The Eyes have It!

January 10 marked the death of David Bowie, famous musician/performer. He was 69, and was really was the first to explore music, particularly rock music, as performance art, and hence "glam rock" was born. He sang, played guitar and composed some very catchy tunes over his 40 year career, but it was his unique and rather otherworldly quality to his voice and appearance that set him apart. He was truly one of a kind. Regarding his appearance, he donned outlandish and even futuristic type clothing which he changed like a chameleon over the span of his popularity, but there was also something about his physical appearance that gave him an "alien-like" quality. Yes, he was thin, tall and pale, but it was his eyes that were mystical and magical. They appeared to be of two different colors, one blue, one brown or at least very dark. But that was not it. He had a condition as a result of an injury, called anisocoria, that resulted in a difference in the size of his pupils.

Historically, Around 200 AD, Galen likened the iris to an elastic circular ring that was passively inflated or deflated by vital spirits sent from the brain to enhance vision. It was not until the first half of the 18th century that it became widely accepted that iris movement and pupil size were due to active interaction of 2 iris muscles: a longitudinal radial dilator and a circular sphincter muscle.

Unusual physical traits have always been fascinating. Some are repulsive, but some are mesmorizing, like Bowie's eyes. Eyes, as they say, are the windows to the soul, and anything odd or different about them can create suspicion, adoration, or obsession, or a definition of beauty depending on the era.

In the 18th Century, the women of Georgian high society looked beautiful in their satins and silks, but they hardly ever bathed.  Sanitation was still quite crude and they preferred to douse their clothes, their bodies and their belongings in toilet waters and perfumes. They wore scented pomanders and carried small scent bottles about their person.  They had false teeth, false hair, false bosoms, false calves and induced large eyes which they made to falsely dilate by using Belladonna extracted from the Deadly Nightshade plant.  They were a walking deception.By the way, from Latin, bella donna means 'fair lady', perhaps from the use of its juice to add brilliance to the eyes by dilating the pupils.

Crowning Glory!

Last weekend I was at a wedding, and the bride wore a lovely tiara, or jeweled ornamental crown. It was quite lovely, and made me think how great it would be to have one, and where it somewhere special. Every girl wants to be royalty for at least one day.

The word "Tiara" comes from the Latin and Ancient Greek. They are usually for formal occasions, particularly for a White Tie event.

In the late 18th century, with the Neoclassicism in vogue, tiaras came back into fashion for women. Taking inspiration from Ancient Greece and Rome, jewelers made wreathes of gold, studded with precious gemstones. Josephine de Beauharnais, wife of Napoleon (below left), is credited with popularizing these lovely jeweled crowns along with Empire style dress. Napoleon wanted the French court to be the very grandest, and supposedly gave his wife many fabulous "parures" or matching sets of jewelry which included earrings, rings, bracelets, necklaces and tiaras all designed around a theme with matching gemstones. In the 18th Century, many of the tiaras featured themes of nature, with highly rendered leaves and flowers, with diamonds certainly a favorite stone to include.

By the way, the nuptial, or wedding, crown has been worn by many in European cultures, but most common today in Eastern Orthodox weddings. 

Wigged Out!

The other day a friend asked me about 18th Century wigs, and how people wore and maintained them; that it might be an interesting subject for my blog. I said yes, that is an interesting subject, and so, here are some good points:

Men's wigs, or perukes, were powdered in our to give them their particular white color. By that time, women didn't wear wigs, but supplemented their coiffure with artificial hair, and powdered it with grey or bluish grey color. The powder was made from finely ground starch, scented with orange flower, lavender or orris root.

These wigs were essential for full dress occasions, and continued so up until the end of the 18th Century. But, powdering these wigs were messy and eventually, powderless wigs were incorporated, made of horsehair. Many of this type were used for court dress and the legal profession as ceremonial wigs for barristers. Women sometimes powdered their own natural hair, from the 1770's onwards. After 1790, women seldom powdered their tresses. The fashion was declining. But also, the British government levied a tax on hair powder, and so there went that. Imagine if Congress instituted a tax on rainbow colored hair dye, or tattoos, for that matter?!

In the late 1700's, in the French court, elaborate themed wigs were in vogue, sometimes called "boat poufs", which included combed up extensions often set with pomades, powders and other ornaments. Here again, the fashion started to die as these coifs became symbolic of the decadence of French nobility, and quickly went by the wayside with the French Revolution, 1789. Politics can well play a roll in fashion! Think of the politics of long hair in the 1960's.

Care of wigs was most important. Head lice were everywhere, and "nitpicking" as it was called, was painful, time-consuming, and annoying to say the least. But, people will suffer for style, won't they!? Wigs, though, actually helped with the problem, as people cut their own hair very short, or shaved it off, and the lice stayed on the wigs instead. Ouch! I bet you thought they would be eliminated entirely. But, delousing a wig was easier. You would send your old infested wig to the wigmaker, who would boil it and Ta-dah!, remove the nits.

During the 170's, the cost of wigs continued to increase, and perukes became a scheme for flaunting wealth. The everyday wig generally at about 25 shillings, or a week's pay for a laborer. Elaborate and enormous creations ran upwards 800 shillings! Snobs were  described as "big wigs"!

