The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1894-09-05
Woman and Her Hair.

Surely it was in Egypt, where the women
were free as the men and had no need to
carefully cover their faces, that the fair sex
commenced to take pride in their tresses.
They sat them down by the banks of the
| Nile and saw their faces reflected in its wa
ters. Then they idly lifted their locks MS
| the sun shone upon them and watched the
pretty sparkle as it widened and length
ened into uneven brilliant spots on the
waters surface. Then they twined and
coiled their ringets and produced all sorts
| of fantastic effects.
SO the idea of the couture was born. The
Egyptian didn't stop until she had evolved
an elaborate arrangement that set her face
in frame of wonAsous glossy braids, re
lieved by gold and jewels, She plated her
long black hair in innumerable small
! braids and tied two or three of these braids
! together with woven strings. The braids
| hung over her shoulders and were bound
together about her head by fllet of gold
set with precious stones. She hung blue
lotus flower over her forehead and the
short tresses at the side she plated and
caught with the hair at the back.
The Jewess, when she paid her first visit
| to Egypt at the invitation of the great 10
seph, was quick to see the advantage the
Egyptian possessed over her, and the fash
ion was at once adopted. The Jewess does
nothing by halves-so in front her hair was
deliberately befrizzed; at the back it fell
down in long braids that were interviewer
with bright ribbons. Sometimes she curled
it all over and let the ringlets fall loosely,
adding diadem on her forehead, or fllet
inlaid with jewels, or that network of Sc
quins or gold which her descendant In the
east wears to this day.
The Arab the Persian and the Caucasian
are still satisfied with the couture they
wore 1000 years ago, and you will find
them still with their crowns, turbans, wells
and chains.
The severer Greek disdained such tawdry
adornments and bound her glorious fair
hair in a simple chignon with the heavy
waves carried back rather loosely, just COW
ering the tips of her ears, and bound them
with double filet.
The Roman matrons, too, were sedate
, and digni1ed, with their coiffures of waved
\ hair, simple filet and high placed chignon
/. of braids coiled on the crown. They varied
Y this occasionally by putting mass of lit
tie curls about the forehead. A more elab-
y crate arrangement was a round chignon of
= plaits, a tall frontal of small curls rising
like diadem above the head, small, regu-
lar curls about the forehead and three
small ringlets in front of each ear.
But the Roman matrons were but wom-
en-, after all, severe as they seem to us, and
after awhile we hear of their frizzing and
dyeing, waving and tying their hair, max
ing it into pretty bows, manufacturing to
some extent, and finally of keeping of sew
eral coiffures on hand, ready to don at any
moment.
1t was in the twelfth century that the
feminine portion of modern Europe awoke
| to ha ,occil;1itioo Of
began with long tresses floating over the
shoulders and held in place by a simple
headband. But their ideas with true west
ern progression were quick to embrace
u more than one arrangement Before the
{ twelfth century had ended we find the
: tresses caught up in great loose net at
the top of the head, hanging apparently
from two brass knobs that were placed on
the forehead over the ears. BY what means
this fantastic couture was induced to re-
main In place we are left in ignorance.
Almost more grotesque, however, was the
steeple headdress, which is still occasion
ally seen in Normandy. 1t reared itself to
great height-from one and half to two
feet-and a drapery of fine lawn hoated
from it's peak. Sometimes the drapery was
no larger than an ordinary handkerchief
but more often it fell over the dress and not
seldom to the feet. This style was restrict
ed to danes of high rank. The lower CLASSES
used cloth cap, with pieces sticking out
on each side that resembled the ears Of al
ape. Addison tells us in his Spectator how
when Thomas Conecte launched his invec
tives against it from the sacred pulpit, the
women made great bonfire Of them all
but no sooner was he gone than, like snails
they shot out their horns when the danger
was over.
Queen Mary "wore cawl that was sc
massive and ponderous with gold and jew
els that she was fain to beare up her head
with her hand"
Elizabeth was as tickle with her head
! dress as with her lovers. She had many
changes of hair, set with jewels and o
more than one color, although her prefer
e ence was red
1t was not much later that the womer
adopted wagon" headdress, which seem.
most grotesque of all. 1t was made of golC
threads, drawn by six dapple grays o.
blown glass, with coachmen, position anC
gentlemen within. OF course only lady
of quality could bear such headdress Will
becoming gravity. In moments of haste o.
excitement her dignity must have been diff
> fcult to maintain.
Some high danes preferred sailing to roll
4 ing with swift wheels along smooth paths
l and these evolved from their couture won
5 derful ship, with flags flying and sails set
e At the beginning of the eighteenth cen
l fury feathers first made their appearance
I and we find them arrar ged in towering
0 heights, tier above tier AT the end o
5 this century the feathers had been carried
s to such an extreme that we find a carica
= ture picturing "A woman whose feather
$ stand half yard high, with others full
: two yards long, leaning over the front
: while small dog whose ire has been rouse'
e stands beneath barking vociferously. An
other pictures the hairdresser on stills al
/ ranging madame's hair.
e After such absurdities, the women Of tC
a day may fairly congratulate themselve
Il upon their moderation.
e A GOOD APPETITE always accompal
III ! l. L 1.E %.