Jodi West, age 9, of Richmond, Va., for her question:

  WHY DID COLONIAL MEN WEAR WIGS?

  Most colonial households were large because grandparents, aunts,  uncles and cousins generally lived with the family. Servants also  became part of the family group. Father was the boss. Both by custom  and law, the father was responsible for the behavior and welfare of 2 2 7  every member of the household. He decided on all important matters  and he was obeyed without question.

Clothing and what a person wore during colonial times varied according to a person's occupation and his position in the community. Wigs were part of the fashionable colonist's way of life.

A fashionable gentleman wore a wig that he sometimes powdered white. He wore the wig for one reason only: It was tradition and part of the period's way of life.

Outside, a colonial gentleman put a cocked hat on top of his wig. A cocked hat is one with the brim turned up.

During the 1600s, wigs were large and expensive. A man who wore one was called a "bigwig." After 1750, many more colonial men wore wigs than had worn them earlier. The most popular wig was small and resembled the wearer's natural hair. It was called a "tie" wig because a man pulled the hair back and tied it with a short ribbon.

The name "wig" comes from the word periwig, and the custom of wearing them dates back to ancient times. Egyptian mummies have been found with them. The ancient Greeks and Romans also wore them.

In the 1700s, the French made wigs very fashionable. They were worn by both men and women. The wigs found their way to the heads of nobles and great ladies, courtiers, ministers, judges, doctors and professional men.

English judges started wearing wigs in the days of Queen Anne and they still wear them in courtrooms today.

In colonial America, wigs were popular only for a rather short period of time. They went out of style as men gave up close fitting breeches of brocade, silk or velvet which were fastened at the knees with silver buckles, along with linen shirts that had lace ruffles at the neck and wrists.

Wigs came back into fashion in America during the 1960s and 1970s. Women wear them now primarily, although bald men can also be found wearing wigs. Today wigmakers also make toupees, which are small hairpieces used to cover bald spots.

Fine wigs today are made of the best grade of human hair and they are very expensive.