I thought I'd make a little post about wigs as a dressing accessory. A wig also serves as hair protective device and prosthetic, but once you get into them it's like a new world of options opens up. For me, who at age 50 have badly thinning hair, discovering these natural looking wigs was a blessing. One more plus: I noticed I'm not running cold all the time like I used to. I suspect it's because one looses a lot of heat from the head. This is good news for dressing because suddenly I don't have to bonify everything I wear with the extra layer of a topper.

If you start getting interested in wigs and if you have African American ancestry, you're in luck. There are beauty shops in most towns catering primarily to African American clients because it's within the culture to wear wigs and weaves. The synthetic wigs there are affordable; some are very well made for a low price. You can buy synthetic or human hair, and each have their advantages and drawbacks. Unfortunately at the local beauty shop most of them come only in darker colors or lighter colors with very dark roots. Also, their lace-front wigs (the lace-front being the way some better wigs are made, with a faux realistic hairline set on a lace piece) is brown, and so if you are caucasian, it doesn't work. Yet, I recommend to everyone interested to go to a place like that first to check out the wigs because one always finds something suitable.

Then there is another market of higher end synthetic and human hair wigs, and that higher end market seems to cater primarly, but not exclusively, to Caucasians. Those wigs are sold through a specialty boutique or online. Prices triple in comparison to the ones from the beauty shop.

Since I have become a freak myself and have amass a substantial collection so far, I thought I would show you some wigs bought in the beauty shops and some bought in higher end boutiques, so you can have a visual.

Let's start with the cheaper ones...

1-3: three wigs I ended up not getting - although I regret for 2, and this was in Japan too so impossible to go back. I think 1 and 3 are from Uniwigs, while 2 is from Presila. These 3 wigs are fun, but they are not the most compfortable to wear. The blue one has no realistic front, so I would have to fidget with it at home, cutting or pulling baby hair myself which I tried to do once on another cheaper wigs with disastrous results (see pic 4).

5-7: A blond pixie wig of unknown origin that I ended up getting and don't regret. It was dirt cheap, really. The inside cap is all covered in fabric, which is not very breathable, but the effect is very realistic and everytime I post it here you guys rave about it.

8-9: Two wigs I ended up getting without breaking my wallet. The first one was bought in Japan by Prisila. It's machine made, but the fibers are soft. I'm not wearing it much because I realized I don't like the color. Have worn it once - briefly - in a crowd before. The second one (9) from Besche is one I wear a lot despite a lower level of comfort: the ginger color and shorter length suits me. So that was a pretty good deal for money.

10-11: A recent purchase: ginger pixie by Uniwigs. But this one has a much larger cap and I am afraid it's too big. It could be the style. Have not worn it out in public yet. It was extremely cheap. Also, I look super tired in the pics, and don't know if it's because I was tired of if it's the wig.

12-14: Ashanti wig from Pure Natural Bohemian Wigs, also bought in a local beauty shop for less than a 100$. I had to have it restyled a little. I love the color, although it has A LOT of hair. I removed hair and thined it out wth sheers and still, it has tons of hair. I enjoy wearing it from time to time although I think its bulk make me look like a 1970's flight attendant if I wear dressier clothes with it.

15-16: Jacy of Vanessa Wigs. A short, darker brown pixie with shorter back. Again, it wasn't a bank breaker, and I find it fun. But I admit to not wearing it as much, probably because I'm more into coppers right now.

17: Didn't get that one from Uniwig but thought it was fun. It's not an expensive wig.

18-19: A long, copper blond Juliane Moorish synthetic unit from Pure Natural Bohemian called Candy Girl. This one was just over CAN 100$. It's also "heat friendly" which means you can straighten or curl it using very very low settings. However you MUST straitgthen it regularly to maintain smoothness.

20: Gabriela wig by Janet, again a very cheap wig considering the mountain of fun curls you get for the price! I quite love that one. It can become a bit overwhelmingly hot on hotter days though, due to the shear amount of synthetic hair involved. However, it looks good attached behing the head too.

Now onto more expensive ones...

21-23: This wonderful human hair piece from Eternal Wigs was purchased in Calgary, and I haven't been able to find anything like it since. Even the company's website doesn'T feature this particular curly shag mullet style. I love it, but people around me seem not to. There might be a tweek needed, it's work in progress. Human hair is something else comfrtwise, this is byfar my most comfortable unit. And the hair feel so ... human! the price was CAN $400. Whih for human hair is a steal.

24: As a comparison this is me in a Greman made high end human hair wig. Comfort is incredible. Cut and colo though, I'm not sold. This unit is close to 3K. Of course I tried it on only in the boutique.

25: Fontaine wig acquired in Ginza, Tokyo, in a high end store. It's entirely hand tied. It's a dream to wear. The cut was frankly a bit frumpy, so I had it restyled into what you see here in 25. I wear it all the time, and now I have taken to wear it as a toper over my died strawberry blond hair, for a bi-color mullet effect. Lots of compliments. It was surprisingly only 140,000 yens.

27-29: Jon renau's Haute, a high end wig. I love it, it gets a lot of wear. It has a lace front which imitates my hairline and dissimulate the wig. Nobody knows it's a wig. This one was a bit over CAN $400.

30-32: Jon Renau Alia, sme thing, this is the most expensive wig I bought and it was my first one too. I enjoyed the wig a lot and it's still very nice. but I hurt when I think of the price. Being Canadian and buying in a boutique as opposed to online is the reason.

33: High end Ellen Wille (pronounced woh.lah)' s Talent Mono in Safran. Lace front too, very nice to wear. Growing on me.

34-35: This is either a Renee of Paris or a Noriko or Armore. I tried it in the boutique and opted for a different one. For the moment. The lady wrote that one down, it's my next purchase before Christmas. Around CAN $ 200.

36-37: My latest purchase, Renee of Paris Courtney in Mochaccino. I adore it. around CAN $160. But it's quite warm. So it would not be good in the summer. Here of course, in the winter, it's perfect.

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