out of the realm of possibility that they would change the dress code because they don’t like her hair. i hope it isn’t that, but again, i don’t know. i would love more information on all of this in season three, but even if felice’s storyline gets more time, i don’t know that this specific bit will.
if there is a requirement for the girls' hair at all, changed or not, my best guess would be that it is specific to the manor house and most likely is only in effect during meals/house gatherings and that different activities and the school as a whole have their own uniforms and preferences that are not necessarily the same.
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ENT TnT prompt!!! (no pressure)
T'Pol takes Trip to the jazz club by the Vulcan compound on Earth
DELIGHTFUL IDEA THANK YOU uh, Anon 😉
AO3 Link here
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Trip hadn't been so sure about the whole "dressing up like it's the 1920's" thing when T'Pol first told him about the jazz club she had liked before she had been assigned to Enterprise and he had suggested it as a date night idea. She said it was something many people did when attending and, though it was not required, she felt it would "enhance the evening and the enjoyment of the musical style." It sounded incredibly illogical to him, but he was willing to don a fedora and early 20th century suit if it would cause her to loosen up a bit.
Now, standing in the hotel lobby, watching her come down the stairs in an elegant, knee-length black and silver dress with her short hair styled in finger waves that suited her so very well, Trip was sure this had been the right idea. Absolutely sure. In fact, he had never been so sure of anything else ever in his whole entire life.
"Are you ready?" She tucked her clutch between her side and one of her silk-glove-covered elbows, which caught the lights above them in a lovely way.
"Uh-huh." Trip said, smartly. He swallowed, mentally smacked himself, and held out an elbow, offering her a smile. "You look stunning."
T'Pol slipped her hand into his elbow, looking away. "Thank you," she said quietly. Was that a green tint in her cheeks? "Your attire suits you as well."
"Well, thank you kindly," he drawled, grinning even more widely.
They walked, arm-in-arm, in comfortable silence, breathing in the cool night air and relishing the closeness. This was the first time they had really been on a proper date in... well, Trip supposed this probably was their first proper date ever, which seemed a bit ridiculous since they were fully married now with a baby girl at home. Nevertheless, before Elizabeth had come into their lives they had never had a proper chance to actually go on a date aside from movie nights in the mess hall and since Elizabeth had arrived, they had been busy buying a house in Florida, figuring out how to care for a baby, and getting married in both of their cultures.
Aside from being their first date, this was the first chance they had had to really breathe in almost 6 months. Hoshi was watching Elizabeth for the next 24 hours, so they would have plenty of time to enjoy a break without getting too anxious about being away from their precious baby girl.
Trip could hear music in the distance now, something swingy and swoopy that he could just barely make out. He glanced down at T’Pol, who could likely already hear it with those superior, pointed ears of hers. Judging by the fleeting, excited glint in her eye, he would wager his earlier supposition was correct.
They rounded a corner and the lights from the club spilled out the front windows and door to bathe T’Pol in a glowy, warm light that made her cheekbones impossibly more defined and her hazel eyes lean more towards green than usual. Trip bit back a grin and opened the front door for her with a slight, dramatic bow. She shot him a look as she stepped through the door, but he could see the mischief playing across her features anyhow.
Trip stepped in after her and immediately felt about 50lbs lighter. Every inch of this place was utterly and purely alive.
There was a stage towards the front, where a saxophone player was on her knees at the edge, playing a snazzy, upbeat tune supported by the other instrumentalists behind her. A group of people gathered right at the stage edge to hoot and holler their appreciation for the saxophone’s tune. Further away from the source of the music were people dancing, some true to the 1920′s form, others swaying with more modern moves, but no one, not even the handful of elderly couples, was still for even a half moment. At the edge of the room, tables were scattered and filled with people laughing and clapping and clinking glasses in celebration of life and love and music itself. Above the dance floor, decorative red silks and lights cast everything in a soft, rosy glow that felt more electrifying than warming.
Trip looked around in awe. This place was wonderful, of course, but it was never a place he would have thought T’Pol would come to voluntarily. She might enjoy herself if brought here with the rest of their crew, perhaps, but to have chosen to come here on her own on more than one occasion? And to bring him here?
He glanced down at her, lit in that glow from all around them, the sparking of the crystal glasses and sequined dresses catching in her eyes like the stars they sailed when they had first met, and realized that he might just be truly seeing T’Pol for the first time.
He liked it.
With a bit of a flourish, he held out his hand, which she took without question, and lead her to the dance floor. He didn’t know any of the dances and neither did T’Pol, but they moved their feet and watched the other couples dancing around them until they were at least in-rhythm and feeling a touch breathless as the heady, floating feeling of engaging with music took them over and carried them off into the night.
As they swung and moved, her cool hands kept a steady grip on his (he wasn’t sure at what point she had abandoned her gloves and clutch), moving their bodies closer together and back apart as she picked up the dances faster than he did. A green flush rose in her cheeks and in the tips of her ears in a way that made her somehow wholly alien and completely familiar to him all at once. There was a freedom to her movements that was a bit odd to see coming from T’Pol - or, at least, it should have been, but to Trip it seemed to be the most natural thing in the world, the way she spun and dipped to the music.
The song finally came to an end, leaving them standing there, breathless, hand-in-hand, and inches apart as everyone around them clapped. Realistically, Trip knew they were clapping for the music, but he couldn’t help but feel as though the applause was for them.
The next song started, something slow and sweet, like the molasses his grandma used to put on pancakes in lieu of syrup. Now this was something Trip knew how to dance to.
He placed his hands on T’Pol’s hips, drawing her impossibly closer. Through their bond, she knew to put her arms around his neck as he led her in a gentle sway. Having caught her breath, she laid her head on his chest and sighed. He dipped his head to press his cheek to her forehead and closed his eyes. After a few moments, T’Pol looked up at him, close enough to breathe the same air, eyes like glowing embers in the dim.
For a moment, their noses seemed to dance in time with their feet, occasionally brushing as their gazes migrated between each other’s eyes and lips. In a breathless fraction of a moment, their lips met once, twice, and lingered on a third kiss, spilling over into a number of others that broke them from the rhythm of the music until, some time later, the music ended.
The crowd was applauding again as Trip rested his forehead against her own.
“I see why you like this place.” He said softly, with a slight smile.
She pulled back just enough to look up at him. “I’m pleased that you are enjoying yourself.”
“I’m enjoyin’ you enjoying yourself.” He reached up to brush a wavy strand of hair from her forehead back into her otherwise immaculate hairstyle. “I’m glad you showed me this, this thing that you love.”
She tilted her head as mid-tempo song began. “Do you wish to continue dancing?”
He grinned. “As long as you’re leading? Darlin’, I could dance all night.”
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