Elvis Did Not Invent Rock n Roll...and He Was Not the First One with a Pompadour

Where did that goofy poof that can look just right with the proper amount of product and je ne sais quoi come from? The dangerous haircut is not indigenous to American soil, much to the chagrin of a small group of tonsorial history revisionists. The hairstyle mostly associated with greaser and fetishized Americana culture is named after a French noblewoman. A woman important enough in her time, that she was eulogized by Voltaire. Instead of conjuring up images of rockabilly cats with slicked back hair, maybe the pompadour should make us think of vast panniers (side hoops) and tiny shoes...

Madame de Pompadour, member of the French court, lover of the arts, and chief mistress of of King Louis XV lived from 1721-1764. Of course, her name is most associated with a curious hairstyle that she brought to the court. Actually, the name comes from a region in central France, named after the long defunct House of Pompadour. Madame de Pompadour was born Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, changed it to Jeanne Antoinette d'Etiolles when she married, and did not actually become the Marquise of Pompadour until 1745, when Louis XV purchased the marquisate of Pompadour. The King gave the estate, coat of arms, and the title of the marquisate to Jeanne Antoinette, making her a Marquise (upper mid level aristocrat) and unknowingly making hairstyle history. That is how she got her name, whether she was the first person to comb back the front portion of her hair over the ratty mess directly behind it is lost to history.

That is what's in a name for the pompadour, at least historically speaking. The beloved mass that sits atop many a greasers' head was first attributed to an 18th century French aristocrat, not Elvis. Now, why that mass tickles the fancy of so many people is another story altogether...