After the allonge wig of the time of Louis XIV had gone out of fashion, men began to wear wigs with tubular curls at the side of the head. Depending on the era and taste of the wearer, there could be one to three horizontal rolls of curls at the side of the head, sometimes continuing round the back of the head without interruption.
Ailes and wigs vanished altogether after the French revolution but continued to be worn with formal and court dress in many parts of Europe.
Ailes on a 1790s wig
