A fontange, or frelange, is a high headdress popular during the turn of the late 17th and early 18th centuries in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Technically, ''fontanges'' are only part of the assembly, referring to the decorative ribbon bows, linen, and lace, and the small linen cap beneath which support the ''frelange''.Mezzotint of Mary II of England
in the

Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

collection The frelange was supported by a wire framework called a ''commode''. Along with hair being worn in tight curls of hair worn at the top of the head and the frills described, making up the fontange's elaborate decoration were

lappets A lappet is a decorative flap, fold or hanging part of a headdress or garment. Worn in a pair, or as a singular long strip giving a symmetrical drape, lappets were a popular form of women's headwear until the early twentieth century, and are sti ...

draping the side of the face or back of the wearer's head. Further, the term "fontange" is also used by some writers to refer to the associated hairstyle or the combination of headdress and hairstyle. The 'fontange coiffure' was a hairstyle where the front of the hair was worn curled and piled high above the forehead in front of the frelange, which was always higher than the hair. Sometimes the hairstyle was supported by a wire framework called a pallisade. A surviving example of a frelange headdress with fontanges and commode in situ is that worn by the 1690s fashion doll Lady Clapham. In England, the style was popularly known as a 'top-knot', versions of which were worn by ladies of all ranks, from the Queen downwards to kitchen maids, making it an easy target for satire and criticism. The fontange is said to be named for the Duchesse de Fontange, a mistress of King

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. One version of the story is that after losing her cap while hunting with the King, the Marquise tied her hair up using a ribbon in a manner that pleased him, and this was imitated by the other ladies at court, subsequently spreading across Europe.Definition of 'fontange'
at marquise.de What started out as a simple headdress of folded ribbon in the 1680s became, with additional fabric,

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

and trimmings, taller and more complex, increasingly difficult to create and wear. Despite its courtly origins, fontanges were forbidden to be worn at French state occasions, although the English court accepted them, with Queen Mary having her portrait painted wearing one. The word fontange was later used to describe the edging and centre ribbon of a corsage, in about 1850.

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* * {{Historical clothing 17th-century fashion 18th-century fashion Hairstyles Headgear

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