Short Hair

[tigrlily64]

Anyone think of any good excuses for having short hair?  I really don't want to wear a wig.

[Hoowil]

You cut it off to give as a favor?

[Ginette]

Locks of Love would love to have your hair i bet. I'm growing mine out to send to them.


http://www.locksoflove.org/

[Margaret]

Anyone think of any good excuses for having short hair?  I really don't want to wear a wig.

At faire, it is very rare that anyone sees my hair - I usually have a caul and a hat on.  My shoulder length hair is rarly an issue.

On the occasion that I do have my hair showing, I really don't care if it is H/A or not, so i don't worry about a reason.

However, hair was usually shorn if a person was imprisioned or very ill.  Depending on your character, you could go with one of those.

[CapnFayeCutler]

I just whacked all of my hair off the day after my surgery... (The pain killers made me loopy) so I think I'm either going to be wearing my wig or just pinning back a lot of what's left and wearing a caul on the back...although there won't be much hair in the caul lol. I just hope it works. 

[tigrlily64]

Locks of Love would love to have your hair i bet. I'm growing mine out to send to them.


http://www.locksoflove.org/

I already sent it to them, which is why I don't have hair any more...

And Maragaret, I would be fine with shoulder length hair...Except I don't have that.  I have about an inch of hair.

[Kiss-me-Kate]

I had short hair last season.  On the bright side, it was much cooler.  On the dark side, I hated it and wished I had never done it.  But if you did it for a good cause such as locks of love, then it is cool!!!

I wore a hat or didn't give a rat's weed puller most of the time, so it wasn't an issue.

[dragongirl]

Well actually it was common for women to cut off their hair and wear wigs to rid themselves of lice and fleas.  If anyone questions you, you can say it was cut for those reasons or that you had a fever, another common reason that hair was cut.  Depending on your persona you could get a caul or goodwife's cap to cover your shorter hair.

[Taffy Saltwater]

You were a novitiate or nun in a convent, but your father had you returned home in order to make an advantageous marriage.  Or you ran away to pursue personal interests 

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

I'm curious.  Has anyone ever asked why a person has short hair?  I think that would be incredibly rude for someone to ask that question.  I've gone to faire with long hair, short hair, medium hair, and all lengths in between, and nobody ever asked me about my hair however it was.

Or are you just wondering what to say if somebody does ask you?  As for me, if someone asked me why my hair was short, if I was on cast, I'd use one of the above reasons.  But if I wasn't on cast, I'd just say I donated to Locks of Love.  Or it's none of their business.

[Baroness Doune]

Up until the 1970s or so, my mother still believed the old wives tale that hair robbed the body of strength, and therefore, hair should be cut short when someone was very ill to help them get better.

Portrait evidence for wearing short hair.  The image is large and I don't want to resize it, so there is only a link.
Bia de Medici
The portrait is of the natural daughter of Cosimo de Medici, who died when she was about 6.  This portrait is believed to be a posthumous portrait and there are clues in the portrait to support that belief.  It has been said that Bia was frequently ill prior to her death and her hair was kept cut short during her lifetime and that was why she was also portrayed as having short hair in this posthumous portrait.

Really, no one should question your short hair.  But if it should come up, the recent illness excuse is a very period one.  But, I would just tell the truth.  Locks of Love is a worthy cause that more people should be made aware of.

[tigrlily64]

Thanks everybody. 

[Ladyferns]

I usually wear my hair just below my ears, mid-lenghth or so.  I hate wearing hats, so prefer a natural flower garland or wire hair twist for adornment, but need to come up with something better.  This year I decided to let my hair grow for the season, and it's below my shoulders.  Wouldn't you know it - both times we've gone this year it was rainy and it frizzed up so I looked quite witch like!  I guess I need to learn to braid it, or just cut it.

[Annastina]

I am growing my hair out and it's currently almost collar length.  My garb is the basic peasant stuff and I wear either a muffin cap (just a large caul) or snood and straw hat.

[gypsylakat]

well, you could always say your lover got into a scrape and you had to pay his bail or pay his ransom and sold your hair to a wig maker...