Why Did People Wear Powdered Wigs? | Mental Floss Why Did People Wear Powdered Wigs? filed under: Big Questions Like us on Facebook For nearly two centuries, powdered wigs—called perukes—were all the rage. The chic hairpiece would have never become popular, however, if it hadn't been for a venereal disease, a pair of self-conscious kings, and poor hair hygiene. The peruke’s story begins like many others—with syphilis. By 1580, the STD had become the worst epidemic to strike Europe since the Black Death. According to William Clowes, an “infinite multitude” of syphilis patients clogged London’s hospitals, and more filtered in each day. Without antibiotics, victims faced the full brunt of the disease: open sores, nasty rashes, blindness, dementia, and patchy hair loss. Baldness swept the land. At the time, hair loss was a one-way ticket to public embarrassment. Long hair was a trendy status symbol, and a bald dome could stain any reputation.

When Samuel Pepys’s brother acquired syphilis, the diarist wrote, “If [my brother] lives, he will not be able to show his head—which will be a very great shame to me.” Hair was that big of a deal. Cover-Up And so, the syphilis outbreak sparked a surge in wigmaking. Victims hid their baldness, as well as the bloody sores that scoured their faces, with wigs made of horse, goat, or human hair. Perukes were also coated with powder—scented with lavender or orange—to hide any funky aromas. Although common, wigs were not exactly stylish. They were just a shameful necessity. That changed in 1655, when the King of France started losing his hair. Louis XIV was only 17 when his mop started thinning. Worried that baldness would hurt his reputation, Louis hired 48 wigmakers to save his image. Five years later, the King of England—Louis’s cousin, Charles II—did the same thing when his hair started to gray (both men likely had syphilis). Courtiers and other aristocrats immediately copied the two kings.

They sported wigs, and the style trickled down to the upper-middle class. Europe’s newest fad was born. The cost of wigs increased, and perukes became a scheme for flaunting wealth. An everyday wig cost about 25 shillings—a week’s pay for a common Londoner. The bill for large, elaborate perukes ballooned to as high as 800 shillings. The word “bigwig” was coined to describe snobs who could afford big, poufy perukes. When Louis and Charles died, wigs stayed around. Perukes remained popular because they were so practical. At the time, head lice were everywhere, and nitpicking was painful and time-consuming. Wigs, however, curbed the problem. Lice stopped infesting people’s hair—which had to be shaved for the peruke to fit—and camped out on wigs instead. Delousing a wig was much easier than delousing a head of hair: you’d send the dirty headpiece to a wigmaker, who would boil the wig and remove the nits. Wig Out By the late 18th century, the trend was dying out.

French citizens ousted the peruke during the Revolution, and Brits stopped wearing wigs after William Pitt levied a tax on hair powder in 1795. Short, natural hair became the new craze, and it would stay that way for another two centuries or so. Why did men in the 1700's wear white powdered wigs? - Forum - History 360 Why did men in the 1700's wear white powdered wigs? Posted by Mr. Bruns on August 24, 2011 at 2:12pm in Mr Bruns 360 Message Board Look it up and let me know! Replies 3jordanA August 28, 2011 at 4:19pm men wore white wigs because head lice was very common back then. Evan women wore one to keep this from happening. In some places it was a custom to wear the wis in differnet countries. Most men wore the wigs because they were bald. They had to shave there hed because of the head lice.

Ron Burgundy > 3jordanA August 28, 2011 at 6:20pm Because they were awesome. 'Nuff said. 8James August 25, 2011 at 7:50pm When looking at pictures of historical men form the 1700's, I always wondered why all of them wore the silly white powered wigs. Seriously though, why white and not brown or a more natural color. So... I think this is a perfect time to research and find out why. I am shocked that the men accualy shaved their heads because of lice. Also, when looking at a man with a powdered wig, people could reconize that they were in the upper class of the community. It was thought that wearing a wig made you look more intelligent. Some pf the most powerful and influential men of our being country wore these fashionable wigs.

7steven August 25, 2011 at 5:29pm im not sure i think they wore them just for the looks and that was tha style back then in the 1700's, and i never knew that they were wigs i thought that was how they put there hair. 6Amy August 25, 2011 at 4:55pm White powdered wigs were the syle back in the 1700's. THey used powder to color the wigs instead of bleach. If you wore a wig, people thought of you as being prosperous. Men also wore wigs because of hygiene benefits. They did not have a very good water source, and lice was a major issue. To solve the lice problem, people shaved their heads and bought wigs to protect their hair. The fashion trend eventually ended after a tax was placed on wig powder. 4Chelsea August 25, 2011 at 11:08am Back in the day many men wore wigs, as you can see from the picture above. They wore these wigs because they would shave their heads to prevent head lice.

