Wig craze

A craze for wearing wigs began in France in the 17th century and spread to other European countries. In the 17th century, Romanesque wigs were pioneered by King Louis XIII of France (fig. 1), who wore them to cover the scars on his head. Seeing this, the ministers around him started to wear wigs to please the king. Therefore, the wig was first regarded as an important part of palace culture, the allure and status of which turned it into a public fashion.

In the age of Louis XIV (fig. 2), people started wearing long black wigs, a symbol of manhood. The king himself wore such a wig, as did his famous general, the Great Condé (Louis de Bourbon, 1621-1686 – fig. 3). In the 18th century, the fashion changed again; this time the short and white wig was preferred by king Louis XV (fig. 4). Portraits of Rousseau from that time also depict him wearing such a wig. Thus it was quite common to wear wigs among the aristocrats in the 17th and 18th centuries, a fashion that was later imitated by commoners. As a symbol of power and status, however, the fashion was at first not applicable to women. Women did not wear wigs until the 1770s, when wigs became more sophisticated and were made taller, in line with a new Rococo style.