Toupées in the 20th century
By the 1950s, it was estimated that over 350,000 U.S. men wore hair pieces, out of a potential 15 million wearers. Toupée manufacturers helped to build credibility for their product starting in 1954, when several makers advertised hair pieces in major magazines and newspapers, with successful results. Key to the promotion and acceptance of Toupées was improved toupée craftsmanship, pioneered by Max Factor. Factor's toupées were carefully made and almost invisible, with each strand of hair sewed to a piece of fine flesh-colored lace, and in a variety of long and short hairstyles. Factor, also a Hollywood Makeup innovator, was the supplier of choice for most Hollywood actors. [13]
By 1959, total U.S. sales were estimated by Time Magazine to be $15 million a year. Sears-Roebuck, which had sold Toupées as early as 1900 via its mail order catalog, tried to tap into the market by sending out 30,000 special catalogs by direct mail to a targeted list, advertising "career winning" hair products manufactured by Joseph Fleischer & Co., a respected wig manufacturer.[14] Toupées continued to be advertised in print, likely with heavier media buys (Advertising media selection) taking place in magazines with the appropriate male demographic. A typical "advertorial" can be found in Modern Mechanix.
By 1970, Time Magazine estimated that in the U.S., toupées were worn by more than 2.5 million men out of 17 - 20 million balding men. The increase was chalked up once again to further improvements in hairpiece technology, a desire to seem more youthful, and the long hairstyles that were increasingly in fashion. [15]
[edit] Toupées in the 21st century
Toupée and wig manufacture is no longer centered in the U.S., but in Asia.[16] Aderans, a Japanese firm, is one of the world’s largest wigmakers, with 35% share of the Japanese domestic market.
From 2002-2004, new orders from Aderans’s male customers (both domestic and international) slipped by 30%. Researchers at both the Daiwa Institute and Nomura Research - two key Japanese economic research institutes - conclude that there is “no sign of a recovery†for the toupée industry. [17] Sales for male wearers have continued to fall at Aderans in every year since [18].
These numbers confirm the media consensus [19] hypothesis that toupée use is an overall decline. No reliable sources have stated numbers for the estimated population of toupée users in the U.S. or internationally, so comparisons to past eras are difficult to make with any accuracy. Regardless, hairpiece manufacturers and retailers, and to market their goods in print, on television, and on the internet.