Another reason was because they were in style. Only the wealthy wore these white powdered wigs. After time went on eventually the white powdered wigs were no longer the "in" thing. The knew thing was to put powder in your hair. 3Jaz=^_^= August 24, 2011 at 6:07pm Due to the status of cleanliness head lice was common on the world at that time so people, yes even woman, would wear their hair very short, To cover this they began to wear powdered wigs. It was also highly fashionable at the time. Men in America were copying the style of wigs which were popular in Europe, more specifically France. Mr. Bruns August 24, 2011 at 5:37pm Thanks Brooke! Any other reasons and/or pictures of powdered wigs? 4Brooke August 24, 2011 at 5:14pm After doing some research I found that guys wore wigs because they were not very clean the way it was so it was very likey for then to get lice and it was easier to shave your head and get lice in your wig then in your own hair.

Becuase you could get rid of the wig or burn your wig to make sure the lice died. They also wore wigs to help with their bladness and hygene. It was just alot easier to wear a wig then have your own hair. Below is a piture i got from Google of a guy with a powered wig on. British Wigs in the 1700s | eHow British Wigs in the 1700s Siri Stafford/Photodisc/Getty Images Toward the end of the 17th century in Britain, men starting wearing wigs as a mark of fashion and social status. With various changes, the custom remained in fashion until the end of the 18th century when it fell out of general use. Contrary to popular belief, women did not regularly wear ornamental wigs during this period, though they powdered their natural hair and sometimes augmented elaborate hairstyles with additional hairpieces. Why Wigs Became Fashionable The fashion for wigs in Britain derived ultimately from the French Court of Louis XIII. This monarch set the fashion for wigs in the first half of the seventeenth century, when he began wearing one to hide his baldness.

Wigs allowed men of any age to affect the luxuriant, flowing locks that were in fashion. In an era of comparatively poor hygiene, a close-cropped head of hair, kept hidden under the wig in public, was easier to keep clean and free of infestation. Wigs were expensive and required regular professional maintenance. Wearing a wig was, thus, a visible sign of wealth and social status. The most expensive and sought-after wigs were made with real human hair. Cheaper wigs were made of horsehair or other animal hair. Wig Powder From around 1715, the trend was set for wearing light colored wigs. Experiments in bleaching wigs to achieve the desired look were unsuccessful, so people began powdering their wigs in order to shade them as they wished. The powder was composed of finely ground starch and was perfumed with lavender, orange flower and other scents. Generally, wigs were powdered white, though adventurous souls experimented with colors such as violet, pink or blue. Women also wore the powder on their natural hair.

Changing Fashions in Wigs throughout the 18th Century At the beginning of the 18th century, wigs were long, full, heavy and ringletted, in a style similar to those seen in portraits of Charles the Second. From the 1720s, men tended to wear shorter, more practical wigs, often braided, tied back or with the ends wrapped in a black taffeta bag. These had previously been worn mainly by soldiers for whom the long, flowing wigs were impractical. The trend for smaller "bob-wigs" made wig wearing affordable and practical for a wider social range, and tradesmen and even apprentices began wearing them. By the 1740s, the full heavy wig was only worn by judges. Throughout the century, wigs got progressively smaller. The Decline of the Fashion in Wigs In the 1780s, some fashionable young men began wearing their natural hair lightly powdered. By the 1790s, wigs and hair powder were no longer fashionable, and wigs were only commonly worn by the older generation of men.

The hair powder tax of one guinea a year which was enacted by the British government in 1795 effectively brought an end to the wearing of wigs and hair powder in Britain by the close of the century. Did the British soldiers really wear powdered wigs as part of their uniform during the Revolutionary war? : AskHistorians by WalkingTurtleMan I just started watching Turn on Netflix and it's mostly about spies during the revolutionary war. While I'm not expecting it to be historically accurate, I do enjoy a good story (like Marco Polo, for example). One thing I immediately noticed were the wigs. It seems like 90% of the redcoats had those wigs, at least in the 1 and a half episodes that I've watched so far. Is this Hollywood's take on the outfit of the time, or was it actually a part of their uniform? 6 Weird Fashions From History (With Weirder Explanations) 6 Weird Fashions From History (With Weirder Explanations) NFL Reviewing Touchdown Celebration Penalty Rules If you intend to do any traveling in a time machine, you'd better invest a whole lot of money in costumes.

