The wig is a major part of a CATS costume, though early female London characters sometimes wore their 'ears' in the form of buns. Many costumers feel as though the wig is just as important as any other aspect of a costume. Through the years, costumers have developed several different methods of making wigs from various sources that fall into two categories: store-bought and hand-made. Store bought wigs are wigs that are produced by a factory that can be colored and styled to represent a CATS wig. Hand-made wigs are made completely from scratch by tying, sewing, or gluing fibers onto a base and then cutting and styling the finished product.
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Rubies Cat Hood
  Rubies Cat Hoods, commonly
abbreviated
RCH, are
pre-made synthetic fur
wigs. Though these wigs are no
longer sold
under the Rubies Cat Hood name--today they are commonly called Cat
Accessory Paks and are made by the Rubies wig company. However, they
are still referred to by
costumers as RCHs. RCH wigs are one of the more common wigs
used
by CATS costumer beginners. The kit includes a
faux-fur
wig, matching fur wristbands, and sometimes a
matching tail. Like all pre-made wigs, the RCH needs altering
before it will resemble a CATS wig. Excess fur needs to be
cut
off and the fake ears covered; the wig needs minor sewing alterations;
and, since the fur is a tad flimsy, the wig needs to be shaped with
coloring, hair wax, and hair spray. Some CATS
costumers
believe that RCHs can provide an authentic look while others feel
it is a little too “wispy” to resemble an actual
CATS
wig.
Colors: years ago RCHs came in black, white, hot pink, and gold; today they come in black, white, pastel pink, and yellow. |
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Japanese
Beast Wig
  Japanese Beat Wigs, commonly
abbreviated
JBW, are
pre-made synthetic fur
wigs. JBWs are not the most commonly
used wigs
because they requires extensive
altering and styling, and are
slightly more expensive. However, some costumers attest that
a
JBW is a good option for a Bombalurina or Tugger costume since the
length of the fur allows for a more 'boofy' wig.
Colors: black, brown, blond, auburn, white. |
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Lacey's
Cats
Style Wig
  Lacey's Cats Style wigs,
commonly called
a Lacey's wig, are
pre-made synthetic hair
wigs.
Lacey's
Cats Style wigs are not the most
commonly used wigs by CATS costumers, but is used from time to time
none the
less.
Colors: orange-red/black mix, black/white mix. |
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Lacey's
Tina Turner
Wig
 Lacey's Tina Turner wigs,
commonly
called Tina Turner wigs, are
pre-made synthetic hair
wigs. Tina Turner wigs
are not the most commonly used wigs because its
human-like style requires more extensive altering and
styling.
However, costumers have made attractive wigs from Tina Turner
wigs with success.
Colors: black, brown, dark brown/medium brown mix, frosted blonde, auburn, henna red, red, yellow, blue, purple, orange, green, white. |
2. Hand-made: Many seasoned costumers prefer to make their wigs themselves. There are several ways to make a hand-made wig:
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Yarn Method
  Yarn is a popular method used
to make
wigs because it gives costumers a lot of room to adjust color,
length, and
style exactly to their liking. Yarn fibers must be
separated and
combed (making them slightly crimped) before attaching them to a wig
cap.
Approximately two to three skeins of the main color and one skein of
each
lesser color should be purchased for one wig. Aunt
Lydia's
yarn (sold by the Caron company) and Trait-Tex yarn (company unknown) are preferred brands because
they are
100% polyester, making for easy fraying. Yarn is attached by
various
methods to a head cap (made from panty hose or lycra, or a lycra swim
cap), then is cut and
styled when completely finished. While this method is very
time-consuming, many costumers feel it creates
an authentic-looking
wig.
Current Aunt Lydia colors: beige, black, brown, Christmas green, medium pink, national blue, natural, pumpkin, red, red rust, white, wild rose, yellow. Current Trait-Tex colors: black, blue, blue-violet, dark brown, dark green, grey, green, light brown, orange, pink, red, turquoise, violet, white, yellow, yellow-orange. Come also in earthtone and neon assortments. |
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Crepe
Wool Method
 Crepe
wool hair is
a very popular method used to make wigs because it gives the costumers
room
to adjust color, length, and style exactly to their liking. Made
from mohair wool and usually sold in yards, crepe hair is sold in
braids and needs to be unraveled and ironed before using. When
straightened, it will still have a slight crimp, and will nearly
triple in length!
Approximately seven to ten yards of crepe wool is needed for one wig.
Crepe wool
is attached
by various methods to a head cap (made from panty hose or lycra, or
a lycra swim cap), and is then
cut and styled when completely finished.
While this method is very time-consuming, many costumers feel
it
creates a very authentic-looking wig, more so than yarn.
Alcone colors: auburn (light or dark), black, blonde (yellow, light golden, or dark), blue, brown (light, medium, or dark), green, grey (light, medium, or dark), orange (a deeper orange), red (fire or dark), white, yellow. Ben Nye colors: auburn (light or dark), black, blonde (lite, ash, or strawberry), brown (lite, medium, dark, or brunette), orange (true orange), ginger,red (rusty or scarlet), grey (lite, medium, or dark), white. 
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Horsehair Method
  Horsehair is a seldom-used method for wigs; while CATS wig-making has been slowly evolving, costumers have tended to stay with familiar materials such as yarn and crepe wool hair. Horsehair is smooth, slightly rough, is typically packaged in bundles, and comes in both natural and dyed colors (limited choices available). Approximately 1 bundle of horsehair is needed for a wig. Horsehair is attached by various methods to a head cap (made from panty hose or lycra, or a lycra swim cap), and is then cut and styled when completely finished. For additional information on
horsehair, please visit here
to read
Etcetera Kitten's narrative! Hitching Post Supply colors: black (natural), blue, brown (natural), dark mix (natural), green, light Mix (natural), orange, purple, red, turquoise, white (natural), yellow. |
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Yak Hair Method
Yak is a seldom-used method
for wigs
because of its poor availability and expense. Yak hair
is slightly
crimped, comes in a bundle, and can be found in both natural and dyed
colors.
White hair takes to dye extremely well. I do not know how
much yak hair is needed for one
wig (if you
have this information please contact me and I will add it). Yak hair is attached by various
methods to a
head cap (made from panty hose or lycra, or
a lycra swim cap), and is then cut and styled
when
completely finished. While this method is very time-consuming and
expensive, your wig will be made from the same materials as authentic
CATS wigs.
Comes in a variety of colors, including: black, blue, chartreuse, dark green, fuchsia, minnow blue, olive, orange, pink, purple, red, silver/grey, tan, turquoise, white, wine, yellow, and earthtones. |
3. Commission: You may want to commission an experienced costumer who can make a wig exactly to your liking. Commissioned wigs cost anywhere from $40.00 - $100.00
