To All,

I just love all of the interesting things everyone has said and all of the pictures that have been so graciously shared with the rest of us. Thank you all very much for contributing to the site and making it so wonderful.

Thanks again,
Ray

i like some of them but some of them look to crazy and it looks like you could hert your neck really bad if you ware that all day, I would die!

Woot. I found another tutorial about doing 1770's hair!

http://www.demodecouture.com/pouf/

I love Demodé Couture! That is an awesome website. And that is a damn good pouf.

I love late 18th Century hair styles, particularly the womens' of the 1770s and 80s. They are so outrageous and yet somehow graceful and elegant all at once. I am often disappointed when somebody comes out with a film depicting that era---I could list a half-dozen recent films---and they always shy away from the correct hairstyles in favor of something simple and "tasteful" to modern sensibilities. On the various film-critic sites I belong to, I'm always asking "Where is the powder?" Hollywood has an aversion to the glorious white hair of the 18th Century. I think those white wigs and curls made everybody look more distinguished.

On a different note, I'm sure those towering coiffs were indeed very uncomfortable for the ladies. However, the ladies who wore these styles led very sedate lives. They did not work, or engage in athletics, or run about doing errands. It was a different world; they might spend two hours a day just getting dressed, 4-5 hrs dining, the rest of their time writing letters, reading, playing cards, visiting with friends, watching plays and operas---they did not move about very fast. Much attention was paid to posture and carriage--the way one walked, sat, gestured. The towering hair and heavy clothing encouraged careful, graceful movements, which was very much admired then.
A general practice for the time, unless she was very rich, for a lady was to have her hair dressed once a week. She would then wear that same hairstyle all week, before taking it down and having it re-done. I can't imagine how they slept like that. I think laying on a pillow with all those pins and curls on your head would be very painful. The men had it better, they could remove their wigs before sleep, and put on a different one the next day.

You're totally right with modern movies depicting this era! That's one of my big costume drama peeves. The other thing I hate is when they make the whole pouf into a big pile of curls, without any sense of the styling that went into it. Have you seen the movie The Madness of King George? It's an excellent movie, one of my favorites, and it has excellent costumes and hair. It's set in 1788, so definitely not everyone is powdered, but they did a good job with late 1780s hair (and fashion).

During the height (ha) of the pouf fashion, women would sleep propped up by pillows because they couldn't lay down with their hairdos.

I'm deff gunna make one just for display in my room lol

I love her Peach 1770's Robe a la Francais! * starry eyed*

Even outrageous hair styles were in fashion, that was not the rule and it depended on a personal view. Some people mocked that trend, especially men. The thing that confuses me, were men also the supporters of that trend and in what period of the 18th century? I see simple wigs on every portrait and in every movie.

That extreme hair for men appeared briefly during the 1770s worn by some ultra-fashionable fops. However, if the fashion was mocked for women, it was definitely looked down on for men.

Not many men wore the high hair.It wouldn't be very practical for hunting, fencing etc. I think it was for more sedentary men.

Here is a link with an article on the hats and the wigs that were used in The Duchess.

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/09/07/ ... a-duchess7

I read an article that the wigs were so heavy that Keira Knightly "developed abnormally strong neck muscles!"

Thank you both. I definitely prefer those simple wigs for men without heavy make-up. That look is so classy and stylish. I love men wardrobe from that period. As Christophe wrote, women from the upper class, that wore those wigs, didn’t do much so the situation wasn’t that bad. Also, some events required to be all dressed up, with the hairstyle that was in fashion (vanity fairs), I seriously doubt that women wore those huge wigs and did their hair the same while spending time in the privacy of their home or in some very private circle.

I think extremely large hair was only for special occasions. I assume women wore simpler poufs in general.