powdered wigs
Courtroom head adornments
Powdered wigs were fashionable headwear in 17th- and 18th-century Europe and colonial America, made of human or animal hair dusted white with starch or flour.
Worn by aristocrats, lawyers, and officials, they signaled status and formality.
British judges and barristers still wear them in court.
The term now evokes outdated pomp or the founding era: powdered-wig politicians debating in Philadelphia.
- wigsArtificial head coverings
- perukeArtificial hair covering
- hairpieceFake scalp covering
- horsehairStrands from manes, tails
- hairstylingArranging and shaping tresses
pomade · aristocracy · high society · wigmakers · talcum · toupee · periwig · French Revolution · Founding Fathers · ceremonial dress · judicial robes · courtrooms · status · curls · Enlightenment · baroque · Georgian era · Louis XIV
- 1700sMozart, Voltaire, colonial period, French Revolution, William III
- period dramaperiod costumes, costume drama, Victorian era, period piece, Edwardian era
- 1600s EuropeLouis XIV, Glorious Revolution, Peace of Westphalia, Versailles, William of Orange
- Georgian EraGeorge III, Georgian architecture, Regency, Jane Austen, Adam style
- historical beautykohl, rouge, carmine, vermilion, white lead
- old customsarranged marriage, arranged marriages, dowry, betrothal, courtship rituals
powdered wigsnatural hair
Unchemically treated locks
shaved head · bald head · baldness · buzz cut
powdered wigscontemporary fashion
Present-day clothing trends
baseball caps · streetwear · athleisure · natural look · minimalist style