Here's another prediction of yesteryear that never panned out. Found in the
Kingsport News - Apr 2, 1959:
J. McLaren Thomson, president of the National Hairdressers Federation, predicts that both men and women will have their hair short by 1999 so that they can wear space helmets. He said women will have a collection of wigs to wear with special dresses for gala occasions.
[Click to enlarge]
Imagine any kid enthusiastically wearing such a hat today.....
In the UK, and in some countries formerly part of the British Empire, they maintain the strange habit of making barristers (attorneys) wear wigs. Apparently these wigs, traditionally made out of horsehair, are very expensive, so barristers often own only one. And according to the
South China Morning Post, barristers rarely wash them, so over time the wigs start to smell bad:
Tong said he had never washed or dry-cleaned the wig before, for fear that it would fall apart. "It is made of horsehair that is glued together and is not very strong."
In fact, few lawyers would have their wigs cleaned as there is an odd perception that an old and discoloured wig is a better symbol of seniority. But the rows of white curls can become stale and smelly as they absorb sweat and oil from the scalp. A court dress shop in Admiralty charges HK$760 to wash it.
This info is seconded by
thelawyer.com:
The aim of most barristers is to achieve a wig with a worn and matured look to create the impression of experience when standing before a judge.
"None of them likes to look the new boy," says David John Harris, manager of the legal department at Ede and Ravenscroft, which has been manufacturing wigs for barristers, judges and royalty since 1726. "If it is really grubby looking, it looks like they've been around," he says.
Barristers will go to great lengths to make their wigs look fashionably old. There are a number of tried and tested ways to age one, including stamping on it, kicking it in the dirt, giving it to kids, letting the dog at it, or shaking it in a Hoover bag...
Wigs should last for 100 years but are often damaged by perspiration. Ede and Ravenscroft suggests cleaning wigs every four to five years, while Thresher and Glenny recommends every 25 to 30 years. "The longer you leave it, the better it is," says Hill.
The sweet smell of tradition!
In the
Pays bigouden region of France, women traditionally wear a distinctive phallic-shaped headdress named a coiffe.
Apparently they keep it on all the time, even while driving. Provided they have a sunroof in their car.
But from what I understand, only a handful of women still maintain the tradition. Most of them just put the thing on for the benefit of tourists. Read more about the Bigoudène
here and
here.
In 1964,
Braniff airlines was looking for a way to differentiate itself from its competitors by adding a touch of glamour and weirdness to its service. So it hired Italian fashion designer Emilio Pucci to design the uniforms of the stewardesses. What he came up with was the plexiglass Bubble Bonnet, aka the Space Bubble Helmet. Its purpose was supposedly to protect the hair of the stewardesses from wind and rain as they crossed the tarmac. Stewardesses complained that it was hard to hear anyone while wearing the things. Read more
here and
here.
[Click to enlarge]
See, young'uns, before this here newfangled internet, you interacted face-to-face with folks, and when you wanted to call them out on a fib, you couldn't just tweet about it, you had to demonstrate your disbelief in some tangible, analog fashion.
But "chestnut bells"?!? In your hat!?! What the--?
Back in the day (between the 16th and 19th century) women who were deemed troublesome were sometimes made to wear a muzzle. The device was called a scold's bridle, or "the branks." More info
here and
here.
I think this device would be useful today, but instead of making women wear them, we should make them mandatory for politicians. As soon as someone declares their candidacy for public office, they'd have to strap on a muzzle. It would make life much more pleasant for everyone.
A follow-up to those
etsy Bearded Beanies I posted about two weeks ago. Those were bad enough, but sending a teenager out in one of these Orange Yarn Beards seems downright cruel. They look a bit like mops attached to their faces. If you want to get one, they're
available on etsy. Only $19!
Category: Space Travel, Hair Styling, Headgear, Yesterday's Tomorrows