After all, people in the past looked ridiculous. Why the hell did they, for instance, wear giant white wigs everywhere? Actually if you look into it, you find some pretty interesting explanations for ... Advertisement sirismm.si.edu , Wikipedia The iconic image of a Japanese warrior (or today, sumo wrestler) comes complete with a weird hairstyle in which the front of the head is shaved while the remaining mullet is bound up in a bun or topknot. The origin of this bizarre haircut, called " chonmage ," goes all the way back to the age of the samurai, as it helped to keep a samurai's helmet on his head . metmuseum "Nah, I'll stick with the chin strap. I don't want to look ridiculous." Since the samurai class were wealthy and influential nobility, it didn't take long for the style to catch on among the Japanese public, who longed to be sword-slinging badasses. Over time, it became traditional for boys turning 13 to shave the front of their heads and adopt the samurai hairstyle to signal that they had become men.

Hair neatness was so important in Japan that artists usually employed messy hair as shorthand to represent someone who had been in some way disgraced. Wikipedia "I knew letting Tom Cruise into the country was a bad idea." The fashion was pretty widespread until globalization forced the Japanese to realize that the rest of the world found their hairstyles absolutely ridiculous -- which is a ballsy claim, considering everyone in the West was wearing powdered wigs at the time (but more on that later). arts-wallpapers "... the fuck is this?" A story from 1863 recounts the adventures of two Japanese students who covered their chonmage hairstyles with hats while visiting Holland. When forced to remove the hats at the theater, they caused such an uproar of hilarity that the play had to be stopped, and the story made the national press the next day. It's just another example of a national pastime ruined by racism. Wikipedia Unless your national pastime is racism, in which case, go wild. These days, the legacy of chonmage remains almost solely with sumo wrestlers , who are too fat to be bothered with your criticism of their hairstyles.

5 Wikipedia You probably know at least two things about Ancient Greece -- it was the birthplace of Western culture, and if all those marble statues are to be believed, everyone had really tiny wangs. Given that most men habitually add around three inches to the real size of their packages in the relatively unlikely event that they're asked, we have to wonder why a washboard-chested warrior civilization decided to portray all their manliest heroes with a chronic case of shrinkage. Was it just really cold back then? How well did they expect that sad little thing to please a woman? teamliquid "At least I have my children. The ones who didn't die of typhoid." Actually, pleasing women was about the last priority that any self-respecting Greek hero would have had back then, if you catch our drift. Experts have actually exhaustively studied the role of dongs in Greek society and written entire books on the subject. Cecil Adams over at StraightDope.com neatly summarizes it : "Long, thick penises were considered -- at least in the highbrow view -- grotesque, comic or both ...". So in art, big dongs appeared on non-human creatures and barbarians, and the perfect penis in those days, "...

was small, thin and covered with a long, tapered foreskin." Which is to say that the Greeks preferred their penises to look, uh ... younger. artistartypost16 "Putting a finger puppet on the end and doing a show" kind of young. See, in Ancient Greek culture, one of the most common and socially acceptable relationships was between a man and a young boy . It was basically the exact society that fundamentalist Republicans imagine right before they shoot bolt upright, whimpering in a cold sweat. The ideal object of beauty and desire was not Jessica Alba in a hand bra but an athletic, clean-shaven male with the neat and unobtrusive genitalia of a boy just coming into puberty. Wikipedia In the interests of context and open-mindedness -- ewwww. So, rather than bragging about having a pork missile so huge that they could make a woman climax twice simultaneously, back then they would brag about having a dick so small that they could attract the wealthiest men in Greece by looking like a 12-year-old. We cannot stress enough how much of a different world this was. Actually, most people we know who look like this tend to be massive pricks.

↓ Continue Reading Below Wikipedia The fastest way to identify a movie as a period piece is when everyone important in the film is wearing a stupid-looking wig. Kings and aristocrats, presidents, politicians and composers are always decked out in elaborate white/blond curly wigs, often adorned with plaits, ribbons and bows. In Britain and Australia, judges and barristers still wear them . So who the hell thought that was a good idea? Getty "Tradition overwhelms the fact that I have a huge clump of dyed hair sitting on my sweaty comb-over." Blame King Louis XIII of France. The French monarchy had long suffered from a hereditary condition of embarrassing male pattern baldness, and so, tired of being mocked by the King of England, Louis wore a badass wig to show that he was the most virile king around. Before long, his unconventional style became a fashion statement in the royal court, with most of the king's men adopting the elaborate hairpieces, whether they were bald or not. georgianjunkie "Apparently he's jumping off a cliff next week.

