A Titus cut or coiffure à la Titus was a hairstyle for men and women popular at the end of the 18th century in France and England. The style consisted of a short layered cut, typically with curls. It was supposedly popularized in 1791 by the French actor François-Joseph Talma who played Titus in a Parisian production of Voltaire's Brutus.
The Titus cut was considered a radical departure from the large elaborate hairstyles and wigs that were popular during the last quarter of the 18th century. As a simple "classical" style, free from aristocratic excess, it was associated with the French Revolution and popular among those who supported it. Although initially a men's style, it was soon adopted by women as well. The Journal de Paris reported in 1802 that "more than half of elegant women were wearing their hair or wig à la Titus." The style spread to England as well, where it was often called coiffure à la guillotine in reference to the beheadings of the French Revolution. Although the style remained popular into the 19th century, by the 1810s it had fallen out of fashion.
Gallery
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François-Joseph Talma playing the role of Titus in Voltaire's Brutus
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Girl with Portfolio (circa 1799)
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Portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte (1800)
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Portrait of Marie-Adrienne Rousseau and Rose-Marie Charlotte (early 1800s)
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Portrait of Charles Antoine Callamard (1801)
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"Cheveux à la Titus", fashion print from Costume Parisien (1803)
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Portrait of Suzanne le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau (1804)
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Portrait of François Marius Granet (1807)
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Portrait of a Man (1809)
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Portrait of Fanny Biron of Courland (1810)
See also
References
- ^ Rifelj, Carol (2010). Coiffures: Hair in Nineteenth-century French Literature and Culture. Newark: University of Delaware Press. pp. 34–40. ISBN 0874130999.
- ^ Ribeiro, Aileen (1988). Fashion in the French Revolution. London: Batsford. p. 68. ISBN 0713453524.
- Larson, Jessica (20 April 2013). Usurping Masculinity: The Gender Dynamics of the coiffure à la Titus in Revolutionary France (PDF) (BA thesis). University of Michigan. p. 23. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
- ^ Larson, Jessica (20 April 2013). Usurping Masculinity: The Gender Dynamics of the coiffure à la Titus in Revolutionary France (PDF) (BA thesis). University of Michigan. pp. 11–13. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
- de Courtais, Georgine (2006). Women's Hats, Headdresses and Hairstyles. Dover Publications. p. 96. ISBN 0486136698.
- Larson, Jessica (20 April 2013). Usurping Masculinity: The Gender Dynamics of the coiffure à la Titus in Revolutionary France (PDF) (BA thesis). University of Michigan. p. 24. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
External links
Media related to Titus haircut at Wikimedia Commons- "Coiffure à la Titus" at shannonselin.com
