I’d always figured the Bride of Frankenstein’s hair stood up the way it does because of the electricity. All that voltage making her hair stand on end. But I recently read that the hairstyle was actually inspired by historical depictions of Nefertiti. (The bust of Nefertiti, that is. No one has any idea what Nefertiti’s hairstyle actually looked like under her headdress. She might have been bald. The ancient Egyptians did have the tendency to shave their heads and then put on wigs when they wanted hair.) This would fit, as the bandages that comprise so much of the Bride’s attire would be in keeping with the look of a mummy.
I had such a crush on the Bride when I was a little boy. I was still a few years away from puberty, but Elsa Lanchester’s beautiful face nonetheless pushed some latent buttons in my brain (and elsewhere). I never saw the monster makeup, just that face.
By the way, that was really Elsa’s hair used to create the Bride’s coifs. It wasn’t a wig. They used a sort of wire cage to support it. The white streaks were added by the hairdressers, though. Just a little classic Horror trivia for you.