# BEST ancient wig style



## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Since we're all obsessed about wigs around here (a wig fetish trend developing taking over the Wagnerite thing before?), I decided to make this poll.

You can choose any wig. This is not based on any 'real' study of wigs, btw. I just did it on the fly with googleimages.

*1. Two part invention wig*
http://picture.yatego.com/images/44...471_barockBurgund_big-kqh/barock-peruecke.jpg

*2. Pretentious Baroque judges wig*
http://www.racheshop.de/product_ima...-peruecke-rot-karneval-fasching-halloween.jpg

*3. Colonial 'common' man's wig *(these were worn in Australia like 200 years back)
http://images.buycostumes.com/mgen/merchandiser/1894.jpg?zm=1600,1600,1,0,0

*4. Burgundy ladies wig with curls at the bottom*
http://www.buypartygoods.co.uk/imag...Burgundy_Ladies_Halloween_Fancy_Dress_Wig.jpg

*5. Marie Antoinette type wig for ladies *(white with curls and ribbons...and a decapitated head? )
http://www.horror-shop.com/out/pict..._peruecken-baroque_wig_antoinette-8800253.jpg

*6. Intellectual type wig*
http://lh4.ggpht.com/-C_XjHF9UOS4/S...aOAjZ6RbY/18th%2520C%2520Wig%2520male_005.JPG

*7. Mega wig or voluminous wig *(a period painting)
http://everyhistory.org/costume15th/1650/44.jpg

*8. Other wig, your choice *(but has to be ancient, eg. pre-early 1800's style) and please show us a link or photo.


----------



## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)




----------



## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

I can't decide between the two part, burgundy, intellectual and mega wigs.


----------



## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Pretentious baroque judges wig for me.


----------



## Nadia (Jul 29, 2012)

Marie Antoinette type is the best. Long live the girly curls!


----------



## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

The more boat the better.


----------



## Lenfer (Aug 15, 2011)

Colonial 'common' man's wig all the way!


----------



## LordBlackudder (Nov 13, 2010)

colonial common man looks like the only sane one.


----------



## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

Two-part invention. 

It has bangs.


----------



## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

Personally, I find much to like in the Neo-Rococo Burlesque wig look:







And how can you not love Will Cotton's merger of the childhood fantasies of Candyland, with the more "adult" fantasies:



Seriously our wedding took the form of an 18th century-themed costume ball and both my wife and I sported flamboyant powdered wigs.:lol:


----------



## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

These wigs rock - literally. They're a hard rock band from New England called The Upper Crust and they do great songs like Rock 'n' Roll Butler, Boudoir and Once More Into The Breeches (I am not joking...)


----------



## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> Personally, I find much to like in the Neo-Rococo Burlesque wig look:
> 
> ...


I saw some similar to those on my googleimages search. But they were not authentic enough for this poll! :lol: But pretty sexy, I love burlesque. I bet quite a few of Offenbach's operettas had singers sporting those wigs and maybe costumes nearly as revealing. He was called 'the Mozart of the Champs-Elysees' for exactly that reason!  But he had a monacle not a wig...not half as sexy.

Thanks for the anecdotes as well, re the wedding and the rock band mentioned by elgars ghost.

Funnily enough, those ladies with the boat wigs (the engravings posted by Aksel) are not far off from Carmen Miranda, a singer of the 1940's (as is the Will Cotton one mentioned by stlukes). But she often put fruit on her head, but also feathers. Her hairdos where works of art. & matched the kind of 'spicy' style of her songs (I think with Latin rhythms, and she danced too).

*Well as for me it's the two part invention, as it reminds me of camels (the two-humped kind). *I'm a fan of camels, we've got up to a million of them roaming our deserts, the only/biggest feral camel population on the planet. & I like Bach's two part inventions, so there!

The colonial and intellectual wig where also options. The latter type worn by Haydn, who is a favourite composer of mine. Re that, I think in the UK you had the political party that was more liberal and less conservative back in those days, they where called the 'wigs.' I guess they were intellectuals (including barristers/legal men, and that type of wig is still worn by those guys in the English speaking world).


----------



## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> Seriously our wedding took the form of an 18th century-themed costume ball and both my wife and I sported flamboyant powdered wigs.:lol:


Picture requested.


