Minis On The Edge Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Although there are several civilizations in the ancient world known for there hair styles, who made wearing the wig an art? How much did they weigh? Have you every worn a wig? How did you feel and did anyone notice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 The mid-18th Century French court ladies wore wigs several feet high & weighing several pounds. I read somewhere that one of Marie Antoinette's wigs had a birdcage worked into it with singing birds (ew, nasty!). I think it was a miracle how some of those wigs stayed on! I wore one once for fun & everyone noticed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniMadWoman Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 I too think it was the French in Georgian times?!! They weighed alot because ladies always complained of headaches . . . as in "not tonight dear I have a headache". I haven't worn a wig in real life, but have for Halloween. This year I'm dressing up as Pippy Longstocking and have a perfect "Pippy" wig! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hydroped Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 For some reason I keep wanting to say it was the Egyptians that made it an art.. or the Geishas.. but after reading about the Georgian French women I conceed! LOL now those were some big heavy Fancy wigs! Have I ever worn one?... not in public but yea when I was a kid it was part of my detective spy disguise kit.. geeze I must have been all of 7 or 8 years old LOL haven't thought about that in forever! -David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 The Japanese kimono dolls we used to see came with wigs to demonstrate the different hairstyles which at one time indicated a girl's age, social position, marriageability and/ or marital status, but wigs were primarily for actors. Egyptians wore wigs for social occasions because they quite practically shaved thier heads for comfort & hygeine. I'm not sure the Babylonians & Sumerians didn't wear wigs for the same reasons. The Greeks' & Romans' wigs were primarily theatrical. Until recently the English judges & attorneys still occasionally wore those rolled-looking wigs I read somewhere were made of horsehair. Now my head's itching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniMadWoman Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 Hmm . . . I think the Egyptians did make wig wearing an art as did the Japanese . . . I'd go for either of those too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minis On The Edge Posted October 19, 2005 Author Share Posted October 19, 2005 Although the Assyrians ranked as the preeminent hair stylists of the ancient world, the Egyptians, some 15 hundred years earlier, made an art of wigs. These wigs were used by them to complement formal and festive occasions. There were made from vegetable fiber and human hair. Some were heavy because they were coated with beeswax The heavyist one was worn by Queen Isimkheb in 900 BC. She was so top heavy when wearing the wig she needed attendants to help her keep standing I was looking and searching to find out the exact weight but this is all I keep finding is this same statement that it was very heavy. I wore a wig once to school for "flashback to the 70s" it was a afro wig and I had a ball wearing it and bell bottoms . It was 1 day only though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniMadWoman Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 So, Tracy, I get Brownie points for changing my mind, right?!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minis On The Edge Posted October 19, 2005 Author Share Posted October 19, 2005 Yeah!! The Chocolate ones and not the "Blond Brownies". My husband decided to bring me a " blond" and I did not taste any chocolate in it at all After 2 bites it was his. Opps, am I talking about chocolate again??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shutterbugkc Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 I took an art history class several years ago and I remember reading that in ancient Rome, when socialite women would have a bust carved of themselves, they would sometimes have their heads carved as bald so that the hairstyle on their statue could be changed with the fashions of the day. They could have updated marble wigs made in the future to switch out with the old ones! They were still slaves to fashion long after they were dead! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Have I ever worn one?... not in public <cackle> Too funny! Deb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Until recently the English judges & attorneys still occasionally wore those rolled-looking wigs I read somewhere were made of horsehair. I remembered that, but I couldn't remember the reason behind them. Was it status? Or was it to help them stay humble? Horsehair would do that! Oh wait, that's a shirt for suffering. I'm confusing myself now. LOL Anyway, why did men wear powdered wigs? I know they were quite the dandies in the Beau Brummel era but how did the english wig evolve into the judicial fashion statement? Deb (who has on occasion worn a wig but declined the bird cage) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hydroped Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Well whatdayaknow? If I hadn't second guessed myself I'd have been right heheh - -David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaN Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 My mother wore a wig in the late 60's and early 70's even then, it was a hairpiece, and when she had that bufont hairdo, the hairpiece got styled too. Her curlers were the size of small juice cans back then. She also had more hair. I believe it was the French who raised wigs to a fine art level. French royalty were dressed 'in public' from the time of Louis XlV, when he would pick out the different wigs he would wear at his levee, or dressing in public. Marie Antoinette did not exactly start the fashion, but between her hair dresser and her dressmaker, Rose Bertin, they set a new level for fashion. Rose Bertin & the hairdresser Leonard, would design hats and hairstyles around the current events of the day, an example of this was the Pouf a l'inoculation??? (I don't know if I spelled that right-- :lol: ) which was about the King and his brothers being innoculated against smallpox, a risky operation in those days, and considered foolhardy to do all of the heirs to the crown at the same time. Men wore wigs to hide any hair defects, also to denote their social status, (the most coveted wigs were made of human hair--especially during the revolution) and also because of fashion demanded it--there was a certain mode of dress when being presented at court, or in society. It's quite fascinating how the fashion of wigs developed. For example, one of Louis XlV's mistresses, Angelique de Fontages, started the rage for the next 50-70 years of the Fontage, which started when she and the king went riding and were caught in a rainstorm. She tied her hair on top of her hair in a topknot with a ribbon. The ladies of the court made this creation more outlandish until it was a wire cage decorated with ribbon, lace, and jewels. The fontages would be so tall that in a gusty wind through the ballroom the ladies would get their hair caught! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minis On The Edge Posted October 21, 2005 Author Share Posted October 21, 2005 I Love all of your comments and they are ALL correct! I love history (Early world history is still my favorite). I have worn a phonytail (Fake pony tails) but I did not like it either. It just did not feel right to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaN Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 Tracey--history is my passion also. Especially French and English history--I love the odd things in history---another area that is interesting is Russian, Starting w/ Peter the Great, and up to Catherine, in the 17th & 18th centuries. The French court was truly amazing, with their court etiquette. For instance, there were different ways you 'knocked' on the door, to announce a person's status,some you lightly tapped, others you gently 'scratched' on the door with your fingernail--so the person announcing the guest to the head of state would grow his fingernail an extra length to enable him to 'scratch' on the door. Isn't that wild? I rememeber reading that in someone's memoirs somewhere. Tudor medieval history is just as interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gemlady Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 Talking about bird cages Egyptians along with the wigs would place a form of a scented candle tied on their heads, becase water was a rare thing they would not bathe so this was to cover the body smell. yummy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaN Posted October 22, 2005 Share Posted October 22, 2005 I read about that! When I was doing a little research for an Egyptian room, which is on the back burner, I found some reference to that--especially when they would get ready for a banquet, or a feast. Doesn't exactly make you want to sit next to somebody smelling like a scented candle while eating! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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