The Washington times., 1902-01-12
FANCIES OF
WIG WEARERS.
Women Who Prefer to Have
Hair Prematurely Grey.
ART OF MAKING PERRUQUES.
Must he So Carefully Constructed
as to Defy DetectiOn-Nearly All
SkyscrapIng POmpadour COinures
FaIse-The Transformation Wig
China n supply Depot.

| Human hair is not SO much in demand
as people think" remarked the man who
makes wigs. Sometimes out of a ton
of it that has been put through the re-
filming and selecting process about two
! ounces are fit to be used.
THE most expensive hair? Silver grey
or pure white, and drab- blond. The former
is often greatly desired by rich, old
| ladies', who are not satisfied with the
amount of hair on their heads. switch
of the grey or white is very dear, and
will cost from $25 and $50 to Sl00.
"Often we can fill only one order. be-
| cause of the scarcity OF the supply. The
drab- blond is in large demand. particu-
larly by middle-aged women who like a
fluffy and expansive cofffure. This brings.
for a switch, from SIS and $40 up.
.The rarest hair known is that OF the
yak, an animal found in Central China.
Because Of the late war it is very scarce.
The reason of this is that the Chinese
Government bought practically all there
was in the market for the plumes OF Its
soldiers-at a price of SIS pound. Our
largest trade with ii is among old ladies.
who substitute 1t, sometimes entirely, for
their natural hair.
China N supply Depot.
"The major portion of hair for wigs and
switches is imported from China. The
original color is coal black, and can be
refined down to giddy blond. 1t is in
white hair that our greatest troubles
arise. If hair could be bleached white
upon the human head the inventor Of
the process would become a millionaire.
There are hundreds of persons, strange
as IL may seem, who would rather have
| the tops of their head pure white than
washed-out light grey. So far, however.
It cannot be done, and we lose dollars
every minute because of the impos5ibiiity.
IN tell you another way in which some
ingenious body can make fortune-take
the kinks ott OF the negro's hair. Now.
you may not believe it, but l have had
any number of darky dudes and pretty
mulatto girls come to me TO see II they
could have their locks smoothed down.
They offer to pay me big, stin price,
too.
They tell me how they spend hours in
greas:ng their woods with vaseline and
combing away relentlessly and tirelessly.
and to no purpose. It's true the vaseline
treatment will make the darky's head
look like black glass ball for time.
but the kinks come back
To Look Interesting.
"Do you know that some society wo-
men are getting the notion of having
their hair dyed prematurely grey in spots
and splashes? The other day l was WIS.,
tied by young woman about twenty
eight years old. She had glorious
wealth of auburn hair. came in brough-
am, was covered with furs, and wore
rich jewelry.
"She told of a friend who had a strik
ingly beautiful dash of grey over her
brow. and that men raved over It 1t gave
her such a distinguished and refined air,
too Moreover, il made her lock Inter
esting with vague suggestions of mys-
terry and early suffering. This young wo-
man desired a similar halo and entered
into enthusiastic conversation with me
about what | could do for her.
Some persons have the idea that nine
tenths of the wigs made go to the theat-
rical profession. The truth is that one
third of them are worn by men and women
who are continually on the street They
have nothing TO fear, however, from de-
lection, for l can supply man with
head of hair which would never be sus-
pected by the closest observer of being
false This art has become better learned
in the last few years.
The Ventilated Wig.
THE consummate wig is that which is
ventilated and the work on this is ardu
Gus and intricate. The net is made SO
that when placed on the flesh the appear
ance of the scalp is truthfully given.
Hairs are drawn into this net, two at
time and fastened with an infinitesirnal
double knot.
II have also another style, which I call
A. fry nt-iu iG
women, and absolutely precludes any
chance of detection. AS you will see, it
is made only of narrow band, which fits
over the brow and behind the ears. The
hair. consequently. is open and free upon
the head and you may separate it and see
nothing but the natural scalp.
1T is interesting to know that Eng
lish theatrical people buy their wigs in
this city in preference TO the London
dealers. although we charge them so per
cent more. While l am speaking of this
l may say that nearly all of the sky
scraping pompadours and coiffures which
stylish women wear are false. 1t may
not be known, either, that 80 per cent of
well o-do men, who have their share
of vanity wear troupees which cost them
from SIS to $50.
As to False Mustaches.
"No, false mustaches cannot be worn
to avoid detection. They must be fas-
tened to the upper lip with spirit gum,
which leaves a rough edge and invites de-
lection. Detectives, however. do very
we'll if they do not allow too close
scrutiny.
THE average woman does not stop to
think what labor has been gone through
to supply her with her needful switch. 1t
is enough to say that out of ton of hair
the result of the refining is usually one
pound of strands. thirty-six inches long.
Lady Fanciful may be wearing the hair
from a hundred wQmen's heads upon her
own, and he none the wiser. New York
Mail Express.
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