Fashion Statement? Political Statement? Or Just a Bad Hair Day?

The story of royal fashion includes accessories, and that means
the accessory we all take with us everywhere, every day:
hair. 

Life in Medieval England was heavily influenced by the Catholic
Church. This extended to hairstyles. Around the 10th century, the
Church began issuing statements about the appropriate length of
men’s hair and the need for women to cover their heads and hair.
In 1073, Pope Gregory VII even banned beards and mustaches among
the clergy. 

As the Reformation progressed, the strict rules of the Catholic
Church began to disappear in some places. In England, this was
reflected in hairstyles. Elizabeth’s reign in particular saw
women abandon the notion of covering their hair with a hood and
veil. Hair was visible in Elizabethan England, decorated with
jewels and ornaments. 

Of course, if hair is exposed for the world to see, what happens
when it turns grey or begins to thin? You’ll notice from
portraits of Queen Elizabeth I , that didn’t seem to happen to
royals. Well, I’ll let you in on a little secret: wigs! Even
though St. Bernard de Clairvaux said in the twelfth century that
women who wore wigs were committing a mortal sin, this
condemnation had been swept away. Queen Elizabeth had several
wigs—some people think as many as 80! The wigs covered her the
reality of ageing, something that became a popular political
stand as Elizabeth refused to marry and produce an heir.

As we leave the Tudors and move into the Stuart reign, it’s the
men whose hair takes center stage. Starting with Charles I, the
second Stuart King of England, big wigs were the style of Kings.
The abundance of all that curly hair gave the King and the
royalists their nickname during the English Civil War: The
Cavaliers. It is associated with the French word chevalier
meaning horse—think horse main, abundant hair, dressed and styled
for royal processions. The Parliamentarians, on the other hand,
were known as the Roundheads because they couldn’t afford the
huge wigs and their closely cropped hair showed the round shape
of their heads.

In the early 20th century royal hair beats a bit of a retreat.
For example, the Queen's hairstyle has remained largely the same
throughout her reign, serving primarily as a place to display the
elegant crowns and tiaras at evening events and spectacular hats
during the day. But the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st
century, fashion-forward hair makes a comeback. Diana, Princess
of Wales captured the world's attention with her wardrobe and
hair--both of which got sleek and chic over the years. And the
Duchess of Cambridge and Duchess of Sussex have their own styles
and continue to define the modern monarchy.

What do you think the royal style will be like in the next 20
years??


History shows us what's possible.