I'm totally going to do that, too." With France being the center of European culture in the 17th century, anything that was sexy in France quickly spread to the rest of Europe. As aristocrats tried to outdo one another, the wigs, called perukes or periwigs, became more and more fabulous. This led to the creation of a whole industry of wig-makers, who established their own guild in 1665. The wigs became such a part of the culture that you had to wear a wig to move upward in society . By the late 1700s, men were pouring a starch-based powder over their wigs to make them as white as possible. shadesbreath This had the brilliant effect of making them look like idiots. The wig craze died in England when the government sensed a money-making opportunity and imposed a hefty tax on hair powder. At the same time, a minor incident in France called the French Revolution made it kind of uncool to be seen in public wearing a symbol of the aristocracy. But until then, the peruke phenomenon had been one of the most long-standing and weirdest fashion crazes in European history.

All because the King of France was self-conscious about his bald spot. 3 theancientworld Get the look: Apply makeup, down 15 shots of gin, call the ex and pass out on face. There was a practical purpose behind the distinctive Egyptian chic. It turns out that the Egyptians' affinity for eyeliner served the same purpose as the black smears on a modern football player's cheekbones -- it helped to reduce glare from the oppressive desert sunlight. mythencyclopedia "Dude, we know you're the sun god, but do you have to carry the damn thing around with you?" Not only was the Egyptian desert bright enough to begin with, but as we've pointed out before , the pyramids were originally covered in a white limestone coating so that every venture outside your hut was like someone shining a spotlight directly into your eyes for 10 hours. Slapping a thick layer of black gunk around their eyes was a minor but welcome relief from the constant light assault the Egyptians were subjected to. turquoiseandsparkly Presumably why they went around in single file. Also, see those little cone things on their heads?

They really served as the Egyptian method for dealing with the fact that they all reeked like nothing you could imagine. The lifestyle of a desert environment comes prepackaged with the reality that most of your daily activities are going to revolve around contact with somebody else's sweat. The cones were actually composed of animal fat and perfume , which would melt during the day and produce an aroma to offset their intolerable stench. After the melted deodorant glued their eyes shut, they painted eyes on straight over the eyelids. ↓ Continue Reading Below Wikipedia "Oh, the overwhelming incessancy of my own existence. Poor me, caw caw." Back in the 1300s, we didn't really know what caused disease, so advice about how to prevent it was about as reliable as advice on how to ward off Bigfoot. This was really inconvenient when the worst pandemic in human history strolled into Europe and said "What up?" Getty "Yo." The very least we were able to discern back then was that breathing the same air as a sick person was likely to make you sick as well.

Because rotting food, feral animals and other things that made people sick all shared the feature of smelling really bad, the medical consensus was that disease was caused by bad smells. The " miasma theory " of disease was the best theory about why people were dying by the tens of millions in medieval Europe -- they stank like shit. Getty That's the only reason they buried corpses; otherwise, they'd just prop them up for decoration. The people dressed in bird masks were freelance doctors hired by villages that were hit hard by the plague. What look like beaks were actually cavities stuffed with spices, rose petals and other sweet-smelling stuff that they hoped would offset the odors they figured were the source of the outbreak -- in short, a kind of medieval gas mask. They carried batons to lift up clothes and blankets so they could make their diagnosis without touching anything. anjldust Sadly, they couldn't raise an eyebrow and rub their chin in thought. Since a competing theory about disease was that it was caused by evil spirits or something, as an added precaution the costumes were designed to be really freaking scary in the hope that they would just scare the ghosts right out of you.

And they made them look like giant crows because they presumably confused ghosts with worms. 1 jessiebusch Given today's culture of enforcing tanned, size-zero models as the standard of female beauty, it's kind of confusing that all the women in those famous paintings from the Renaissance are lovingly portrayed as plump, pale and happy. How did the cultural ideal of female beauty change so radically in only a few hundred years? After all, men think with their dicks, right? Isn't what we find attractive just animal instinct? Wikipedia Is she comfortable in her own skin? Disgusting. The chubby, white women you see in these paintings kind of prove otherwise. What society finds attractive about women is tied to how well-off they are, socially and economically. And it was the Industrial Revolution that changed everything. So nowadays, pale skin tends to signify someone who spends too much time indoors playing World of Warcraft. But in earlier times, it was fashionable for women to pile on makeup in order to make themselves as white as humanly possible. Back then, having a tan was a giant fashion faux pas , a sign that you were destitute enough to have to go out and till your own fields.

