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I discovered an interesting article about Mozart, who had thick blond hair.
http://sofaithfulaheart.blogspot.fr/2010/04/things-wigs-hairstyles.html
I quote the relevant passage:
The tail that hung from the back of both men's and women's hairstyles and wigs was called a queue (pronounced cue), and for men, was symbolic of the length of their...well, you know. Mozart was known for his long, thick hair that hung clear to the middle of his back. Mozart's queue was generally clubbed and bound tightly with a black satin ribbon. When he was employed by the Prince Archbishop Colleredo of Salzburg, he was required to wear a white wig with the queue hidden in a black satin tie bag whenever he was at court, or when he played the organ in the cathedral.
What I find interesting is that he was required to wear a powdered wig for his official functions even though he had healthy long hair.
Wigs went out of fashion from the 1780's because of the high price of wig powder. This would have allowed men to wear their hair more naturally, even when they began to wear very elaborate hats.
The queue (low ponytail) was gone by about 1800, but long hair persisted at least throughout the Romantic era.
It's flattering to know that my naturally grey-silver hair is what men paid for in the 18th century!
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Thanks, Anthony. A nice pieceof history. Maybe the Prince Archbishop was jealous of his hair.
My Theory is it was the industrial revolution that did in long hair on men. You know the risk of it getting caught in the machinery.
I'm not sure how men of the popular classes wore their hair, certainly not like the urban gentry. They lived in practically medieval conditions, disease and lice, so one can only imagine they kept their hair short, crudely cutting it with scissors or knives.
It is true for us. We need to be careful with our hair when operating machinery. I was rigging my boat a couple of days ago and a few strands of my hair got caught in a pulley. That was a salutary warning to put on my headband before rigging the boat!
Partly Industrial Revolution but also a change of fashion among the gentry. Hair got shorter and men started to grow big moustaches, sideburns and beards. Hats were in from the progressive disappearance of the wig in the 1780's.
What really did in long hair was the French Revolution and its influences outside France. Romanticism was a reaction against the French Revolution - and those people stuck to long hair and even occasionally kept a queue. Otherwise the prevailing style was like Liszt or S.T. Coleridge, loose hair just beyond the shoulders.
I am particularly interested in the Romantic world view and see many parallels in modern sub-cultures reacting from the philistinism and barbarianism of the 20th century (1914 until now). History doesn't repeat itself, but there are many parallels.
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