Wigging Out

Fake Hair That Made Real History

Contributors

By Jessica Glasscock

Formats and Prices

Price

$30.00

Price

$38.00 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. Hardcover $30.00 $38.00 CAD
  2. ebook $14.99 $19.99 CAD

Wigging Out is a comprehensive visual history of wigs and hairpieces, covering thousands of years of hair worn by everyone from Cleopatra and Louis XIV to Naomi Campbell and Lady Gaga.

Starting in ancient Egypt and ending on the red carpet of the Met Gala, Wigging Out features key historical moments in fashion set alongside spectacular images of real and synthetic wigs worn by everyone from Roman emperors and nineteenth-century Gibson Girls to twenty-first-century drag queens and London street punks. Including interviews with modern wigmakers, stylists, and braiders, Wigging Out takes readers on a joyful romp through fake-hair history.

On Sale
Apr 18, 2023
Page Count
272 pages
ISBN-13
9780762481477

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Jessica Glasscock

About the Author

Jessica Glasscock is a writer, researcher, and college instructor currently residing in the Riverdale area of the Bronx. The author of Striptease: From Gaslight to Spotlight (2003), American Fashion Accessories (2008), and Making a Spectacle (2021), she also worked as a researcher and education liaison for The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for over a decade.

Learn more about this author

Q&A with Jessica Glasscock, author of Wigging Out

Where did the idea for this book come from?

I’ve always been into the idea of fashion as a total work of art – it’s more than just dress and “genius” designers. After Making a Spectacle (on eyewear), my editor suggested wigs. I jumped on it because there is such an array of great creatives who have been devoted to the fabulous coif. I knew I could write an expansive history, since the story runs from Egypt to the Paris runway.

How did wigs ascend to fashion royalty?

When I talk about wigs, I have this tendency to use a word that gets worn out: iconic. But it very much applies! The key to wig use by royalty and other socially spectacular figures was the ability to create an increased profile (literally!).

What’s the greatest wig trend in the 21st century?

There are two seemingly opposite trends in tandem: increased realness combined with obvious artificiality – like the integration of a seamlessly applied lace front for maximum realism on a wig with color that nature could never execute.


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