Costume Wigs - Let Them Go To Your Head
Costume wigs are more than just simple hairpieces. They can be
reminiscent of a period in history, or of an character's
attitude, behavior, and secrets; and should go with the actor's
or costume wearer's appearance. In film and theater productions,
entire teams are assembled and devoted o making costume wigs.
They are considered to be experts in history, make-up, and
psychology. Costume wig makers wear even more thinking hats than
those who wear their creations. Indeed, movies, plats, and
entire parties rest their art and enjoyment on costume wigs.
Costume wigs should succeed in making the unremarkable
beautiful, the beautiful grotesque, and the grotesque just
downright macabre.
I. Types Of Wigs
1. Stone Age Bristly and large, these wigs resemble teased hair
which has been run repeatedly through a washing machine's spin
cycle before being thrown, albeit vainly, into the garbage
disposal.
2. Greek or Roman These wigs are elaborate, especially for
women. They will usually be piled with curls and braids, and be
interwoven with jewelry and pearls.
3. Medieval Although these costume wigs are often hidden behind
large headdresses and veils, the war costume wigs are as bright
and exposed as caveman hair. The hair shocks will stick out at
angles, and will be embedded with blood and pebbles.
4. Victorian Always powdered white, this may be embellished with
ribbons and pearls. Women's Victorian costume wigs will be bulky
and piled atop their heads, and contain layers of heavy braids.
5. Roaring Twenties These are a favorite among costume wigs
because they are small and simple, with tendrilling curls
framing the brow for women, and neatly combed and parted
hairpieces for the men.
6. Modern These costume wigs comprise a broad range of styles
and fits. They can be used to disguise a character, enhance a
character's looks, or simply change a character's appearance.
Such wigs can be used to dress up spies, partygoers, and exotic
dancers.
7. Fantasy Fantasy costume wigs cover the range of make-believe
fairy worlds as in the Lord of the Rings trilogy; invented alien
worlds such as those in Star Wars of Star Trek, and horror
situations such as those that exist in horror movies.
II. Color
A costume wig's color and appearance contribute greatly to
showing off a character. Caveman wigs are usually dark; Roman
and Greek wigs dark or golden; Victorian powdered white, with
increasing whiteness showing greater wealth; Roaring Twenties
dark; and modern and fantasy wigs all colors and styles of
choice. Although not often followed, warm colors such as deep
reds can denote warmth at one end, and extreme anger or rage at
another. Deep, dark colors such as black connote brains and
sophistication. Light yellows and gold may signal youth,
sprightliness, and lack of intellect (hence the dumb blonde
stereotype). White can mean age, wealth, wisdom, and even
neutrality or peace. Hot neon colors, although for the most part
confined to the costume party crowd, can actually reflect a
character's need to be noticed, which may be due to the same
character's inner strife.
III. Benefits
- Adds character to a character - Looks good on the wearer - A
long face can be widened - A wide, cherubic face can be
lengthened to look less childish
IV. Considerations
Equally important are the actors' skin tone and eye color. Dark
skin will usually be complimented by dark colored wigs, and
light skin will usually be complimented by light colored eyes.
Pale skin paired with starkly dark hair can give characters a
harsh look, and can be used to convey ideas of inner conflict,
cruel intentions, or even sickness.
Costume wigs can be made from a variety of materials. Real human
hair can be woven into wigs, although such wigs will often be
more expensive. Most wigs nowadays are made from synthetic
materials, providing the wig with a both eye and camera friendly
(though unnatural) sheen. The industry choice, however, is yak
hair, which is not only inexpensive, but close in consistency
and appearance to human hair as well.