Michiru
May 22nd, 2009, 05:16 PM
I had to write a 7-10 page paper for my modern art (rococo-post impressionism) class and I chose hair styles. I did mine during the rococo period in France. I did find some interesting information so I thought I'd share my finished paper. I won't get it back until fall so I don't know what my grade is.
And here's the paper:
Look in any fashion magazine today and one will surely find multiple pages dedicated the styling for hair. This cultural obsession may make some long for ‘the good old days’ before celebrities became a worldwide obsession and advertisements could be found on every turn depicting a new style. However, this is not as modern an obsession as one may at first think. It has been consistence through out history for both men and women to modify their bodies in whichever way society deems appropriate. It is often used as a way to identify a group of people with each other and to separate them from outsiders. One point in society that sought to set new trends was that during the eighteenth century in France. It was during that time when hairstyles reached a new level of superficial excessiveness. King Louis XIV scolded the women of the court for their overabundance time spent on hair. Later, when Madame De Pompadour was the main inspiration for hair and fashion, she brought around an arrangement of styles closer to the head and arranged them with fresh flowers. The years of Marie Antoinette brought back the towering hair in full force only to fall with life of the very woman. Although something like hair may seem superficial at first, it must be noted that during time periods where women seeming to have advanced wealth and privileges exist, the emphasis on appearance tends to be even greater, and few other place exemplifies this glorification of women as a symbol better then the late baroque and rococo France.
King Louis XIV liked to think of himself as a Sun King, linking himself back to the Egyptians. He took delight in his wealth and position and it was him who wanted to create Versailles. Members of the aristocracy relocated themselves near the Sun King. He approved of this because he wanted to have a tight hold on court and had a very strict set of rules put in place for those who lived within his palace. He dictated the fashion of those around him; sometimes making some nobles become bankrupted trying to keep up. (Mississippi University of Women, 8) This was also acceptable because it gave him a greater hold on them. Yet with all this grandeur he placed himself in he, ironically, admitted saying that hair was a preoccupation to women that never ceased. (Trassko, Mary 39). When his wife-to-be arrived in France she was in for a surprise in regards to her appearance. Spain use to be the trendsetter and her appearance was now being called horrible by the ladies of the court. She was due for a make over. (Trassko, Mary 42)
Young girls were often indoctrinated to the fashion and hair of the time through dolls. (Image 1) Although girls are often shown with them in images, women had uses for them as well. The dolls would be passed around to friends and acquaintances to observe the newest style. These dolls would show the newest styles in hair and fashion and allowed their daughters to be taught what was acceptable. (Bryer, Robin 63) This provided a three dimensional view of new fashion allowing women to pick what was most desirable to them. Ribbons, of example, enjoyed a brief fad with all the wealthy women from the very young to the elderly. When a young duchess was riding with the king her hair became loose and she had to tie it up with a ribbon. The kind was very taken with this look and thus its popularity spread.
It was around 1665 that wigs began to increase in popularity with an additional boast a decade later when Louis XIV began wearing a wig. Curly hair was widely in fashion because of King Louis XIV own curly hair. He only shaved and adopted a wig when it began to turn gray. This may have been a premature move because where dark hair had been fashionable, white hair was soon becoming the new sought after look. (Mississippi University of Women, 10) These wigs would sometimes reach a height of two feet and allowed the wearer to experiment with hair colors other than what they originally possessed. With hair of this height it is easy to imagine accidents happening. Since candles were the source of light at night many wigs went up in flames, often when the wearer was attached. The following poem was attributed to one such noble women who was burned to death after her wig caught a flame:
Yet Miss at her rooms
Must beware of her plumes,
For if Vulcan her feather embraces,
Like poor Lady Laycock,
She’ll burn like a haycock,
And roast all the Loves and Graces (Trassko, Mary 39)
These accidents, however, did not stop the women from wearing large hair dos. The king did complain about them but his complaints had no real effect. It was not until a English woman came to Versailles with small an un-powered wig that the style seemed to change over night. Upon observation the king, bemused, had this to say, “I swear, it irks me to think, with all my authority as King that when I railed against theses coiffures being too high, no one had the slightest inclination to comply with my wishes. Along comes this stranger, a little English nobody, with a low coiffure: suddenly, all the princesses go form one extreme to the other!” (Trassko, Mary 4) His statement shows that although he held ultimate control over Versailles, women and their hair were one of the things he could not control. Women were using their hair not only to align themselves with the Kings favor, such as the use of the ribbons, but they were comparing themselves to one another thus creating a new unspoken standard that was meant to be obeyed. This new low style, like any change in fashion, was only temporary. It was not long before the styles began to grow upward again.
