My wig

My wig

My wig doesn't have a name. A nameless wig, you might say. But what a beautiful head of hair! I created this page so that those not fortunate enough to wear the wig (and be photographed under it), may come to know it, if even superficially.

Conception and early history

My wig was hand-made in the quaint Austrian village of Westendorf in the year 1986. World renowned as one of the most famous hand-made wig shops in Europe, Perückegeschäft Hahn (Hahn's Wig Shop) has made wigs since 1788 when Feldmarschall Ernst Gideon Freiherr von Laudon had a special field-worthy combat wig crafted during Austria's early foray into the Russo-Turkish War. In fact, the wigs became so popular during the war that they were even sold to Turkish soldiers! Imagine that! A Turkish infantryman wearing a hand-made Austrian wig during the Russo-Turkish War! Something like that ought to make a grown man eat his own hat - or wig, if you prefer! Ha ha har har.

Ahem, anyhow, skip to the year 1983, when wigs and hairpieces were becoming commonplace in Europe and North America. A trend was developing where men, young and old, began to wear wigs as a sign of distinction. These new wig styles weren't your average show-off hairpieces of every which colour (or British Lord-style, for that matter), but, ironically, they were modelled on the head-of-hairs of the commoner.

By 1985, a line of wig dubbed the Morning Muff was mainstream. These wigs drew little attention to the bearer due to the subtle colour and soft hair strands. There were 15 shades in all, from matte black to glossy auburn. Every balding man (and balding woman, and hair-full man, and hair-full woman) felt comfortable and stylish in these wigs. Hahn's Wig Shop was making a fortune.

A wig was born

Then, in 1986, a special wig was born. This wig was to be my wig, my head of hair, my commoner's locks. My wig was ordered through a wig depot in Calgary and shipped to Victoria, British Columbia. One of the last descendants of the Morning Muff, my wig joined the ranks of many other wigs of that time, going to work, dinner parties, dancing. It was having the time of it's life, and all atop another's head!

But, with the slow decline of the popularity of wigs in the late 1980s and into the early 1990s, my wig was used less and less. Eventually, it was stored in a box of old clothes in 1994 and forgotten. Then, in 1998, it made its way to a second hand shop in Victoria: Value Village. After being moved from shelf to shelf for over a year, it's path crossed mine, just a few days before Hallowe'en.

There I stood, amongst the fervent costume shoppers, looking for a wig, the perfect wig. I was to be Fred from the Scooby Doo gang, and there, amongst cheap Batman masks and funky smelling hats, was my perfect head of Fred's hair. I picked it up and smelled it deeply. It stunk of cigarettes. "Must have been a good last party back in the 80s, you wig," I jested. I tried it on and immediately felt at home. Nobody stared at me as if I were wearing hair not grown from my own scalp, and the smoke-stiffened hairs gently brushed my ears and neck. I had just found a piece of myself.

That Hallowe'en, we were the best Scooby Doo gang ever. And I owe it all to my wig.

Since then, my wig and I have been inseperable. It has always been there, in my pocket or on my head, or on someone else's head just next to me, at parties, on mountain tops, and even rock climbing, and best of all, in countless photographs, to be remembered forever. But it's not dead! It's still very much with me, beside me, on my bed, as I write this, being all hairy like it usally is.

Photographs

The remainder of this page is a place for these special photographs, these special memories. I've annotated them where I can, and am always adding more. So please, join me, won't you, for a look at the life of my wig.

Alexa Bowen enjoys a laugh in the wig	The wig often provokes deep thought, as seen here with Alicia Dunphy
Alicia with the wig, yet again	An early photograph of Allison in the wig
Ameil, from South Africa, wears the wig	Here Brenda Wormald wears the wig; a model subject
Candace Winter has been known to share in the wig's joy	Chris enjoys a moment with the wig
Danielle Gifford hoping her night with the wig will never end	Dave Sauve, in another early photograph, with the wig and some clear glasses for effect
Mr Dave Lee having his wigness thrust into his face by a cowgirl!	And just a few moments later...total bliss
This is me wearing the wig on another Hallowe'en. Brio and I dressed up as cave men	Oh how I love the wig
Look at my hair, so blessed	Wigging out
Me and my wig riding shotgun in Jody's car near Golden, BC	Another picture of me in the wig joined by my brother Mike and sister Jody
YAPOMITW (yet another picture of me in the wig)	Eija Oksanen, a young wig appreciator, from Finland
Emmy-lou Campbell wears the wig at the Great Canadian Beer Festival in Victoria, BC	Francis Stephens, from New Zealand, compliments the wig with a stellar moustache
Germans enjoy wigs too! Here is Anya proudly displaying the wig	I found this girl out late at night in Victoria. She was also a wig-enthusiast!
Heidi, at home in her temporary hair	Helen, from New Zealand, wears the wig with pride. It sure looks good against that red suit!
James Addison, long time friend of my wig, not to mention we were married at one time	Janice has always loved the wig, from the day she met it
Jen Infanti gets some tips on wig wearing from Emmy-lou	Jerry Muir, a prominent government official, relaxes in the wig
Josh from New Zealand wearing the wig backwards, as is often done	This is Kim. When she's not busy being a lawyer she spends time in the wig
Kris Butler from Victoria	Matt Stanlake, taking a break from programming in the wig
Melanie Stanlake, enjoying the wig in the early days	Mel Wright looking saucy and stylish in her new tuft
Neil Yager uses the wig for a beer insulator. I don't normally approve of this type of use, but in this case it was just for a laugh	Peter Anderson digs the wig
Reid Garner smiling because of the wig	Romaric Vincent, all the way from France. It is rumoured he moved to New Zealand just to be closer to the wig
Romaric enjoying the wig again, this time on New Year's Eve	Ryan Steele enjoys wearing the wig when he's not playing in his band
Sandy in the wig	Me and a Frenchman, David Chagne, proudly displaying our wigs. David's wig was one of the later models of the Morning Muff, and in my opinion, not a very classic model
An unknown wig wearer	Another unknown wig wearer
Yet another unknown wig wearer	A lot of people I don't know love trying on the wig

If you've worn my wig and have a photograph you'd like to add, email me the picture, preferably resized to 300x199 pixels, in JPEG format.

Updates

2006-09-13: Oh Google, you know me all too well...

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