Bouffant
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A bouffant (Template:PronEng) is a type of hairstyle characterized by hair piled high on the head and hanging down on the sides. It was a mainstream hairstyle in the mid-to-late 18th century in western Europe. It was thought to be created for Marie Antoinette, as she had relatively thin hair and wanted to create the illusion of having very full hair. In modern times, the bouffant was popular in Western culture in the 1960s, when it was created with the help of back-combing and large amounts of hair spray.
A bouffant cap (from its resemblance to the hairstyle) is a type of cap that completely covers the hair for use in cleanrooms and other situations where it is important to avoid loose hairs. They are usually made of polypropylene or some other non-woven material, with an elastic band around the rim to keep it tight around the forehead and the back of the head below the hairline. As they can be worn by any sex and over any hairstyle, bouffant caps are a popular and economical choice of workplace head covering. Cafeteria workers' hairnets and hospital scrub hats are two common examples of bouffant-style caps.
Etymology
bouffante comes from Middle French, from present participle of bouffer: "to puff, puff out."
Examples of the bouffant hairstyle
- Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, style icon and former First Lady of the United States
- Lady Bird Johnson, former first lady of the United States
- Pat Nixon, former first lady of the United States
- Beyonce Knowles wore a pulled back bouffant for her "Single Ladies" music video.
- The Ronettes wore their hair in bouffants, as did many motown girl groups
- Amy Winehouse, British singer song-writer often wears her hair in a bouffant like style
- Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska and 2008 Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States
- Miss Yvonne from Pee-wee's Playhouse always has her hair in this style
- Katey Sagal intentionally parodies the 1960s look for her character Peggy Bundy in Married... With Children by wearing a red bouffant wig.
- Joan Sutherland, Australian operatic soprano famous for her bouffant hairstyle.
- The character Fran Fine of The Nanny has large bouffant hairstyle.
- Kerry Fraser, a referee in the NHL is well known for his bouffant hairstyle.
- Prince, had a bouffant mass of curls in the mid-80's
- Patsy Stone from Absolutely Fabulous is rarely seen without the Bouffant in this BBC series
- Margaret Thatcher, First and only female British prime minister.
- Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray (1988, Ricki Lake and in 2007, Nikki Blonsky)
- Matt Groening, of The Simpsons fame, refers to Marge Simpson's hairstyle as being a bouffant. This can also be seen in other members of the Bouvier Family (Selma, Patty, Jacqueline, etc.). A character once referred to Marge as "bouffant Betty."
- Pinky Pinkerton of the Disney Channel series Bunnytown has a huge blond bouffant hairdo (which is actually a wig as her hair is brown).
- Kim Jong-il is well known and often parodied for his bouffant hairstyle.
- Cosmo Kramer from the Seinfeld television series.
- Robert Pattinson has a bouffant when playing Edward Cullen in the Twilight movie
- Clint Eastwood in the 1970s
- Lady Gaga During her appearance at the 2010 BRIT Awards