Where is the line of demarcation between "fur hat" and "wig"?
I know wigs can be synthetic materials or human hair, but are they ever made from animal hair? If a wig was made from animal hair would it really be a wig, or a rather odd fur hat? Could you make a fur hat out of human hair? I'm just curious where the line is drawn as chemically speaking fur and hair are exactly the same, or so I was led to believe.
Answers ( 1 )
The first thing to address is that most things are defined by their function, not their construction materials.
Accessories are optional items that we wear on our body, usually for fashion purposes.
Clothing is an object worn to cover part of the body, usually for physical comfort or protection. Clothing may or may not be fashionable, and you can use it as an accessory instead of using it for its original purpose.
Clothing is functional, accessories are fashion. If you wear a sweater because you are chilly, it is clothing. If you tie the arms around your waist or neck to fit in when you meet Biff and Muffy at the tennis club, it becomes a fashion accessory. If you wrap it around Muffy’s torn open leg, it becomes a bandage. If you strangle Biff to death with it, the sweater becomes a weapon and Exhibit A of the evidence in your murder trial. I can't stand Biff either, but you should have performed First Aid on Muffy's leg instead.
Wigs
A wig is an accessory worn on the head for the purpose of simulating hair, regardless of what material it is made with. Some are more realistic than others.
Wigs are generally made from fibrous materials attached to a base. Wigs have been made using animal hair for a very, very long time. Yak, horse and angora rabbit hair fibers are common choices, and you can still buy these wigs.
Hats
A hat is an item of clothing worn for the purpose of covering the head. If they are made from sturdy enough materials to provide impact protection, they become helmets.
What is Fur?
Fur and hair are both made of keratin. By convention we call animal hair fur, except in cases where it is very fine and sparse or when it is long, soft, and luxurious when we switch to the human default term of hair. The distinction is cultural, not scientific.
Fur Hats are Misnamed
Fur coats, hats, other items of clothing, and even rugs are made of pelts, not simply the fur. People are wearing animal skin hats that still have the fur attached. It is less unpleasant to simply call them fur hats even though it is technically not correct. You can get around this by saying, "my fox hat" or "my mink coat."
Fabric
A variety of fibers (including hair or fur) can be spun into thread or yarn, which is then woven into fabric. You can also compress hair fibers to create felt. A hat made in either of these ways would properly be called a fur hat even though they don’t look “furry.”
Some names for things are fairly precise, but many are vague or even wildly inaccurate, but we continue to use them out of convention.