----------



## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Lunasong said:


> Picture requested.


Or maybe better still, stukes can change his avatar from that Roman bust to a wig of his choice? We want total allegiance to wigs around here. No nonsense. I mean TOTAL.

And my avatar counts cos Mae was most likely a bottled blonde.


----------



## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

My favourite is the second half of the 18th century white wig style with a ponytail, plus a curl or two on the sides, which is what I'm wearing right now.


----------



## TrazomGangflow (Sep 9, 2011)

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> My favourite is the second half of the 18th century white wig style with a ponytail, plus a curl or two on the sides, which is what I'm wearing right now.


Exactly my choice.

I suppose classical music draws the listeners mind to wigs and other attire of the era. I have currently been having an obsession with wigs and even (with a hint of embarassment) googled "authentic powdered wig craftsman" in order to purchase one for myself. Thankfully this thread made me realize my obsession and saved me from purchasing another useless novelty item.


----------



## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Sid James said:


> Re that, I think in the UK you had the political party that was more liberal and less conservative back in those days, they where called the 'wigs.' I guess they were intellectuals (including barristers/legal men, and that type of wig is still worn by those guys in the English speaking world).


Whigs. Lots of drinking, gambling, bedroom swapping and getting a group of guys together to go and smash Pitt's indows. Oh yeah, and the politics.


----------



## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I can't help thinking the larger, thicker wigs must have been unpleasant to wear sometimes - especially during the summer months. Was it considered bad manners to remove it in company and have a good scratch?


----------



## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

TrazomGangflow said:


> ... I have currently been having an obsession with wigs and even (with a hint of embarassment) googled "authentic powdered wig craftsman" in order to purchase one for myself. Thankfully this thread made me realize my obsession and saved me from purchasing another useless novelty item.


I'm sure barristers have wig makers as they wear wigs. Barristers still do that in Australia and England but I'm unsure about USA (or Canada). Maybe they've dropped this tradition?



mamascarlatti said:


> Whigs. Lots of drinking, gambling, bedroom swapping and getting a group of guys together to go and smash Pitt's indows. Oh yeah, and the politics.


Hogarth's engravings come to mind, of 'low-life' London, eg. 'Beer street' -
http://www.shakespeares-sonnets.com/Archive/Images/BeerSt3.jpg

But he imaged 'high life' with just as much sarcasm and pointed/barbed humour.



elgars ghost said:


> I can't help thinking the larger, thicker wigs must have been unpleasant to wear sometimes - especially during the summer months. Was it considered bad manners to remove it in company and have a good scratch?


I read that Handel never removed his voluminous wig in public. So it may have been bad manners, but could be other things too.

& it reminds me, Hogarth did a painting with Handel turned away from him, playing the organ. I remember this from a book on Hogarth. I'm sure this is the painting, but I could be wrong (I think Handel is bottom left) -










& here, a portrait of some judges wearing pretty MEGA wigs, also by Hogarth. The implication I get from this is indeed pretension and maybe even a sense of them being 'Gods' judging the lowly plebs. & hypocrisy? -










& a link to modern music. Stravinsky based his opera 'The Rake's Progress' on the images of Hogarth.


----------



## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Funny how given the 'intrigues' on this forum lately re (sacred?) wigs, I came across a quote in a book. It said J.C. Bach (one of the sons of J.S. Bach) referred to his father "the old wig." In other sources online, its stated that Bach's sons sometimes referred to him as "the old powdered wig."

So there you go. The sons were irreverent. So maybe calling those composers wigs is excusable?

However I don't use it as disrespect if I do use it here. It's just shorthand. QUicker and shorter to type than say Baroque era or Classical era (or both).


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Any wig is one too many


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

LordBlackudder said:


> colonial common man looks like the only sane one.


I don't know. It looks like the predecessor to the Mullet.


----------



## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

Pretentious Baroque judges wig. It matches my preferred style of cod pieces.



Fritz Kobus said:


> I don't know. It looks like the predecessor to the Mullet.


Business up front, party in the rear! Actually, that's not Klassik's philosophy at all now that I think about it. I'm more of a party up front, business in the rear type of guy. Perhaps I should re-evaluate my mullet-like wigs. Plus, I don't want to look like Billy Ray Cyrus. I'll have to twerk this over a little bit.


----------