The paler you were, the surer it was that you had enough slaves to do all that for you. riproduzionidarte We're sure we've seen these women in The Matrix. The pale-skin trend didn't really let up until influential women like Coco Chanel started taking extravagant vacations, reinventing bronze skin as a sign of wealth and comfort. A pale complexion became a symptom of spending all your time working indoors. As for the love handles those girls were sporting, before the Industrial Revolution and the era of easily accessible fatty foods, people who carried a few surplus pounds were those who simply had enough money to afford the extra food. Back then, the women who today adorn the front pages of fashion magazines would have been seen as poverty-stricken charity cases , much more objects of pity than desire. Getty Blergh! Now, the dynamic is completely reversed -- being thin requires more wealth and spare time, since an organic vegan diet and a personal trainer are more expensive than a daily diet of fried meat. So while guys can claim that status doesn't matter when it comes to women, it really does -- just on a subconscious level.

And of course, the one thing to take home from all of these fashion trends is that we've always been shallow and superficial. Just for different reasons. Read more of Yosomono at his headquarters at the GaijinAss Web page or follow him on Twitter @GaijinAss . For more on fashion, check out 6 Popular Fashion Trends (That Killed People) . Or learn about why senors act the way they do in 6 Obnoxious Old People Habits (Explained by Science) . And stop by LinkSTORM to see Jack O'Brien wearing a silly hat. And don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get sexy, sexy jokes sent straight to your news feed. Do you have an idea in mind that would make a great article? Then sign up for our writers workshop ! Do you possess expert skills in image creation and manipulation? Mediocre? Even rudimentary? Are you frightened by MS Paint and simply have a funny idea? You can create an infograpic and you could be on the front page of Cracked.com tomorrow!

Founders' Fashion Founders' Fashion Glossary of Terms Colonial Fashion Trends: What the Founding Fathers Wore The United States has undergone tremendous changes in fashion since the days of the Founding Fathers. Nowadays, men keep their hair cropped short, and women wear pants - both ideas that were simply unheard of during the colonial era. So the question remains, what did the Founding Fathers wear? John Hancock's Powdered Wig Powdered Wigs The concept of the powdered wig emerged in France the mid 17th century. King Louis XIII was the man first responsible for the trend, as he wore a wig (original called "periwig") to cover his premature balding. As the trend began in royalty, they developed an upper-class, conservative status. People who wore them were among the "elites" in society. Ralph Earl in Breeches The first wigs were made from goat and horse hair, and because they were never properly washed they smelled quite terrible, and tended to attract lice. To combat the unfortunate odor and unwanted parasites, the wig-wearer would "powder" his wig. The powder was usually made up of finely ground starch and scented with lavender.

Breeches Emerging in the twelfth century, breeches simply meant "garment for the legs and trunk." They were the staple of men's fashion in the late seventeenth and entire eighteenth centuries. The breeches worn by the Founding Fathers were knee length and attached with buttons or draw strings. They are still worn today for equestrian related activities and fencing. John Singleton Copley in Waistcoat and Frock Coat Waistcoat (Wisket) Nary a day would pass when an eighteenth century gentleman would leave his house without his waistcoat (wisket/vest). The waistcoat is a sleeveless garment worn on the upper body over a dress shirt. It was often worn beneath a frock coat. It is still a prevalent piece in mens' formal wear today. Frock Coat The Frock Coat was worn over the shirt and waistcoat and typically reached down to the knees. This style emerged during the late eighteenth century and would gain popularity throughout the nineteenth century. Stockings and Shoes Beaver Skin Tricorne Hat Gentleman, along with breeches, typically wore silk or woolen stockings along with lowheeled leather shoes with buckles.

