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A wig or toupee is a head of hair - human, horse-hair or synthetic - worn on the head for fashion or various other aesthetic and stylistic reasons, including cultural and religious observance. Some people wear wigs to disguise the fact that they are bald. Actors, on the other hand often wear wigs so they better resemble the character they are portraying.

In most Commonwealth nations, special wigs are also worn by barristers, judges, and certain parliamentary officials as a symbol of the office. Until 1823 all bishops in the United Kingdom wore ceremonial wigs as well.

As she aged, Queen Elizabeth I wore a red wig, tightly and elaborately curled in a "Roman" style.

"Wig" is short for "periwig" and appeared in the English language around 1675. Periwigs for men were introduced into the English-speaking world with other FrenchThe French Republic or France ( French: Republique francaise or France is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. styles when Charles IICharles II ( 29 May 1630 6 February 1685) was the King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 30 January 1649 de jure or 29 May 1660 de facto until his death. Charles II's father, Charles I, had been executed in 1649 following the English Civil War; the mo was restored to the throne in 1660Events January 1 colonel George Monck with his regiment crosses from Scotland to England at the village of Coldstream and begins advance towards London in support of English Restoration February 2 George Monck and his regiment arrive in London February 23. French courtiers had worn elaborate curled wigs of false hair for some time. The London diarist Samuel PepysSamuel Pepys ( February 23, 1633 May 26, 1703) was a 17th century English civil servant, famous for his diary. His surname was then pronounced "Peeps", although some modern relatives with the name pronounce theirs "Pep-iss". The diary is a fascinating com recorded the day in 1665Events March 4 Start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War March 6 Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society begins publication March 16 Bucharest allows Jews to settle in the city in exchange of annual tax of 16 guilders June 3 The Duke of York defeats the that a barberA barber is someone whose occupation is to cut hair, give shaves and cut beards. A barber differs from a hairdresser whose business is limited to cut hair. The place where a barber works is a barbershop (or "barber shop"). History For thousands of years m had shaved his head and that he tried on his new periwig for the first time, but in a year of plague he wasn't easy about wearing it:

" 3rd SeptemberSeptember 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years). There are 119 days remaining. Events 301 San Marino, one of the smallest nations in the world and the world's oldest republic still in existence, was founded by Saint Marinus. 590 St. Gregory 1665 Up, and put on my coloured silk suit, very fine, and my new periwig, bought a good while since, but darst not wear it because the plague was in Westminster when I bought it. And it is a wonder what will be the fashion after the plague is done as to periwigs, for nobody will dare to buy any haire for fear of the infection?that it had been cut off the heads of people dead of the plague."

Wigs were not without other drawbacks, as Pepys noted March 27, 1667:

I did go to the Swan; and there sent for Jervas my old periwig-maker and he did bring me a periwig; but it was full of nits, so as I was troubled to see it (it being his old fault) and did send him to make it clean.

False curls might be pinned into a hair-do in the mid-19th century, but full wigs in the 19th and early 20th century were not fashionable. They were worn by old ladies who had lost their hair. In Mrs. Skeffington (1944), when Bette Davis has to wear a wig after a bout of diphtheria, it was a moment of pathos and a symbol of her frailty. Elaborate bouffant hairdos that came in about 1960 brought the revival of full wigs for fashionable women. George IV (born in 1760), wore an auburn wig for his coronation in 1827 and this official portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence; lip rouge for men in public life did not return to fashion until the presidency of Ronald Reagan Wigs also have a cultural and religious significance where married women are expected to cut all their hair off.

Wigs were commonly worn by men during the time of early American history, including John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton.

Wigs may also be worn for fun, as part of fancy dress, when they can be of outlandish colour or made from tinsel .