Why do barristers wear wigs and gowns? Powdered Wigs. The question, why do British Judges and barristers wear these wigs? For nearly two centuries, powdered wigs—called perukes—were all the rage. It wasn't uncommon for men to own an assortment of wigs, as wigmaker Terry Lyons explains. For All Occasions. By 1580, the STD had become the worst epidemic to strike … There were wigs for evening wear, for everyday wear, for business, for riding. The Four Explanations: Fashion Louis XIV began the trend of wearing wigs. The tradition of " court dress " dates back almost 700 years, to the reign of King Edward III (1327-1377). White wigs were also worn for formal occasions, but many men simply powdered a colored wig white because they did not own a white wig. The balding Louis XIV adopted the wig out of vanity. King Louis XIII was the man first responsible for the trend, as he wore a wig (original called "periwig") to cover his premature balding. The concept of the powdered wig emerged in France the mid 17th century. Tagged under: 18th century wigs, history of wigs timeline, powdered wigs, style of wig worn in the 17th and 18th century, what were powdered wigs made of, who was the last president to wear a powdered wig, why did british soldiers wear wigs, why did founding fathers wear wigs By the 1790s, wigs and hair powder were no longer fashionable, and wigs were only commonly worn by the older generation of men. As the trend began in royalty, they developed an upper-class, conservative status. Wigs not so much, but powdered hair most definitely, and its worse than you think. Keep reading to … British Parliament Is Losing its Wigs They’re itchy, formal—and part of centuries of tradition Clerks (right) will no longer have to wear their distinctive wigs in the House of Commons. Many people who’ve studied British history provide various explanations. At … Wigs were usually worn to cover baldness, which arose from a number of causes, not least syphilis, in the late 1500’s. [Legal Cheek] Why Do British Lawyers Still Wear Wigs? Why was the powdered wig such a social staple in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s? The men wore wigs called “perukes” that were powdered to give it a distinctive white to off-white color. Wikimedia Commons Women actually did not wear full-on wigs. I highly recommend British Military Spectacle: From the Napoleonic Wars through the Crimea by Scott Myerly for a look at some of the zany things that the Brits did. Were powdered wigs on men considered cool for the time? [How Stuff Works] Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. So why do British judges still wear wigs? And was George Washington really the first US President to wear a powdered wig? When King Charles II returned from the French court. Perukes or powdered wigs were made from goat, horse or human hair, which was often not properly washed. The hair powder tax of one guinea a year which was enacted by the British government in 1795 effectively brought an end to the wearing of wigs and hair powder in Britain by the close of the century. The peruke’s story begins like many others—with syphilis. The chic hairpiece would have never become popular, however, if it hadn’t been for a venereal disease, a pair of self-conscious kings, and poor hair hygiene.