Compared to his father, the typical wig-wearing
man in mid-eighteenth century was downright conservative.
Only a generation before the style had been the full-bottom
wig, a curly, flowing contrivance that reached the shoulders
or even further. Think of Captain Hook in Peter Pan. But
by the 1760’s men were wearing a much smaller wig,
generally with the hair pulled back from the forehead, some
type of side curls, and a tail in back. Think of any of
the American founding fathers—except Benjamin Franklin,
who even in his own time period, was a bit of a hippy.
A
gentleman’s wig was a rather big investment. They
were generally made from horsehair or other animal hair,
although the most expensive were made from human hair. The
wig needed to be curled and powdered—usually with
white starch, although the powder could be gray, yellow,
pink, or even lavender. The tail in back might be braided
or encased in a black satin bag with a big bow. Some wigs
had multiple tails or long curls in back. Bob wigs were
chin length and frizzy all over. They were a bit cheaper
than wigs with tails, and they were worn by the clergy and
doctors and were more favored in the American colonies.
Catholic priests wore bob wigs with a cut out tonsure in
the middle.
A man who usually wore a wig would often shave
his head to make the wig fit better. There are many paintings
from this time period of fashionable men lounging about
their houses wearing banyans—a sort of early robe—and
big floppy hats to cover their shaved—and presumably
cold—heads.
The latter part of the eighteenth century saw the end of wigs
for men. As the century drew to a close, the majority of men first began to wear
their own hair clubbed and powdered, then simply clubbed and then, in the beginning
of the nineteenth century, they cropped their hair short. Many a feminine heart
must’ve sighed to see those masculine locks fall…
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