The years between the rise of the First Empire and the fall of the Third Reich witness remarkable changes in the style of clothing and hair in the West.The general trend toward looser, freer, less formal styles for both sexes, women in particular, is accompanied by serious backsliding during some eras.

Men's long hair and wigs of the previous age have vanished, with hair seldom falling to the shoulders, but facial hair is a different story.Much of the source material for this thread comes from the ever-reliable Encyclopadia Brittannica, largely from sections of "dress" by James Laver, author of A Concise History of Costume.

and Doreen Yarwood, author of Fashion in the Western World; Encyclopaedia of World Costume; and others There are a couple of comprehensive web sites that cover this period, including The History of Fashion and Dress (www.costumes.org) and Digital History of Fashion (www.furman.edu/~kgossman/history/).