Caged hairstyle and “zoo” in the hair: fashionable hairstyles of the past

Anastasia Komarovskaya, expert, researcher at the Fashion Museum and author of the Ugly Fashion lecture series, tells the unsightly details of making wigs and constructing complex hairstyles.

Contrary to popular belief in the 17th-18th centuries, the wig is an exclusively male attribute, just like stockings, high-heeled shoes and cosmetics. Wigs came into fashion in the mid-17th century. The first wigs were quite bulky and long. This is explained by the fact that the King of France Louis XIV was not tall, and in general a man of average height, and a spreading wig made him a “majestic Jupiter”. Moreover, this headgear effectively complemented the men’s suit, which was oversaturated with details, from lace and bows to layering.

The more popular the wigs, the higher the demand for hair. All the unpleasant details start with the extraction of this material – the wig could well have been made from the hair of a dead man, and good luck if this person was not sick with anything. Criminals on death row often bequeathed their hair to their wives to sell. There have been attempts to make wigs from horsehair or silk threads. The people of England had another problem: the materials were delivered from the continent and, in theory, they had to pass a health check, but this did not always happen. In England itself, this problem also existed. For example, the author of the famous Journal of Londoners’ Lives, Samuel Peeps, wrote that he had not put on a new wig for a very long time, because he had been brought from a plague area and rumors reached him according to which the hair was cut to people who died of an illness.

Expensive was not only the wig, but also its contents, because in itself it did not bend and adjust – the owner literally fell into financial servitude. It was possible to order an annual subscription for the maintenance of a wig from the master who made it. It was customary to have several wigs, which also cost a penny, but the workshops held promotions of the “buy two wigs – get the third as a gift” series. Automatically, this precious headdress became the target of street thieves – the victim was knocked down and the wig was removed. Again, due to high cost, wigs were inherited.

Women had it worse: even then, a wig on a woman was considered a sign of hair problems, so they had to make do with what nature gave. Layers, hairpieces, curls, and overhead curls were allowed. Styling all of this in a hairstyle is a separate dastardly subject.

In the second half of the 18th century, hairstyles began to take off. First they acquire an unpleasant ovoid shape, then, not without the help of the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, the egg-laying reaches a height of 30-40 centimeters. Some fashion historians also consider jewelry – so we get about a meter. The hair was styled using a hairpiece – a special pillow that was applied to the head, the hair was combed on top and fixed. The problem is that there were no styling tools like now, and the complex structure had to be glued and fixed with something. They stuck it with lipstick, which was basically animal fat, for example, bear fat. The oily structure was fixed with a special powder.

Good hair powder was made from rice and corn. The use of flour for these purposes has been banned in many countries in order to avoid starvation. There were alabaster and lime scythes. The powdering process itself took a long time.

To do this, they used the muzzle – special cones from which the powder flew out. There were even wet rooms – rooms where gunpowder was scattered. They entered it after wrapping themselves in a special cape – a puddermantel, as they powdered themselves just before leaving the house, when the lady and the gentleman were already dressed. It took about a kilogram of funds for one hairstyle.

So you have an “edible” arsenal on your head. A complex hairstyle required appropriate care. The ladies slept sitting up or on special headrests. It was impossible to leave the hairstyle for the night like that – the curls had to be wound on twists, put on a cap. If in the hair, in addition to grease and powder, there was something else edible like fruit, the women put a special box to protect the structure from rats and mice. Insects, on the other hand, were permanent residents of hairstyles and wigs – there are many common stories about flea traps, special combing sticks, etc.

With proper care, the hairstyle can last 2-3 weeks. Those who could afford it changed their hair more often, but let’s not forget that building this beauty took four hours – not many people wanted to spend that much time each day. It all ended with various diseases of the scalp and hair loss, because they were in a tense state all the time.

Towards the end of the 18th century (1770s), “English fashions” began to gain popularity, which were distinguished by their simplicity and timeliness. During this period, the English influence on the French costume and the influence of the French costume on the English are reciprocal.

The result was equally powdered and curly hairstyles, but more like an Afro. In modern terms, these were heavily whipped curls and a few curls at the neck.

After the French Revolution, hairstyles became even simpler. Women tried the first haircuts on themselves. Of course, this was not the end of wigs and “Babylons” on the head – only the 18th century ended.

The material was prepared jointly with MOSGORTUR.