Unlike modern footwear, colonial shoes were not fitted for the curvature of the human foot, but instead were straight and, as a result, quite uncomfortable. Shoe buckles were made of polished silver. Although the men did wear boots, they were often for riding, and not seen in public society. Tricorne Hats Although gentleman tended to wear their powdered wigs unadorned, the tricorne hat did gain popularity throughout the Revolutionary War Period. The turned up portions of the hat not only shaded the wearer from the suns rays, but served as rain gutters that directed water away from his face as well. They were made using materials like felt or beaver fur. Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons under the Creative Commons Share-Alike License 3.0 To learn more about the Constitution — the people, the events, the landmark cases — order a copy of “The U.S. Constitution & Fascinating Facts About It” today! Call to order: 1-800-887-6661 or order pocket constitution books online. Wigged Out – Why did the Puritan’s Wear Wigs? – by Dr. C.

Matthew McMahon | A Puritan's Mind Wigged Out - Why did the Puritan's Wear Wigs? - by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon Articles on Puritan Worship and the Regulative Principle Today, many Christians are turning back to the puritans to, “walk in the old paths,” of God’s word, and to continue to proclaim old truth that glorifies Jesus Christ. There is no new theology. In our electronic age, more and more people are looking to add electronic books (ePubs, mobi and PDF formats) to their library – books from the Reformers and Puritans – in order to become a “digital puritan” themselves. Take a moment to visit Puritan Publications (click the banner below) to find the biggest selection of rare puritan works updated in modern English in both print form and in multiple electronic forms. There are new books published every month. All proceeds go to support A Puritan’s Mind . Why did the Puritan’s Wear Wigs? Aren’t they a violation of the “long hair” problem that Paul raises in Corinthians?

I’ve often been asked, “Why did the Puritans wear wigs?” If you are familiar with the Puritans at all, or many of the Reformers for that matter, wigs, coifs and black flat caps were common in their day and most of the woodcut pictures you see have them wearing some sort of wig. The wearing of wigs came from a few different directions. None of them, however, at any time, had some conflict on “dressing like a woman” or wearing woman’s clothing, or anything of the sort. This would immediately dispel any ideas that “wig wearing” was in violation of the Apostle Paul’s statements regarding long hair about women in the Corinthian correspondence. George Gillespie, one of the Westminster Divines, and a longer haired preacher, states, “As touching a man’s self, the law of nature teaches him that he should not live as a reasonless creature, but that all his actions should be such as may be congruous and beseeming for a creature endued with reason: Whereupon it follows, that he should live honestly and virtuously, that he should observe order and decency in all his actions, etc.

Hence the Apostle says, that nature itself teaches that it is a shame for a man to have long hair (1 Cor. 11:14) because it is repugnant to that decency and comeliness which the law of nature requires. For, among other differences which nature has put between men and women, this is one, that it has given to women thicker and longer hair than to men, that it might be as a veil, to adorn and cover them. The reason whereof, nature has hid in the complexion of a woman, which is more humid than the complexion of a man. So that, if a man should take him to this womanish ornament, he should but against nature transform himself (in so far) into a woman. (Paraeus, Com. in illum locum. [Cf. Ad Corinthios priorem (1609) col. 699.])” The barrister or judge’s wig had no resemblance of any kind to a woman in this regard. So, what is the point? The royal court, magistrates and those dealing with the law began wearing wigs around the 16th century. The best examples were made from natural human hair, and were quite expensive.

The hair of horses and goats was often used as a cheaper alternative. Practically, the 16th-17th century wig was a means of compensating for hair loss or improving one’s personal and hygienic appearance. The unhygienic conditions of the time meant that hair attracted head lice, a problem that could be reduced if natural hair were shaved or shortened (which was the reason the Puritans are often called “roundheads” – a close shave of their hair to their heads) and replaced with a more easily de-loused artificial hairpiece. In popular society they were introduced during the reign of Charles II (1660-1685). By the middle of the 17th century wigs were the universal custom, but faded out of general use later on during George III’s reign (1760-1820). In the 18th century, wigs were powdered in order to give them a distinctive appearance of white or off-white color. Wig powder was made from finely ground starch that was scented with orange flower, lavender, or orris root. Wig powder was occasionally colored violet, blue, pink or yellow, but was most often used as white.

Powdered wigs became an essential for full dress occasions and continued in use until almost the end of the 18th century. Powdering wigs was messy and inconvenient in many ways, and wig-makers developed naturally white or off-white powerless wigs made of horsehair which is common even today among English Magistrates and those dealing with the law in court. The Pilgrims who came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony did not wear wigs in early America, and many pastors in early America preached against wearing wigs in church blaming the “fashion of the day”; but that did not last long. By the 1700s, young men were lightly powdering their natural hair, and the colonial wigs became very popular even among preachers, lawyers and businessmen. After 1790 both wigs and powder were reserved for older, more conservative men, and were in use by ladies being presented at court. Wigs of the day denoted experience through their size and also denoted that those who wore wigs while in a particular official position were different from their normal garb outside of those offices.

