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EveryHairstyle

History

Styles of the past: the powdered wig, the Gibson girl, the queue. 63 hairstyles on EveryHairstyle so far.

Hairstyles of the past show the tastes, rules and technology of their age. Ancient Egyptians wore wigs over shaved heads; Roman women built crests of curls; European men of the 17th and 18th centuries wore periwigs and women the fontange and the pouf; Qing China imposed the queue; and the 1920s brought the bob and the Eton crop. Many old styles return, renamed, decades later.

Courts and empires

The Fonseca bust in Rome shows the tall crest of curls of a woman of about AD 90 to 100. In 17th-century Europe, men of fashion wore a lovelock, a long tress over the left shoulder, and then periwigs. At Versailles the fontange rose around 1680 and the pouf in the 1770s. In Qing China, from 1645, Han men were made to wear the Manchu queue, a rule lifted only after 1912.

Revolutions in hair

After the French Revolution of 1789, wigs and powder gave way to short natural styles such as the Titus cut, named after the Roman emperor. In the 1920s many women cut their hair into bobs and the even shorter Eton crop, set with marcel waves. In mid-19th-century Scotland women wore their hair in a gathered knot called a cockernonnie. Hairstyles of the past live on in revivals, costume drama and the work of historians who recreate them.

Famous history hairstyles

FontangeThe tall headdress of about 1680 to 1710PoufThe towering style of the 1770sQueueImposed in Qing China from 1645LovelockA tress worn over the heart, late 1500s and 1600sRoman hairstylesCurls and braids of ancient RomeEton cropEton cropThe shortest cut of the 1920sTitus cutA short style after the RevolutionCockernonnieA 19th-century Scottish knot

Further reading

KindCutBraidUpdoPonytailLocsNaturalCurlsShavedFringeStyledWrappedAdorned
Hair typeStraight hairWavy hairCurly hairCoily and kinky hairFine hairThick hairAny hair
Worn byMostly womenMostly menAnyoneChildrenBrides and weddingsFaith and religious ordersUniform and workSubcultures and music
OrderBest knownA to ZOldest firstNewest firstBy length
WorldLong hair Head hair grown to a considerable length, often past the shoulders.Styled · Any hair WorldPayot Sidelocks worn by Orthodox Jewish men based on religious law.Styled · Curly hair 🇺🇦 UkraineOseledets Traditional Ukrainian Cossack style with a shaved head and long top lock.Shaved · Any hair WorldBun A hairstyle where hair is gathered and coiled into a circular shape on the head.Updo · Any hair 🇫🇷 France and 2 morePompadour High-volume hair swept up and back from the forehead.Updo · Any hair · 1950 🇵🇱 Poland and 1 morePolish plait A matted hair formation viewed as both a medical condition and a folk amulet in Eastern Europe.Styled · Coily and kinky hair · 1600 🇬🇧 United KingdomQuiff A voluminous front sweep with short sides and back.Styled · Any hair · 1950 Amasunzu 🇷🇼 RwandaAmasunzu A traditional Rwandan hairstyle featuring crescent-shaped hair crests.Styled 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreDucktail A 1950s men's cut with a central rear parting.Cut · Straight hair · 1950 Rattail 🇨🇳 China and 3 moreRattail A long strip of hair at the napeCut · Any hair · 1980 🇬🇧 United KingdomLovelock A single long braid worn over the left shoulder by 17th-century Europeans.Braid · Any hair · 1580 WorldShort hair A general category for haircuts kept above the shoulders or chin.Cut · Any hair · 1920 🇺🇸 United StatesConk Chemically straightened hair popular with African-American men mid-20th century.Styled · Coily and kinky hair · 1920 🇯🇵 JapanPunch perm Tightly curled Japanese male hairstyle from the 1960s.Curls · Straight hair · 1960 WorldNubian wig A short, curly Ancient Egyptian wig mimicking Nubian tribal hair.Styled · Curly hair WorldWings A layered cut where side hair flips out like wings.Cut · Wavy hair · 1830 Slicked-back hair 🇺🇸 United StatesSlicked-back hair A flat, glossy style combed straight back from the forehead.Styled · Straight hair · 1920 Mizura 🇯🇵 JapanMizura Ancient Japanese hairstyle with side locksStyled · Any hair 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreDucktail A 1950s men's cut with a central rear parting.Cut · Straight hair · 1950

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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