Why did people wear powdered wigs? - Stephanie Honchell Smith

翻译人员: Liwen Huang 校对人员: Yip Yan Yeung

In 1624, 23-year-old King Louis the XIII of France was in crisis.

1624 年，23 岁的法国国王 路易十三陷入危机。

He was balding.

他谢顶了。

What would people say, at a time when a monarch's hair

在君主的头发已成为他

权力和高贵地位的象征时， 人们会说些什么呢？

had come to symbolize his power and nobility?

Louis was not interested in finding out.

路易没兴趣了解，

Instead, he made a decision that kicked off a 150-year fashion craze:

反倒是做了一个掀起 150 年时尚热潮的决定：

he wore a particularly full wig.

他戴上了一顶特别浓密的假发。

Long before Louis people adopted wigs for various reasons—

早在路易之前，人们 出于各种原因使用假发，

including hygiene, theater, and anti-aging endeavors.

包括卫生、戏剧和抗衰老。

Wigs date at least as far back as ancient Egypt,

假发的历史至少可以追溯到古埃及，

where well-regarded hairdressers crafted them into intricate styles.

那时备受推崇的美发师 将假发制成精致的样式。

And under certain ancient Roman dynasties, women's wigs became particularly ornate,

在某些古罗马王朝， 女式假发变得格外华丽，

one poet mocking their numerous tiers.

一位诗人嘲笑它们的多层次。

During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church discouraged wig-wearing,

在中世纪，天主教会不鼓励戴假发，

emphasizing instead humility and austerity.

而是强调谦逊和朴素。

So, those who did wig in medieval western Europe

因此，那些在中世纪的西欧戴假发的人

generally wore more natural-looking styles.

通常戴更自然的款式。

But as rules relaxed in the 1500s, wigs became more acceptable accessories.

但是随着十六世纪规则的放宽， 假发成为更能接受的配饰。

Queen Elizabeth I of England owned over 80 red wigs,

英国女王伊丽莎白一世 拥有 80 多顶红色假发，

which she used to augment her hair and conceal it as it thinned and grayed.

她用这些假发来增加发量， 以及遮盖变稀变白的头发。

One of these wigs even adorned her funeral effigy.

其中一顶假发 甚至戴在了她的遗像上。

Yet it wasn't until Louis XIII unveiled his magnificent mane

不过直到几十年后， 路易十三展示了他华丽的长假发，

a couple of decades later that big wigs truly began booming.

大假发才真正开始风靡起来。

Members of Louis' court, perhaps eager to gain favor,

路易的王室人员可能 渴望获得青睐，戴上了假发，

bewigged themselves and aristocrats elsewhere soon followed suit.

其他地方的贵族很快也纷纷效仿。

The fast-growing popularity of wigs might have been accentuated

让假发更加迅速流行起来的可能是

by concerns over hair loss caused by mercury,

人们对水银导致脱发的担忧。

which doctors then prescribed to treat syphilis and other ailments.

当时的医嘱是用水银来 治疗梅毒和其他疾病。

But people also heralded wigs as convenient,

但是人们也称赞假发很方便，

since they eliminated the need for daily hair cleaning and styling.

因为它们免去了 每天清洁头发和造型的需要。

In the mid-1600s, the trend amplified under Louis XIII's son, Louis XIV.

十七世纪中叶，在路易十三的儿子 路易十四的统治下，假发流行更甚。

At the time, Europe took its couture cues from Madrid.

当时，欧洲效仿马德里的时装。

But Louis XIV's government changed that

但是路易十四政府通过大力投资

by investing heavily in France's luxury industry.

法国的奢侈品行业改变了这种状况。

They created specialized guilds, formalized seasonal releases,

他们成立了专门的公会， 正式规范了季节性发布，

enforced a dress code at court,

在宫廷执行了着装规定，

and banned imports that could have been made in France or its colonies.

并禁止进口本可以在法国 或其殖民地制造的产品。

Louis XIV once even ordered his son— yet another Louis—

路易十四甚至曾命令他的儿子—— 又一位路易——烧掉他的外套，

to burn his coat because it was made of foreign cloth.