In court, for example, lawyers represented people who have the God-given right to an impartial, professional lawyer who relied on dealing only with the truth, and a judge who would uphold the truth and the law. In defense or prosecution the impartiality and the demonstration of the office was represented by the look of the lawyers and the judge who covered their person in a robe and upon their head. People saw this as being impartial to the law. Keep in mind, this is the same thinking behind many modern day uniforms. For example, police officers have a specific uniform as do soldiers of various stations, nurses, doctors, even those who play sports. The “uniform” says, “While I am on duty or representing a particular organization, idea or cause, I lay aside my own feelings and agendas and represent that system.” Even before wigs were used by those in court there is some evidence that lawyers wore white coifs, such as the black coifs seen worn by the reformers in many of their painted portraits. This was a kind of cloth cap which ties under the chin.

The idea was that there is a need for lawyers and judges, or those in an authoritative position to be set apart from “the ordinary” and lend seriousness and gravity to court proceedings or their particular station. Many educators, teachers and doctors wore such coifs, caps and wigs in the university being immediately distinguishable from the student. The puritans were quite comfortable to wear a Geneva robe, preaching bands (those two white extended collars around the neck), and a wig to remind the people of the difference between the ordinary station of providence in life, and the authoritative station of the preacher as God’s mouthpiece to the people of God – and that was the point for the puritan. It was not a practice for the Puritans to wear wigs in daily life. As a matter of fact, many of the puritans preached against “fashions” of the day and included “periwigs” or wigs as something that was often abused. Wigs for the general populace were seen as something fashionable and the Christian, generally speaking, was to walk circumspect against trendy ideas for the sake of them.

Outward adornment, as the Apostle Peter directs, is something that should be exemplified in godliness, not the size of your wig. But place the wig, the robe and preaching bands in the realm of the preacher’s attire and uniform working on behalf of God and you have a completely different type of case to make. Today trends have pressed “preachers” to move in an entirely different direction which is to equate with those in the pew, not stand apart from them. This is the reason we have the see-through pulpits, the disregard for appropriate attire (wearing a t-shirt from the stage?), or other post-modern ideas that have infiltrated church pulpits to make the preacher less authoritative and more ordinary. In practicality, the puritans saw wearing a Geneva robe and wig as a decrease in themselves and a focus on being the mouthpiece of God. “Look at how nice the pastor looks today,” says one lady on the Lord’s Day to another sitting in the pew. That is dispelled with the covering of the clothes by the robe and the covering of the head with the coif or wig. It distinguishes the gravity of what is about to take place.

It is then the preacher, the mouthpiece, set apart to a holy duty of preaching with gravity. “Therefore thou shalt speak unto him, and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye ought to do. (Exo. 4:15)” “And I have put my words in thy mouth. (Isa. 51:16)” “Then the Lord stretched out his hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. (Jer. 1:9)” “To the one we are the savour of death, unto death, and to the other the savour of life, unto life: and who is sufficient for these things? (2 Cor. 2:16)” “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus sake. (2 Cor. 4:5) “Preach the word: be instant, in season and out of season: improve, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. (2 Tim.

4:2)” Bible Verse: 1700´s Wigs | The Beautiful Times The Beautiful Times ~ The times and places that still touches us Search: Hair , Louis XIII , Style , Wig , Wigs Mid-1700s men's powdered wig with two curls on each side and a pigtail in the back. In 1624 Louis XIII went prematurely bald. He disguised this with a wig and started a fashion which became almost universal for European upper & middle class men by the beginning of the 18th Century during his similarly follicley challenged son’s reign. Louis XIV (son of Louis XIII) in the Full bottomed wig he made fashionable in the late 17th and early 18th centuries Wigs were made of horsehair, yak hair and human hair, the latter being the most expensive. A Barber & Wigmaker’s Shop from Diderot. Wigs were very expensive. A man could outfit himself with a hat, coat, breeches, shirt, hose, and shoes for about what a wig would cost him. A wig also required constant care from a hairdresser for cleaning, curling, and powdering. Source: by Tara Maginnis, Ph.D.

