18th century wigs & hair for women
General Discussion
I can only wonder as to how many women cringed upon reading the title of this post? Sitting at my computer at 7 AM on a Saturday morning, barely awake enough to deal with my own RL hair, I spied a new photo from Henriette Louise de Clemenceau with a picture of her avi in a wig. Her photo was titled "Me and a wig" and the comment read, "The wig can look good at first sight, but i really, really, doubt to wear it again..." which made me giggle.
Thinking back to my childhood, I, like many young girls, dreamed of being a princess in a big castle with gowns, parties, carriages, horses, princes and more. As I grew older, I began to recognize the poufy wigs worn in the later centuries and thought that these might be alright if they were pretty when one actually wore them.
My arrival at 18th century SecondLife society gave me a crash course in wigs and hair and it made me appreciate the enormous amount of effort that goes into making really good hair. I have purchased hair and wigs from a variety of vendors and while I haven't purchased hair from everyone on the 18th century market (I do try to share the love and buy from something from everyone be it a dress, shoes, hair, a parasol etc) my debit card has seen some definite use on the SL marketplace... which, along with a quick glance at my avi's inventory folders, also tells me that I have purchased a lot of hair.
I think the SL hair crafters and artisans do an impressive job at recreating wigs that closely resemble those worn in 18th century (and other) eras... but sometimes, I feel like my avi is walking around wearing a giant marshmallow with a few white curlicues tossed on for good measure. Some of the wigs are really good and others, not so much. Which leads me to my next thought, what would women of the 18th century wear, if they had access to all of our goods & materials of modern day? Would they stick with tradition and wear wigs that might not look so hot (as seen in old paintings and portraits) or would they branch out and embrace the latest line of Jessica Simpson clip-in hair extensions, hair weaves and bonded toppers? 
Of course they would! Just say no to glued-on mouse fur eyebrows!
I'm trying hard to learn about 18th century appropriate dress, but I can only wonder, how closely I should model my avi after 18th century. Yes, I understand that for court, hair should be piled on top of the head and decorated, but wow, trying to find a really good wig is difficult Bad wigs make me run kicking and screaming to the shops of my favorite designers while simultaneously, I realize that I don't think anyone intentionally makes a bad wig. Wigs, like any other designer's work, require effort, talent and an enormous amount of patience. They are works in progress and I don't think any designer shows up, starts building and is an instant overnight success. This in mind, I think any serious attempt at a wig, with bad or good results, should be commended.
Thinking back to Henriette's comment on her wig, how many of us have felt like the Great White Marshmallow Queen of Candy Land when we enter a room?
updated by @renonys-daquitaine: 06 Oct 2016 06:06:43AM
