White wigs
Why did people in Europe wear those long white wigs in the earlier centuries? To keep them warm? or was it a status symbol, or what? I see this in so many films and I never could figure it out.
shareIt was fashion, and of course was not limited to Europe. Certainly many people in the "New World" wore them. Fashion doesn't always (or often?) have particular, practical reasons, though I expect one benefit of wearing wigs back in the day (and currently, for that matter) would have been to cover up dirty, yucky hair with a beautiful concoction. Back then, of course, I expect washing one's hair was a great luxury, not even really available to many people. Funny to think that they were going out of their ways to appear to have white hair, and later, folks go out of their ways to appear NOT to have it, when they actually do.
shareThe wigs were made of horse hair and bleached white. It was not only fashionable but because of lack of personal hygiene most men (and many women)shaved their heads to keep lice at bay. This also meant the wigs themselves had to be deloused regularly.
Come on lads, bags of swank!
Good point. I was just noticing that while watching HBO's "John Adams" series, that most of the men seemed to have shaved heads, on which they put wigs. The thought of the prevalence of lice, and of lack of access to good hygiene generally, always makes me grateful for living in this day and age, and where I do, at least by reason of those aspects of life.
shareBelated addition: the wigs fashion was apparently started by Louis XIII of France when he began losing his hair. It wasn't cool and manly for a king to be bald, so...
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