Thursday 19 November 2015

Union Army Cap


Union Soldiers Kepi, also called a McClellan Cap according to the Wikipedia

This hat has a square leather peak and sunken round top.


This hat was a present brought back by my Mum from the gift shop in the Abraham Lincoln Museum, when she visited Illinois in America a few weeks ago. 

The hats is not a bad quality reproduction apart from the plastic badge on the front. 

Friday 13 November 2015

Colourful Hat

This pill box shaped soft hat is what you might call a smoking cap.


A very simple ring of fabric with a fabric lid, this one is not decorated, covered in sequins, buttons, embroidered or tasselled but does have colourful panels. 



A very comfortable hat mainly for indoor use as it offer a bit of warmth to a balding head like mine.


Makes a excellent hat for a north African/Arabic trader character

In parts of Africa this would be called a kufi, kofi hat.



Saturday 7 November 2015

Bowler or Derby

I was recently informed my Bowler hat was in fact a Derby, now I always believed Bowler, Derby and its many other names Coke Hat, Boxer, Billy Cock, were all names for the same thing and for all useful purpose bar riding they still are.


The Bowler was first made and designed in 1850 by William Bowler for Sir William Coke for head protection when riding. The Derby got its name when the 12th Earl of Derby visited the United States in a hat of this style in 1880 and created a fashion there, so could be classed as the America name for Bowler.

Anyway if your looking for a difference a Bowler is hard and rigid, while the dome of the Derby Hat can be bent easily with the fingers, both are the same shape. 

This hat is therefore a derby bowler.


All fashionable goblins (above) wear bowler hats as do steampunk man servants (below)


Sunday 1 November 2015

Woollen Hood

 A Woollen Hood with a cotton lining


This hood has character its been patched in several places, including where it caught fire while I was wearing it from a pyrotechnic I got too close to, luckily for me wool does not burn as quickly as some modern fibres.


Photo below a minor warrior from a lrp event.



This hood is old, I first wore it during 1980's when I started doing re-enactment in it various forms.

I'm wearing it on the front row of the photo below from around 1990 I'm the one in blue and yellow with a pole axe. This was during a period when I did theatrical re-enactment at Warwick Castle and various other places.