And here's the paper:
Look in any fashion magazine today and one will surely find multiple pages dedicated the styling for hair. This cultural obsession may make some long for ‘the good old days’ before celebrities became a worldwide obsession and advertisements could be found on every turn depicting a new style. However, this is not as modern an obsession as one may at first think. It has been consistence through out history for both men and women to modify their bodies in whichever way society deems appropriate. It is often used as a way to identify a group of people with each other and to separate them from outsiders. One point in society that sought to set new trends was that during the eighteenth century in France. It was during that time when hairstyles reached a new level of superficial excessiveness. King Louis XIV scolded the women of the court for their overabundance time spent on hair. Later, when Madame De Pompadour was the main inspiration for hair and fashion, she brought around an arrangement of styles closer to the head and arranged them with fresh flowers. The years of Marie Antoinette brought back the towering hair in full force only to fall with life of the very woman. Although something like hair may seem superficial at first, it must be noted that during time periods where women seeming to have advanced wealth and privileges exist, the emphasis on appearance tends to be even greater, and few other place exemplifies this glorification of women as a symbol better then the late baroque and rococo France.
King Louis XIV liked to think of himself as a Sun King, linking himself back to the Egyptians. He took delight in his wealth and position and it was him who wanted to create Versailles. Members of the aristocracy relocated themselves near the Sun King. He approved of this because he wanted to have a tight hold on court and had a very strict set of rules put in place for those who lived within his palace. He dictated the fashion of those around him; sometimes making some nobles become bankrupted trying to keep up. (Mississippi University of Women, 8) This was also acceptable because it gave him a greater hold on them. Yet with all this grandeur he placed himself in he, ironically, admitted saying that hair was a preoccupation to women that never ceased. (Trassko, Mary 39). When his wife-to-be arrived in France she was in for a surprise in regards to her appearance. Spain use to be the trendsetter and her appearance was now being called horrible by the ladies of the court. She was due for a make over. (Trassko, Mary 42)
Young girls were often indoctrinated to the fashion and hair of the time through dolls. (Image 1) Although girls are often shown with them in images, women had uses for them as well. The dolls would be passed around to friends and acquaintances to observe the newest style. These dolls would show the newest styles in hair and fashion and allowed their daughters to be taught what was acceptable. (Bryer, Robin 63) This provided a three dimensional view of new fashion allowing women to pick what was most desirable to them. Ribbons, of example, enjoyed a brief fad with all the wealthy women from the very young to the elderly. When a young duchess was riding with the king her hair became loose and she had to tie it up with a ribbon. The kind was very taken with this look and thus its popularity spread.
It was around 1665 that wigs began to increase in popularity with an additional boast a decade later when Louis XIV began wearing a wig. Curly hair was widely in fashion because of King Louis XIV own curly hair. He only shaved and adopted a wig when it began to turn gray. This may have been a premature move because where dark hair had been fashionable, white hair was soon becoming the new sought after look. (Mississippi University of Women, 10) These wigs would sometimes reach a height of two feet and allowed the wearer to experiment with hair colors other than what they originally possessed. With hair of this height it is easy to imagine accidents happening. Since candles were the source of light at night many wigs went up in flames, often when the wearer was attached. The following poem was attributed to one such noble women who was burned to death after her wig caught a flame:
Yet Miss at her rooms
Must beware of her plumes,
For if Vulcan her feather embraces,
Like poor Lady Laycock,
She’ll burn like a haycock,
And roast all the Loves and Graces (Trassko, Mary 39)
These accidents, however, did not stop the women from wearing large hair dos. The king did complain about them but his complaints had no real effect. It was not until a English woman came to Versailles with small an un-powered wig that the style seemed to change over night. Upon observation the king, bemused, had this to say, “I swear, it irks me to think, with all my authority as King that when I railed against theses coiffures being too high, no one had the slightest inclination to comply with my wishes. Along comes this stranger, a little English nobody, with a low coiffure: suddenly, all the princesses go form one extreme to the other!” (Trassko, Mary 4) His statement shows that although he held ultimate control over Versailles, women and their hair were one of the things he could not control. Women were using their hair not only to align themselves with the Kings favor, such as the use of the ribbons, but they were comparing themselves to one another thus creating a new unspoken standard that was meant to be obeyed. This new low style, like any change in fashion, was only temporary. It was not long before the styles began to grow upward again.