A Tale of Hair Through the Ages
*imagine me in my Lady Whistleblower voice* Boston, 2024. Gather ‘round, dearest readers. In light of Bridgerton’s final four episodes of Season 3 dropping last week, captivation for the characters’ elaborate hairstyles have been growing. Emma Rigby, Bridgerton’s hairstylist, posted the complex process it took for her to make Queen Charlotte’s wigs on Instagram, and her comment section was flooded with compliments. Tutorials of Regency-era hairstyles and articles about them have started to emerge. The intricate coiffures, especially those of Queen Charlotte, have captured our attention. Her towering wigs, decorated with sophisticated curls and braids, showcase the opulence of the Regency period and unique historical influences. However, this fascination with hairstyles isn’t new – it closely echoes the ancient Roman fascination with hair.
One of the most stunning examples of this Roman historical expression is the Head of a Flavian Woman, also known as the Fonseca Bust. Similar to Queen Charlotte’s intricate hair, the Fonseca Bust features a woman who has a towering coiffure with tight curls in the front and a sophisticated bun at the back. The bust dates back to around 90 AD and is currently housed in the Capitoline Museum in Rome2. While it is unbeknownst to us who this woman is, she must either be a member of the Flavian dynasty or a very wealthy nonimperial woman2. The Fonseca Bust is notable for the way the sculptor rendered the contrasting textures of hair and flesh with such precision. The coiffure features corkscrew curls that were crafted with a drill and traditional chisel3. This technique created an interplay between light and shadow, making the curls stand out against the smoothly polished skin of the face and neck3. Try to picture it with the original colors on the hair, eyebrows, eyes and lips; the portrait would have been incredibly lifelike.
The hairstyle depicted in the Fonseca Bust doesn’t only show the sculptor’s artistic skills but also serves as evidence for the complex hairdressing techniques in the Imperial period. Roman hairdressing involved many methods, such as using hair bodkins (Roman hairpins) and needle-and-thread (sewing hair into place). It was initially debated if these depictions of hairstyles were actually worn by its sitters, but skilled hairdressers and wig makers confirmed that it is humanly possible to make such intricate hairstyles. Janet Stephens, a hairdresser and archaeologist, proves this to us by recreating the hairstyle of the Flavian woman. She does this by braiding and coiling the back hair into a bun and creating layered spiral curls in the front, which are curled with a heating iron and secured with stitching6. Creating and maintaining such hairstyle takes great time, care and attention. These complex styles cannot be created by the wearer herself – at least one hairdresser is needed to arrange the hair and to take it down. This parallels the process of creating Queen Charlotte’s wigs for Bridgerton. Rigby spent two years perfecting the iconic swan wig, showing that even with modern tools, achieving these intricate hairstyles require significant time and skill.
Roman women made extensive efforts to make their hair elaborate because it was more than a fashion statement; it was an indicator of sex, social status, age, and individuality. Hairstyles were made to convey information about the wearer10. They were ideological statements that reflected the values of Roman society. For example, having an elaborate and tight styled hair was seen as a representation of a woman’s status as a civilized member of society10. Since having an elaborate coiffure restricted spontaneous movement, it encouraged a poised and elegant demeanor10. Their hairstyle reminded them of their position in society, and that a dignified behavior was expected of them10. Conversely, having untidy and loose hair represented grief during mourning periods or contempt for social conventions.
These elaborate hairstyles also reflected socioeconomic distinctions within Roman society. Women who had intricate coiffures required the assistance of at least one hairdresser, meaning that they had the money and time for lengthy sessions of hairdressing. Since there were many slaves in the Roman Empire, wealthy people were able to easily get someone to style their hair. The added height from these hairstyles brought women to a closer ideal of beauty and required them to have a certain posture and body language, which emulated elegance. This concept of hairstyles reflecting status and confidence is evident in Bridgerton’s prequel spin-off, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. If you’ve watched the series, you’ll notice that Queen Charlotte’s hair progressively grows in height as the episodes pass. Her evolving hairstyle symbolizes her growing confidence and authority.
Interestingly, in the Imperial period, the hairstyles of the upper class, especially that of the Flavian toupet, were often depicted in the funerary monuments of freedman and slaves. There could be two arguments for this occurrence. Firstly, freedmans in the Imperial period could be very wealthy from partaking in trade from the skills they learnt when they were slaves. Secondly, Roman portraits are not likeness. They were crafted with an agenda to project an idealized image that oftentimes boost the status and importance of the subject. This highlights how hair has long been a powerful tool for personal identity. The importance of hair transcends time, carrying social and cultural weight from ancient Rome to the Regency era of Bridgerton to today.
Now, as you binge-watch the latest episodes of Bridgerton and admire the different hairstyles from your screens, remember that such intricate hairstyles have long histories that date back to Ancient Rome. The symbolic uses of hair in these contexts remind us that whether in ancient Rome, Regency England or even present-day Boston, a hairstyle is not just a hairstyle – it’s a statement and art form. The next time you find yourself captivated by these elegant hairstyles on screen, think back to the rich history they represent and the message they are trying to convey. Keep your curls high and your spirits higher, dear readers, as we continue to find inspiration from the past and present.
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Bibliography
Bartman, Elizabeth. “Hair and the Artifice of Roman Female Adornment.” American Journal of Archaeology 105, no. 1 (January 1, 2001): 1–25. https://doi.org/10.2307/507324.
Davies, Glenys. “Cultural Representations.” Essay. In A Cultural History of Hair in Antiquity 1, 1:145–61. London, United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Academic, 2019.
Kleiner, Fred S. A history of Roman Art. Australia: Cengage Learning, 2018.
Dr. Elizabeth Marlowe and Dr. Steven Zucker, "When there is no archaeological record: Portrait Bust of a Flavian Woman (Fonseca bust)," Smarthistory, September 1, 2017. https://smarthistory.org/ungrounded-portrait-bust-of-a-flavian-woman-fonseca-bust/.
Sande, Siri. 2021. “Panegyrics, Poetry and Hair in the Late First and Early Second Century AD.” Symbolae Osloenses 95 (1): 192–233. doi:10.1080/00397679.2021.2076346.
Smith, Emily. “It Took Two Years to Make, so This Is How They Made Queen Charlotte’s Bridgerton Swan Wig.” The Tab, June 5, 2024. https://thetab.com/uk/2024/06/05/it-took-two-years-to-make-so-this-is-how-they-made-queen-charlottes-bridgerton-swan-wig-368671.
Stephens, Janet. “Ancient Roman Hairdressing: On (Hair)Pins and Needles.” Journal of Roman Archaeology 21 (2008): 110–32. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1047759400004402.
Stewart, Susan. “Class and Social Status.” Essay. In A Cultural History of Hair in Antiquity 1, 1:129–44. London, United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Academic, 2019.
Zuckerman, Esther. “How ‘The Crown’, ‘Queen Charlotte’ Designers Created Emmy-Nominated Royal Heads of Hair.” The Hollywood Reporter, August 4, 2023. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/style/the-crown-queen-charlotte-hair-stylists-looks-1235549667/.