Period pictures of Europe during its age of kings and court life tend to show women with elaborate hair-do’s and showy gowns. Naturally, women spent quite a bit of time fashioning these complicated hair styles in order to upstage one another in public. It was unseemly to be caught “underdressed” in public, given the societal demands of the time.
Meanwhile, women could only literally LET THEIR HAIR DOWN while in the privacy of their homes. Only then could they relax and set aside those massive pompadours. Later on, the expression caught on and also referred to anyone relaxing, casting aside their public face, and generally forgetting about the cares of the world.
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