Women traditionally wore their hair long.
So when did short hair become the vogue?
It was called the Titus haircut, orcoiffure a la Titus.
Brutuswas one of Voltaires less successful plays.
It was taken off the stage after only fifteen performances.
Give us death rather than slavery!, there was pandemonium in the theatre.
The actor playing Titus was Francois-Joseph Talma.
He was costumed in the garb of ancient Rome, with a short crop of hair.
The Titus hairstyle has another connection to the French Revolutionthis one though the blade of the guillotine.
Historians question whether these balls actually took place because there is very little contemporary evidence to support it.
Ascoiffure a la Titusbecame popular, support for this new hairstyle came from different quarters.
How many have a wide forehead and the temples too exposed!, asked an 19th century French hairdresser.
The [coiffure a la] Titus agreeably covers these faults, he wrote.
He continued:
Indeed, what could be less agreeable and more embarrassing than long flowing hair?
It hinders movement and thereby removes grace.
