It was made popular by the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette (1755–1793), when she wore it in June 1775 at the coronation of her husband Louis XVI, triggering a wave of French noblewomen to wear their hair in the same manner.
14 yards of gauze were wrapped around a tower as well as two figures representing the baby Duc de Beaujolais in his nurse's arms with an African boy (a particular favorite of the Duchess) at her feet.
Hairstyles similar to the pouf returned in both the 20th and 21st century with the more modern name beehive, worn by stars such as Dusty Springfield, The Ronettes, and Amy Winehouse.
The pomaded hair would then be curled in various sections (varying on the specific style), with heated clay curlers lined with strips of thin paper.
I think I remember hearing that twenty-four large pins were by no means an unusual number to go to bed with on your head" [3][4]A high hairstyle was not necessarily time-consuming or too labour-intensive.
Instead of daily lathering of soap and water, they worked pomatum into the hair with their fingers, added powder, and then brushed and combed vigorously.
Women did not tease their hair, but added extra volume with padded forms called rollers (thick, sausage-shaped pillow) and cushions.
She must set the tone, and everyone will hurry to follow even your smallest errors..."[4]In 1776 Marie Antoinette had a hairstyle so high, that the plumes had to be removed from the coiffure, to get her in the carriage.
[2]: 66 The hairstyles of the day "reached such a height that it was necessary for ladies to kneel on the carriage floor—or hold the towering hairpieces outside the coach windows en route to balls and the opera.
[7] A recipe for a pomatum from The Toilet of Flora (1779) consisted of mutton fat and pig's lard with essence of lemon and clove oil, to be kept in a jar.
In order to keep these hairstyles from ruin, women would wear 'calash', a type of large carriage wheel-like bonnet, structured with boning, that accordioned open, which protected it from wind, dirt and rain.
[10][11] Wealthier women may have had their hair done more often than this due to the cost of the technique and materials; Marie Antoinette at one time was said to have a different hairstyle every day, which were designed by her dressmaker Rose Bertin and her favourite coiffeur Léonard Autié.