Wig
[citation needed] After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the use of wigs fell into disuse in the West for a thousand years until they were revived in the 16th century as a means of compensating for hair loss or improving one's personal appearance.
[10] Queen Elizabeth I of England famously wore a red wig, tightly and elaborately curled in a "Roman" style, while among men King Louis XIII of France (1601–1643) started to pioneer wig-wearing in 1624 when he had prematurely begun to bald.
[11] This fashion was largely promoted by his son and successor Louis XIV of France (1638–1715), which contributed to its spread in Europe and European-influenced countries in the 1660s.
Perukes or periwigs for men were introduced into the English-speaking world with other French styles when Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660, following a lengthy exile in France.
Their job was a skilled one as 17th century wigs were extraordinarily elaborate, covering the back and shoulders and flowing down the chest; not surprisingly, they were also extremely heavy and often uncomfortable to wear.
[14] Wigs required cleaning using fuller's earth, and the powder used to freshen it was made from low grade flour and scented with pomatum.
The elaborate form of wigs worn at the coronation of George III in 1761 was lampooned by William Hogarth in his engraving Five Orders of Periwigs.
Granville Leveson-Gower, in Paris during the winter of 1796, at the height of the Thermidorian Directory, noted "The word citoyen seemed but very little in use, and hair powder being very common, the appearance of the people was less democratic than in England.
"[18] Among women in the French court of Versailles in the mid-to-late 18th century, large, elaborate and often themed wigs (such as the stereotypical "boat poufs") were in vogue.
The guild officers claimed that the process of bleaching damaged the hair too much, thereby forcing a wigmaker to sell a faulty product to consumers.
"[20] Due to the association with ruling classes in European monarchies, the wearing of wigs as a symbol of social status was largely abandoned in the newly created republics, the United States and France, by the start of the 19th century, though formal court dress of European monarchies still required a powdered wig or long powdered hair tied in a queue until the accession of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) to the throne as emperor in 1804.
[23] John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) also wore a powdered wig in his youth, but he abandoned this fashion while serving as the U.S. Minister to Russia (1809–1814),[24] long before his accession to the presidency in 1825.
[citation needed] In the film Mr. Skeffington (1944), Bette Davis's character has to wear a wig after a bout of diphtheria, which is a moment of pathos and a symbol of her frailty.
[citation needed] During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century hairdressers in England and France did a brisk business supplying postiches, or pre-made small wiglets, curls, and false buns to be incorporated into the hairstyle.
[29] Particularly in India, the women are forced by their husbands into selling their hair,[30] and slum children were being tricked into "having their heads shaved in exchange for toys".
[32] In the United Kingdom, most Commonwealth nations and Ireland, special wigs are also worn by barristers, judges and certain parliamentary and municipal or civic officials as a symbol of the office.
[citation needed] In July 2007, judges in New South Wales, Australia, voted to discontinue the wearing of wigs in the NSW Court of Appeal.
[citation needed] A number of celebrities, including Donna Summer, Dolly Parton, Sia, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Tina Turner and Raquel Welch, popularized wigs.
In the Japanese film and television genre Jidaigeki, wigs are used extensively to alter appearance to reflect the Edo period when most stories take place.
[36] They are also worn by individuals who are experiencing hair loss for medical reasons (most commonly cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy, or those who are suffering from alopecia areata).
The elaborate, oversized court-styles of the late 18th century were not followed by armies in the field however, as they were impractical to withstand the rigours of military life and simpler wigs were worn.
The Prussian army took personal hairstyles to an extreme during the time of Frederick the Great, each soldier commonly having a long pigtail hanging down the back nearly to waist level.
Along with comfortable, practical, well-fitting uniforms, his reforms introduced short, natural hairstyles for all, with no wigs, powder and grease, or long hair tied in a queue.
This order applied also to powdered wigs tied in queue and was highly unpopular with both officers and men, leading to several desertions and threats of resignation.
In Modern Orthodox Judaism, women will usually wear a scarf, kerchief, snood, hat or other covering, sometimes exposing the bottom of their hair.
Rabbis rejected this practice, both because it resembled the contemporary non-Jewish style and because it was immodest, in their eyes, for a woman to sport a beautiful head of hair, even if it was a wig.
The first and oldest is to weave the root ends of the hair onto a stretch of three silk threads to form a sort of fringe called a "weft".
It is often helpful to make a pattern from layers of transparent adhesive tape applied over a piece of plastic wrap, on which the natural hairline can be traced accurately.
Sometimes flesh colored silk or synthetic material is applied where it will show through the hair at crown and partings, and small bones or elastic are inserted to make the wig fit securely.
It is then bleached and dyed to the required shade and given a synthetic resin finish which partially restores the strength and luster of the now damaged hair.
