Descriptionary

wedge a style in which the front and sides are of equal length while the back is tapered close to the head, worn with short bangs; popularized by Olym­pic skater Dorothy Hamill in the 1970s.

Hairstyles of the 18th Century

Adonis wig a flowing, white-powdered wig popu­larly worn by young European men from 1734 to 1775.

a la Belle Poule a woman's wig style crowned by a model of a three-masted ship.

a la Charme de la Liberte a woman's late-century style noted for its dressings of feathers, ribbons, and grasses.

a la Cybelle a woman's foot-high, towerlike style, as that worn by the goddess Cybele.

a la Grecque a man's style in which the hair is curled on each side and drawn into a horseshoelike fashion in back, popular in the 1780s.

a la Victime a French style popular in 1795; the hair was pulled up and away from the neck, as if in preparation for a decapitation by guillotine, and worn with a blood-red ribbon about the neck, inspired by the French Revolution.

a la Zodiaque a woman's high hairstyle dressed with ornaments of stars, the moon and the sun.

bag a wig of any type. Also a bag wig.

bag wig a man's wig in which the tail was enclosed in a black satin bag, from 1737 on. Also known as a purse wig. See bourse.

bourse the bag in which the tail of a bag wig was enclosed. Also known as a crapaud.

brigadier wig a wig having a double corkscrew tail tied with a bow at the nape of the neck, worn in the second half of the century.

cadogan wig a wig having a broad, straight tail folded back on itself and tied, popular in the 1760s. Also known as a club wig.

cauliflower wig a short, tightly curled, white bob wig worn by doctors and clergy in London.

gorgone a woman's style in which the hair was pulled high with loose, writhing curls, reminiscent of Medusa's serpent head.

lappet curl a corkscrew curl.

macaroni a huge, high, elaborate wig worn by dan­dies in the 1770s.

morning coiffure a woman's style in which hair at the back is pulled up and plaited, crossed at the crown, and then allowed to hang back to form a thick loop.

periwig a wig worn by men.

Piccadilly fringe a roll of hair near the forehead, worn by Englishmen in the first half of the century.

pigeon's wing periwig a man's wig having two hor­izontal rolls above the ears on either side of the head, from the 1750s to 1760s.

pigtail wig a man's wig with a long tail twirled and tied with a ribbon.

pincurls an artificial curl or curls pinned to the hair by a hairpin.

queue the tail of a wig.

snood a band or ribbon used to tie up a woman's hair.

spit curl a curl fashioned and secured to the fore­head by spit.

washerwoman's style a woman's style in which hair is pulled up to form a bun at the top of the head; primarily English.

Hairstyles of the 19th Century

a la concierge a woman's style in which long hair is pulled to the top of the head and pinned in a knot, popular from the late 19 th to the early 20th century.

Apollo knot false hair coiled, looped, or plaited, and wired to stand up on the head, from 1826 on.

barley-sugar curl children's style composed of long drop curls.

beaver tail a broad, flat loop of hair hung over the nape of the neck, from 1865. Also known as a bang­ing chignon.

blinkers a woman's style in which the hair was allowed to hang down the sides of the face.

caracalla cut a woman's short style having flat­tened, sausage-shaped curls.

chignon a knot or roll of hair worn at the back of the head by women.

curlicue a curl of a hair worn over the forehead by men.

giraffe mid-century woman's style in which hair is piled high in rolls, supported by a tall comb and dressed with flowers.

gooseberry wig a man's large, frizzled wig, worn in England.

Julian a woman's short hairstyle of the early 1800s.

Marcel wave woman's style in which waves were arranged around the head with a curling iron, popu­lar in the 1890s.

neck coiffure a style in which the hair was pulled up in back and in front and gathered in curls on the crown of the head, popular in the 1890s.

Mustaches

a la Souvaroff a style in which the mustache joins with the sideburns, the chin left clean-shaven.

boxcar a rectangle with squared ends.

chevron like a chevron, broad in the center and nar­rowing toward ends that extend beyond the lips.

Clark Gable a neat, thin line.

handlebar short or long, usually thick, with ends turned up like bicycle handlebars.

Hindenburg a very long, thick mustache with turned-up ends.

horseshoe a long mustache that droops down over the chin.