selenak: (Elizabeth - shadows in shadows by Poison)
selenak ([personal profile] selenak) wrote in [personal profile] cahn 2019-11-09 06:31 am (UTC)

Re: Wilhelmine

Nope, sorry, am not. The two recent bios I read don't mention it. The instant problem I see her is that FW was close enough any number of times that "military cut from a distance" would not work, and also that 18th century hair styles aren't comparable with modern ones, including what soldiers wore. The very term "military cut" makes me distrustful, because that sounds very 20th century USian. I mean: even your avarage non-noble Prussian soldier wore a)a wig, and b)if no wig, then his hair at shoulder length and bound into a tail.

Trufax: cutting one's hair was the rebellious anti older generation thing to do two generations later at least in the German speaking territories. See also: French Revolution. A shorter cut was cool, longer hair old fashioned and conservative. Heinrich Heine in his his great satiric poem Deutschland: Ein Wintermärchen makes fun of "Prussian tails" (of hair, he means).

Now granted,for female hair the French ancient regime fashion went to elaborate lengths, see also MA's legendary hairdos, but for men, I don't think so. Especially given that the periwig went out of fashion in FW's youth already.

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