因为那件外套是用外国布料做的。

Buoyed by its growing colonial empire,

法国在它不断壮大的 殖民帝国的支持下，

France amassed wealth and influence,

积累了财富和影响力，

and Parisian-style big wigs soon perched atop many European heads.

巴黎式大假发很快 戴在了许多欧洲人头上。

These full-bottom men's hairpieces demanded such thick, long locks

这些过肩男士假发需要很厚很长的发绺，

that ten heads of hair could go into just one.

以至于十个人的头发才能合成一顶。

Within a century, the number of Parisian wigmakers quadrupled.

一个世纪内，巴黎 假发制作者的数量翻了两番。

Even small villages often boasted at least one wigmaker.

即使是小村庄也通常有 至少一名假发制作者。

They generally fabricated their merchandise from human hair—

他们一般用人发

probably sourced from poor women—

（可能来自贫困妇女），

or from cheaper materials like wool or horsehair.

或者用更便宜的材料， 如羊毛或马毛来制作假发。

To clean their wigs, eliminate odors, and absorb sweat,

为了清洁、除味和吸汗，

people showered them in perfumed powders of flour, chalk, and aromatics

人们用香粉喷洒假发， 香粉由面粉、粉笔和芳香植物，

like violet, rose, clove, and lemon.

如紫罗兰、玫瑰、丁香和柠檬制成。

It was a messy business, with entire rooms designated for the task.

这道工序又脏又乱， 整个房间都得被用来洒粉。

In fact, that's where the term "powder room" is thought to have originated.

实际上，这被认为是“化妆间” （powder room）一词的起源。

By the mid-1700s, men's wigs remained popular but became simpler,

到十八世纪中叶，男士假发仍然 广受欢迎，但变得更简单了，

often styled with curls around the face and a ponytail in back.

通常是正面卷发、背部马尾的样式。

Women's wigs, however, soared to new heights,

不过女士假发飙升到了新的高度，

literally towering up to a meter.

真的高达一米。

Wigmakers often constructed these using rods, ribbons, and wool stuffing.

假发制作者通常使用棒、丝带 和羊毛填充物来做这些假发。

And once covered with hair,

一旦用头发覆盖，

the wig could be adorned with all manner of accoutrements.

假发就可以用各种饰品加以装饰。

Lighter colored wigs became fashionable and were only enhanced with powders,

较浅色的假发开始流行， 仅用粉末来美化，

sometimes tinted purple, pink, or blue.

有时略微着些紫色、粉色或蓝色。

But not everyone bought into the trend.

但是，并非所有人都认同这一趋势。

Caricaturists mocked big wig-wearers, framing them as frivolously flamboyant.

讽刺作家嘲笑戴大假发的人， 将他们描述成“愚蠢浮夸”。

And the hotter temperatures in some of Europe's colonies

欧洲一些殖民地更热的温度

might have made heavy powdered wigs a nuisance.

可能让洒了厚粉的假发成了个麻烦。

In 1740, a visitor in Maryland observed that so few people wore wigs,

1740 年，马里兰州的一位游客 观察到很少有人戴假发，

he said, "you would imagine they were all sick, or going to bed."

他说：“你可能会以为他们 都生病了，或者上床睡觉了。”

In the late 1700s,

十八世纪后期，

a popular backlash against aristocratic decadence gained steam.

民众反对贵族贪图享乐，愈演愈烈。

As France faced a bread shortage,

由于法国面临面包短缺，

flour-powdered wigs were viewed as particularly problematic.

洒面粉的假发被认为特别有问题。

And in 1789, the French Revolution kicked off.

1789 年，法国大革命拉开了序幕。

In 1795, England's parliament passed a "powder tax"

1795 年，英格兰议会 通过了“粉末税”，

that led many to abandon their big wigs.

导致许多人舍弃了大假发。

And so, they fell out of fashion, left high and powder-dry,

于是，它们不再流行，无人问津，

like mere relics of a hair-brained past craze.

如同昔日狂热仅剩的遗物。