Whither the Wig?

What is it about wigs?

Some people love them.  Some people hate them.   But few people think of them as fashion accessories on par with, say, designer sunglasses.  This despite the fact that a wig can totally change a person's look.

When I was growing up, there was a brief period where wigs entered the mainstream -- or tried to.  Wiglets, switches, and all kinds of hair accessories helped women acquire the bouffants, beehives, and renaissance-inspired hairdos that were popular in the Sixties through the early Seventies.

Briefly, wigs and wiglets suggested glamour, sophistication, and the sort of jet-setting lifestyle too hurried to permit sitting for hours under a hair dryer.

Even Barbie wore wigs.

But times change.  Blame it on Charlie's Angels, Ali McGraw or something, but it seemed that suddenly it was all about looking natural.  Gradually wigs developed a somewhat unsavory reputation.

While there's certainly no lack of wig stores where I live -- they're everywhere -- I think many people associate them with 1) cancer, 2) porn stars 3) drag queens, 4) orthodox Jews, 5) little old ladies.

This despite the fact that a good wig costs hundreds of dollars, and are big business for the likes of Raquel Welch, Jaclyn Smith, and of course, the late Eva Gabor.  Many celebrities wear them all the time.

Of course the best wigs look totally natural.  (It's sort of like men's toupees -- you only notice the bad ones so assume all wigs are bad.)

It's when the match between the wig and the wigged is poor that one looks twice -- or can't stop looking.

Which might just be the point.



Readers, both tress-blessed and bowling ball(d), what's your take on wigs?  Do you own any?  Do you ever throw one on casually just to enhance your look, or are they strictly for the occasional evening of fantasy play with a loved one?

Do you agree that wigs -- while widely available -- simply aren't the fab fashion accessory they used to be?

Could it all be a conspiracy perpetrated by the folks at Procter & Gamble to make us buy shampoo?

Put on your thinking cap -- the ash blonde number with the spit curls -- and share!