A hairstyle, hairdo, haircut, or coiffure refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human head but sometimes on the face or body. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming, fashion, and cosmetics, although practical, cultural, and popular considerations also influence some hairstyles.
A wig is a head covering made from human or animal hair, or a synthetic imitation thereof. The word is short for "periwig". Wigs may be worn to disguise baldness, to alter the wearer's appearance, or as part of certain professional uniforms.
A ponytail is a hairstyle in which some, most, or all of the hair on the head is pulled away from the face, gathered and secured at the back of the head with a hair tie, clip, or other similar accessory and allowed to hang freely from that point. It gets its name from its resemblance to the tail of a pony.
Futou, also known as fu (幞) and toujin (頭巾), was one of the most important forms of Chinese headwear in ancient China with a history of more than one thousand years. The futou first appeared in Northern Zhou under the reign of Emperor Wu where it became prevalent. It was also commonly worn in the Tang and Song dynasties. The futou was typically worn by government officials. The futou was originally turban-like headwear which was tied at the back of its wearer's head, with the two corners going to opposite directions and acting as decorations. From the Sui to the Ming dynasties, the futou evolved and was developed based on the fujin. The futou eventually came to assume a variety of shapes and styles. The shape of the futou worn by the government officials in the Song and Ming dynasties, the latter known as the wushamao (烏紗帽), was based on the futou of the Tang dynasty.
The chonmage (丁髷) is a type of traditional Japanese topknot haircut worn by men. It is most commonly associated with the Edo period (1603–1868) and samurai, and in recent times with sumo wrestlers. It was originally a method of using hair to hold a samurai kabuto helmet steady atop the head in battle, and became a status symbol among Japanese society.
In the context of hairstyles, the usage of the term pigtail shows considerable variation. The term may refer to a single braid, but is more frequently used in the plural ("pigtails") to refer to twin braids on opposite sides of the head. Sometimes, the term "pigtails" applies whether or not the hair is braided, but there is not widespread agreement on this.
Fashion in the years 1750–1775 in European countries and the colonial Americas was characterised by greater abundance, elaboration and intricacy in clothing designs, loved by the Rococo artistic trends of the period. The French and English styles of fashion were very different from one another. French style was defined by elaborate court dress, colourful and rich in decoration, worn by such iconic fashion figures as Marie Antoinette.
A chignon, from the French chignon meaning a bun, is a hairstyle characterized by wrapped hair on the back of the head. In the United States and United Kingdom, it is often used as an abbreviation of the French phrase chignon du cou, signifying a low bun worn at the nape of the neck.
A queue or cue is a hairstyle worn by the Jurchen and Manchu peoples of Manchuria, and was later required to be worn by male subjects of Qing China. Hair on top of the scalp is grown long and is often braided, while the front portion of the head is shaved. The distinctive hairstyle led to its wearers being targeted during anti-Chinese riots in Australia and the United States.
Nihongami is the term used for a number of traditional Japanese hairstyles considered to be distinctive in their construction and societal role.
Khmer traditional clothing refers to the traditional styles of dress worn by the Khmer people throughout history. Tracing their origins back to the early Common Era, the customary styles of dress worn by Khmer people predate the indianization of Southeast Asia. The evolution of these clothing customs can be traced through archaeological artifacts from the 6th century to the post-Angkorian period, evolving from the simple pre-Angkorian Sampot to vibrant and intricately embroidered silk garments.
Short hair refers to any haircut with little length. It may vary from above the ears to below the chin. If a man's hair reaches the chin, it may not be considered short. For a woman, however, short varies from close-cropped to just above the shoulders. This varies from culture to culture, in more traditional societies in Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Islamic world, short hair on women means anything shorter than chest length with chest length to elbow length being considered medium-length. However, among more progressive societies with far less structured gender norms, the classic bob is considered medium-length with "short hair" referring to pixie cuts and similar hairstyles. Different styles of short hair include the bob cut, the crop and the pixie cut.
Hairstyle fashion in Rome was ever changing, and particularly in the Roman Imperial Period there were a number of different ways to style hair. As with clothes, there were several hairstyles that were limited to certain people in ancient society. Styles are so distinctive they allow scholars today to create a chronology of Roman portraiture and art; we are able to date pictures of the empresses on coins or identify busts depending on their hairstyles.
Headgear, headwear, or headdress is any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, decoration, or for religious or cultural reasons, including social conventions.
Hanfu, are the traditional styles of clothing worn by the Han Chinese since the 2nd millennium BCE. There are several representative styles of hanfu, such as the ruqun, the aoqun, the beizi and the shenyi, and the shanku.
Secular laws regulating hairstyles exist in various countries and institutions.
After the fall of the Tang dynasty, the Khitans, a branch of the Eastern Xianbei tribes, established Liao dynasty in northern China. The Liao dynasty comprised two regions: the Northern and Southern Divisions. The Northern divisions of Liao was mainly composed of tribal Khitan people while the Southern regions was composed of the Han and other sedentary groups. The rulers of the Liao dynasty adopted a clothing system which allowed the coexistence of Han and Khitan clothing.
Tifayifu was a cultural policy of the early Qing dynasty as it conquered the preceding Ming dynasty. In 1645, the Tifayifu edict forced Han Chinese people to adopt the Manchu hairstyle, the queue, and Manchu clothing. The edict specifically applied to living adult men, who did not fall in the stipulated exceptions. In 1644, on the first day when the Manchu penetrated the Great Wall of China in the Battle of Shanhai Pass, the Manchu rulers ordered the surrendering Han Chinese population to shave their heads; however, this policy was halted just a month later due to intense resistance from the Han Chinese near Beijing. Only after the Manchu captured Nanjing, the southern capital, from the Southern Ming in 1645 was the Tifayifu policy resumed and enforced severely. Within one year after entering China proper, the Qing rulers demanded that men among their newly defeated subjects adopt the Manchu hairstyle or face execution. The Qing prince regent Dorgon initially canceled the order to shave for all men in Ming territories south of the Great Wall. The full Tifayifu edict was only implemented after two Han officials from Shandong, Sun Zhixie and Li Ruolin, voluntarily shaved their foreheads and demanded that Dorgon impose the queue hairstyle on the entire population.
The sangtu (Korean: 상투) was a Korean topknot hairstyle worn by married men.
