The last time he had seen Mrs. Oliver, her hair style had been plain and severe. It now displayed a richness of coils and twists arranged in intricate patterns all over her head. Its prolific luxury was, he suspected, largely artificial. He debated in his mind how many switches of hair might unexpectedly fall off if Mrs. Oliver were to get suddenly excited, as was her wont.
This passage from Third Girl published in 1966 makes clear that although the older generation, including the likes of Mrs. Oliver and Hercule Poirot, was taken aback by the new fashions of the young, at least Mrs. Oliver partook in some of the new fashions in hair styles.
Whenever you see what Agatha Christie calls here “a richness of coils and twists” in a fashion shoot from the mid-1960s or a movie or television series, you can be pretty sure they are artificial. While we tend to think of the 1960s as a time when simplicity rules, there were complex elements of design showing up too. And hair switches and wigs showed up even in the average woman’s wardrobe at times.
And in fact, Mrs. Oliver does get excited, gets an idea, grabs her head to think, and before you know it, one of the coils of hair hits the floor.
