FASHION HISTORY: WIGS - the Georgians

fashion in the 1700s required attention from head to toe, and a central part of the 18th-century man’s wardrobe was the wig.

Wigs were worn to supplement existing hair; they could be used to add body or style, and men started to wear wigs for fashionable purposes during the reign of Charles II (1660‒85), where the full-bottomed wig (a long, curly wig that came down over the shoulders, also known as a periwig) was an essential accessory that remained popular into the early 18th century. By mid-century wigs were worn by all but the poorest men and they were particularly popular with elite, military and professional men such as physicians, lawyers and judges. The term ‘bigwig’ dates from this time and refers to these men in positions of authority who favoured the big, full-bottomed wigs. English High Court judges still wear a descendent of this style today.

Just like clothing, styles of wigs changed according to the fashion and occasion. The curly full-bottomed wig was worn at court in the early 1700s but its size made it cumbersome and impractical, so it was gradually replaced by a smaller, neater wig that came in a variety of forms. The Ramillies wig, for instance, tied the hair in a plait at the back making it more practical and thus popular with military men. Bag wigs were in use from the 1720s onwards – as the name suggests the hair was tied at the back in a small black bag ‒ and there were curled rolls above the ears (below). Another style, worn from the 1730s onwards, was the bob wig – this was the simplest style of all, with hair falling just below the ears and having either curls or a simple frizz all over. These were popular with professional men such as doctors and were considered more informal than the periwig.

Wigs were expensive to buy and required a lot of upkeep. The most sought after were made from human hair but if you couldn’t afford that then horse hair would do. Initially they came in different colours (Charles II favoured black wigs), but by the 18th century wigs were being powdered with wheat flour or starch, which could cause problems for those walking past:

You sometimes meet a Fop of nicest Tread

Whose mantling Peruke veils his empty Head…

Him, like the Miller, pass with Caution by,

Lest from his Shoulders Clouds of powder fly.

John Gay, Trivia: Or the Art of Walking the Streets of London, 1716.

Powdering was a messy business that was used for both wigs and natural hair. You needed a loose gown to protect your clothes, and some men and women even had specific rooms where the powdering would take place. Powdering became controversial in 1795 when William Pitt imposed a tax on hair powder to raise revenue. Some people were exempt – including the royal family – but many people who wanted to continue to powder their wigs or hair had to pay a guinea, a price that only the wealthiest could afford. By this point in the century, wigs were falling out of fashion and it became more common for men to reveal their own hair.

Women were less likely to wear full wigs but that didn’t stop them from using wires, rolls and pads to create more and more elaborate hairstyles. Hair pieces – the 18th-century equivalent of modern hair extensions – were also popular, helping to enhance the natural hair of the wearer. Elite women could spend hours being styled by their hairdressers (coiffeurs), particularly for court events when they needed to look their absolute best. The results were sometimes so elaborate and took so much effort that the styles would be left in for days at a time. Decorations were used to make even more of a statement; flowers, jewels, pieces of fruit and even model ships were perched in the staggering waves of hair. Feathers from exotic birds were popular as they added even more height to the hair. Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (1757‒1806), apparently once wore a 4ft ostrich feather to court, a sight so ridiculous that Queen Charlotte banned such items from her Drawing Room.

These elaborate hairstyles were a gift to satirists who mocked these women for the lengths they went to in order to achieve the height of hair fashion. Caricatures and satirical prints were popular in the 18th century. People would buy them for entertainment or to decorate their homes. Like cartoons in newspapers today, these prints often contained multiple layers of meaning, which addressed wider social and cultural concerns, or political and even sexual scandals. Also just like today, extreme fashions and those who followed these fashions obsessively provided a lot of material for the satirists. The images are often exaggerations of the styles in question, but they can tell us a lot about what people thought about fashionable dress and the people that wore it.