1775-1788 In France and in England, women's hair reaches dizzying heights. Hair is curled and then piled atop wire structures, with padding for extra height. The mass is then powdered and decorated with feathers, blown glass, even recreations of gardens or fruit plates. For the crowning touch: a hat. In 1775, Marie Antoinette receives a letter from her mother: "they say that your coiffure rises 36 inches... and is decorated with a mass of feathers and ribbons, which make it even higher.... I was always of the opinion that one should follow the fashions with restraint but never exaggerate them."