Why Tolkien’s elves had long hair: The final evidence!
“He wore his long dark hair in great plaits braided with gold.” Fingon, High King of the Noldor
“The hair of Olwë was long and white, and his eyes were blue.” Olwë, king of the Teleri
“His golden hair flowed shimmering in the wind of his speed.” Glorfindel of Rivendell
Whenever Tolkien described a specific male elven character he always wrote long hair. He did not say specifically that all elves have long hair, but never said short hair. In the only drawing we know of where Tolkien painted an elf, he had long dark hair flowing behind him.
In the wake of Amazon Prime’s Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power teaser trailer being released, and the pictures that’s been published this past week, we can safely say that they have chosen to predominately make the male elves have short hair, in sharp contrast to Peter Jackson’s adaptations. So who is right and who is wrong?