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Boda de hidalgos en Begoña [Noble wedding in Begoña] by Francisco Vázquez de Mendieta, 1607.

Women’s hairdo and headwear are, to put it briefly, simple fashion statements to complement their clothing in the modern western world today; however, by no means was it always so. In ancient times the way women styled their hair and covered their head was distinctive of their social and civil status, and what is more, of the role they held and the consideration they received from a strongly hierarchical society. Within the rigid, stratified society, and subsequently in the traditional world until late into the 19th century, headdresses were worn by women to reflect their civil status. (more…)