The Costumer’s Manifesto is proudly hosted by OnlineCostumeStore.com Around 1715, lighter colored wigs were in fashion so, after unsuccessful attempts at making the color of bleached wigs stable, people started to use powder instead. Hair powder was made from finely ground starch, scented with orange flower, lavender, or orris root, and occasionally colored blue, violet, pink or yellow, but most often white. detail from a French fashion plate of 1778 Powder rapidly became an essential for full dress occasions and it continued in use until almost the end of the century. Mr. Kellom Tomlinson, Author of the “Art of Dancing” 1724. Wig fashions from 1715-1725 early in the reign of Louis XV At the beginning of the 18th Century, the most popular dress wig was the long, full-bottomed wig, left over from the previous century. It dribbled its way out of fashion until the 1720’s when it was only worn by professional men such as lawyers and doctors. After 1740, it was only worn by judges and had gone completely out of fashion.

Wig in the fashion from the previous reign carried over into 1723 Untitled Document The Faces Behind the Masks: The "Toilette" in 18th Century England Many people have the idea that the eighteenth century was a romantic period, full of adventure and alive with cultural changes and discoveries. Few look past the beautiful clothes and the fastidious application of cosmetics, though the reality of personal hygene and health was completely opposite to people's outward appearances. While the Black Plague had ceased to decimate Europe by this time, many diseases still ran rampant from a lack of suitable medication and sanitation practices. Smallpox was a particularly virulent disease that left all survivors with pock-marks on their skin --- deep pits created by pustules drying out and scarring the epidermis. This disease is perhaps one of the biggest reasons why almost everyone who wanted to be fashionable wore a lot of makeup in order to hide the scars. Step One to A Beautiful Complexion The picture on the left shows a "patch-box", in which pieces of silk, taffeta, or even leather were applied to the face with an adhesive in order to hide the pock-marks.

These were considered to be quite fashionable at the time, and were often dyed brilliant colors. ( Gunn, 113. ) Other people who did not want to wear patches on their faces to hide skin disfigurement would use a thick coat of face powder to make their complexions look white and smooth. Unfortunately, the base element in face powder that made people's faces look so pale was not the talc that we use today, but finely flaked lead ! For the full, tantalizing recipe for Lead Face Powder, click here . (WARNING: Do not recreate this at home! Lead is easily absorbed by the body and has the side effects of severe head pain, nausea, dizziness, bowel problems, blindness, and, if large enough amounts have been ingested, paralyzation or even death.) ( Gunn, 110. ) Many a young lady's death in the 1700's can be attributed not only to poor sanitation in English towns and cities, but also to their avid use of harmful cosmetics. Applying Finishing Touches to One's Face Rouge was another favorite cosmetic.

Its name is derived from the French word for "red." Like the popular white face powder, rouge was created from questionable ingredients, including carmine (a lead-based pigment.) People used rouge with wet bits of wool to daub fashionable red spots on their cheeks --- the general idea was that it made an aesthetically pleasing contrast to one's pale, powdered face. ( Gunn, 115 .) Rouge was also available as a lipstick for both men and women. Sticks of solid rouge were created by mixing carmine with plaster of Paris (the material used by children today to make molds of their feet in art classes.) ( Gunn, 115 .) Attending to One's Hair Besides their complexion, women in the 1700's subjected their hair to various tortures, the least of which was powdering their hair after curling it with hot tongs and applying lard as the base to which the powder would stick. Fashion demanded that women have big, complicated hairstyles with which to complement their clothing. Many women resorted to wearing hairpieces and wigs to add "volume" to their hair.

Since many of these were difficult to attach and sculpt on a daily basis, women often had their hair done (curled, larded, powdered, and then adorned with small flowers and feathers) once every few weeks and leave it unwashed so it would stay that way. ( Gunn, 116 .) Not surprisingly, these ladies suffered from a lot of scalp problems. Infestations of lice and/or fleas were common enough even among those who did not --- or could not afford to --- enjoy such an extensive cosmetic procedure. Those wealthier ladies who let themselves be the willing victims of fashion often found mice nesting in their hair because the lard had attracted their hungry attention.( Gunn, 117 .) The Kinder Side of Beauty Aids Fortunately, not all beauty remedies in the 18th century had harmful side effects. While baths were taken far and few between, people did wash themselves. (Soapholder on left.) They usually used home-made soaps and tonics that used ingredients that were easy to find in the garden or in a field somewhere, and everyone doused themselves with large amounts of perfume in an effort to keep away not only bad odor, but also what they believed caused sicknesses.

Question: In the 1700's what did men commonly wear that was powdered and white?
Answer: Wig