Why did people wear powdered wigs? - Stephanie Honchell Smith

譯者: 麗玲 辛 審譯者: Zoe Walmsley

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

1624 年，23 歲的 法國國王路易十三陷入危機。

He was balding.

他開始禿頭了。

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

別人會怎麼想啊？

在那個時代，君王的頭髮 象徵著權力和貴族氣質。

had come to symbolize his power and nobility?

Louis was not interested in finding out.

路易不想知道答案。

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

他做了個決定，因而開啟了 一場持續 150 年的時尚風潮：

he wore a particularly full wig.

他戴上了一頂十分蓬鬆的假髮。

Long before Louis people adopted wigs for various reasons—

早在路易之前，人們就因 各種理由而戴上假髮──

including hygiene, theater, and anti-aging endeavors.

包括衛生、演戲或者不想顯老。

Wigs date at least as far back as ancient Egypt,

假髮的起源至少可追溯到古埃及，

where well-regarded hairdressers crafted them into intricate styles.

當時備受尊崇的理髮師 將假髮做成精美的造型。

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

在某些古羅馬王朝， 婦女的假髮變得更華麗繁複，

one poet mocking their numerous tiers.

多層次的設計被某位詩人 嘲笑為「層出不窮」。

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

中世紀時期，天主教會不鼓勵戴假髮，

emphasizing instead humility and austerity.

強調謙遜和簡樸。

So, those who did wig in medieval western Europe

因此，在中世紀還戴假髮的西歐人

generally wore more natural-looking styles.

通常會選擇更自然的款式。

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

但是隨著十六世紀規範放鬆， 假髮逐漸成為可接受的配飾。

Queen Elizabeth I of England owned over 80 red wigs,

英國女王伊麗莎白一世 擁有 80 多頂紅色假髮，

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

用來讓頭髮顯得豐厚， 並遮蓋稀疏和灰白的頭髮。

One of these wigs even adorned her funeral effigy.

其中一頂假髮甚至 戴在她的葬禮雕像上。

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

大約二十幾年後，路易十三 展示了他那頂濃密又華麗的假髮，

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

大型假髮的流行旋風正式開啟。

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

路易的宮廷成員，或許是 為了討好他，也開始戴上假髮，

bewigged themselves and aristocrats elsewhere soon followed suit.

很快地，其他的貴族也跟進仿效。

The fast-growing popularity of wigs might have been accentuated

假髮快速流行的另一個原因可能是

擔憂由於汞所導致的脫髮，

by concerns over hair loss caused by mercury,

which doctors then prescribed to treat syphilis and other ailments.

當時的醫生用汞來治療 梅毒和其他疾病。

But people also heralded wigs as convenient,

但人們也讚揚假髮的便利，

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

因為它們不需要每天清洗和打理。

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

17 世紀中葉繼任的 路易十四使這潮流更加盛行。

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

當時引領歐洲時尚風潮的是馬德里。

But Louis XIV's government changed that

但路易十四的政府大力投資 法國的精品產業，扭轉風向。

by investing heavily in France's luxury industry.

They created specialized guilds, formalized seasonal releases,

他們成立專業公會， 制定了每季的新品發布會，

enforced a dress code at court,

強制實行宮廷著裝規範，

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

同時禁止進口法國及其殖民地 能自行製造的產品。

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

路易十四甚至還下令 叫他的兒子（又一個路易）──

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

燒掉他的外套， 就因為它是用外來布料作的。

Buoyed by its growing colonial empire,

隨著法國殖民帝國的壯大，

France amassed wealth and influence,

法國積累了財富和影響力，

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

巴黎風格的大型假髮 很快出現在許多歐洲人的頭上。

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

這些底部豐滿的男士假髮 需要許多豐厚的長髮，

that ten heads of hair could go into just one.

十個人的頭髮才能做出一頂。

Within a century, the number of Parisian wigmakers quadrupled.

在一個世紀內，巴黎 假髮製作師的數量翻了四倍。

Even small villages often boasted at least one wigmaker.

即使小小村莊也常吹噓有 至少一位假髮製作師。

They generally fabricated their merchandise from human hair—

他們通常使用人類的真髮──

probably sourced from poor women—

可能來自貧窮的女性──

or from cheaper materials like wool or horsehair.

或一些廉價的材料， 如羊毛或馬毛來去製作。

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

為了清潔假髮、消除異味和吸汗，

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

假髮通常會被撒上香粉， 通常用麵粉、石灰去混合

紫羅蘭、玫瑰、丁香 或檸檬之類的香料。

like violet, rose, clove, and lemon.

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

製造過程麻煩且凌亂， 通常得用上整個房間去做。

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

這或許正是 powder room 「化粧室」一詞的由來。

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

到 18 世紀中葉，男士假髮 仍然流行，但款式變得簡單，

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

臉龐周圍是髮捲，後面則是馬尾。

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

女性的假髮則飆到新高，

literally towering up to a meter.

實際可以高達一米。

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

假髮製師師通常用木桿、 絲帶和羊毛填充物作架構。

And once covered with hair,

一旦外面蓋上頭髮後，

the wig could be adorned with all manner of accoutrements.

再在假髮上裝飾以各種各樣的配件。

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

淺色的假髮流行時， 通常會被進一步用粉末增色，

sometimes tinted purple, pink, or blue.

或許染成紫色、粉紅色或藍色。

But not everyone bought into the trend.

但並非所有人都追隨這一潮流。

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

諷刺漫畫家把戴大型假髮的人 畫得既浮誇又賣弄。

And the hotter temperatures in some of Europe's colonies

而某些歐洲國家殖民地的高溫

might have made heavy powdered wigs a nuisance.

則讓沉重的假髮成為一種累贅。

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

1740 年某位初抵馬里蘭的人 看到沒多少人戴假髮，

他說：「你會以為他們不是病了， 就是快要上床睡覺了。」

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

In the late 1700s,

18 世紀晚期，

a popular backlash against aristocratic decadence gained steam.

反貴族頹廢之風愈演愈烈。

As France faced a bread shortage,

隨著法國面臨糧食短缺，

flour-powdered wigs were viewed as particularly problematic.

灑麵粉的假髮成為眾矢之的。

And in 1789, the French Revolution kicked off.

1789 年，法國大革命爆發。

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

1795 年，英國國會 通過「粉末稅」，

that led many to abandon their big wigs.

導致許多人放棄了他們的大假髮。

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

少了粉末的高聳假髮 因此退出時尚舞台，

與其他風靡過的愚蠢東西 一起束之高閣。

like mere relics of a hair-brained past craze.