The Beaute Spot

My last purchase from my French vacation was a Christian Dior lipstick. How could you leave Paris without something

beauté.

Then I started thinking about beauty products in the 18th Century. Both men and women in England and France wore cosmetics! As a matter of fact, cosmetics distinguished one as an aristocrat, and in fashion, or a la mode! Make-up was intended to look like paint, not a natural enhancement. And, typically, there was an aim to lighten the skin, as well as cover blemishes, hide defects, age, disease. In fact, "mouches" or beauty patches covered a multitude of sin, including pox marks. These little thin paper black tissues were applied right over the bad mark, later becoming known as a "beauty spot".

  

The face painting for the royals and other aristocrats of the French Court became kind of a formal toilette ritual, that particular courtiers were invited to view. However, cosmetics were not limited to upper society. Any bourgeois could participate. So, cosmetics began to rise in price and availability. Where the glitterati ran towards bold colors, the middle class tended toward pinks or softer tones. Rouge was applied in circular motions with fingers, rather than the brushes used today.English women were a bit more sedate, as portraiture of the 1750's and 60's indicates. They liked the more natural look, but hey, that's the Brits! The English are still best known for their country outing looks, where it's France that screams Haute couture.

By about 1781, French women used about two million pots of rouge a year! See a typical rough pot at right!

In the 1760's, vanity tables, or Coiffeuses, become the rate, and dressing rooms were built to face north to capture the best light.  

Blanc or white color could be make from bismuth or vinegar, and then veins traced with blue pencil to highlight the white. But, fashion can be a dangerous business. The white makeup that was so preferred and enjoyed was made from lead, leading to terrible accounts of lead poisoning. One famed English beauty, Kitty Fisher, died at age 23 from lead poisoning, in 1767.

Red makeup was made of vermilion, ground from cinnabar and mercury, or from creuse, made by exposing lead plates to the vapor of vinegar. These are both toxic.

But the fashion pendulum swings back and forth. What is considered fashionable one season, can be OUT, OUT, OUT the next. By the end of the 1700's, perhaps because of the Revolution, lipstick slipped out of fashion, and the painted look was relegated to actors and prostitutes. Ahh, how fickle is fashion!

Adding Color to your Life

The other night as I sat in the salon chair waiting for my hair color to process, I began thinking of hair trends and fashions of the 18th Century. Of course, by the Victorian era and following, no "decent" woman would color her hair, but as time went on, just as make-up and lipstick became more and more acceptable, so too did the notion of coloring one's hair, just for fun, or to disguise the greying of the head. Today, blue and green and pink are not only acceptable, but practically commonplace!

Well, contrary to what I thought, the idea of colored hair was quite acceptable in the 18th Century, not only of one's own tresses, but also with the additions of hair pieces to accentuate or add volume. During Marie-Antoinette's time, the ideal woman had black, brown or blond hair. Red was definitely out, so many women changed their "carrot" top.

To dye hair blonde or light, it would be soaked in alkaline pastes and then the person would sit in the sun. Also, lead could be used. To dye hair dark or black, a mix of wine and elderberries was applied, to the desired effect. Of course tinted powders could be used, but generally applied to wigs.

 

By the early 1800's, chemists had found a substance called para-phenylenediamine to create synthetic dye. True dyes from plant life were extremely expensive, and sometimes hard to find. Also, hydrogen peroxide was used, a gentler and safer chemical for bleaching of the hair. These solutions paved the way for the first chemical dyes used exclusively for hair, called "aureole". By the way, the product was later known as "L'Oreal".

Wigged Out!

The other day, I saw a wonderful web site regarding paper cutting as an art form. And the most interesting pieces I found were the paper wigs. They were spectacular, and an homage to 18th Century wigs.

 

Wigs are head coverings made most generally from human or synthetic hair, worn for fashion or other reasons. The word "wig" stems from "periwig" which first came into the English language in 1675. Hair is an important vanity, and the loss of it can be devastating. Of course, if it is an accepted tradition, like in ancient Egypt, no one makes a fuss. Today, the acceptance of loss of hair because of medical treatments has fast become commonplace. People are not hiding under wigs, or kerchiefs, but once upon a time it was different. In fact, today the rather manly man losing his hair has taken to shaving his head completely. Fashion takes many forms!

In the 18th Century, men's wigs were powdered to appear "distinct". White was the attractive way to go. Women did not so much wear wigs, as they included additional, supplemental pieces of artificial hair attached to their own. From the 1770's onward, women powdered their own hair, with the fashionable color either grey or bluish grey. The powder was made from finely ground starch, scented with orange flower, lavender or orris root. 

Wigs became essential for men as part of court dress, or for magistrates or those of the legal profession, but by 1790 wigs were reserved for older people. In 1795, the British government put a tax on hair powder of one guinea per year. This caused the demise of the fashion!

As wigs and their maintenance could be costly, in the military, men grew their hair out, and wore it in pony tails, tied and greased, with a silk bag to cover the hair hanging on the back.  

In France, of course, the court of Versailles saw more elaborate do's, with large poofs and items weaved into the hair, but in response to the French Revolution, the fashion of the decadent court declined.

 

By the way, barristers in London still wear the small wig for heading into court. This goes for women and men, and they are not trying to cover their own locks. It's just part of the formality and tradition that goes along with the legal profession.