Hooded Shirt

I can't see what practical purpose having a hood on your shirt offers, at most perhaps a bit of a sunshade.

So it's fashion, well you can be a judge of if this is a good look.

This shirt is handmade in Nepal using properly paid real 100% people.
(no people were harmed making this shirt, some may be harmed by looking at it)

Too young to be an original hippy and too old to be a new hippy, still a comfortable summer shirt that will get you noticed, if you want to be.

Hooded Cloak

A Cloak has been around since the times ancient Greeks and Romans and probably before that. 

It's a garment to wear over your normal garments that is easily added and removed as needed for weather protection, whether that be sun, rain, wind or cold.

They come in many varieties, some with hoods, some without, some down to ankles or some finishing just below at the knee, (any shorter and they become Capes)  they can be ornate, trimmed with fur or anything, they can ceremonial, give you invisibility, worn to the Opera but are usually just practical. They are usually lined, they don't have arms but may have slits for the arms to pass through. 

The only common thing is they fasten at the front at the neckline with a buckle, button, chain, broach or indeed any fastening that can hold the weight of the fabric on its own as its the only fastening.

This is a fantasy hooded cloak 

Pakol

This hat is called a Pakol also known as a Chitrali Cap

It is a soft round flat-topped hat, usually made of wool and typically come in light natura colours such as brown, walnut, cream, ivory, grey

The Pakol originated in the Afganistan/Pakistan region and was made famous by the Mujahideen.

This hat is also the same shape and construction as the ancient Macedonian Kausia hat, worn by men in ancient Southeast Europe.

I read that before it is put on this hat resembles a bag with a round with a flat bottom. You then rolls up the sides nearly to the top, forming a thick band, which then rests on the forehead.

This hat has the band sewn up so I can't show this.

Chilly Weather Hat

This Hat is called a Chullo.

Traditional to the people of the Andean mountain range of South America which stretches from Venezuela in the north right down to Chile in the south, this style of hat is more than a thousand-year
 old.

Usually made from alpaca, llama or sheep's wool

Alpaca wool like the one I'm wearing is particular good at insulating the wearer from the harsh elements of the mountains.

This is a very soft hat, almost felt like, I have no idea if that is typical of Alpaca wool.

Chullos have ear flaps that can be tied under the chin to help keep you warm, they come in many colours, but like Scottish tartan, the colours are significant to certain peoples of the Andes.

Bobble Hat

I've had this factory knitted bobble hat a while but it remained tucked away in a drawer, I have plenty of hats but my woollen beanie hat of choice remains one hand knitted (see here) for me not only because of the personal effort but it's much more comfortable to wear. 

Today I have taken the hat out the drawer and as the late February cold snap hits the UK I intend to wear it at least once while scraping frost off the car windscreen.

Union Jack fact - the Jack is small flag flown from bow of ships, the union jack flag was originally called the Flag of Britain which represented the union of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1606, but possibly because it was initially only flown by the British navy as the small flag on the bow the nickname stuck when it was eventually adopted by land forces and as a national emblem.

Arabian Barbute

Now I'm not sure this helmet as a real historical equivalent at all, although did find a few images of turbans wrapped around helmets.

Its open faced barbute in style, made from plastic with a plastic ring around the crown to give a turban style Arabic look and then painted.

The helm was found within a batch of theatre kit, unlabelled or marked so who knows what it was used for.

Now its part of larp kit.

Saracen MkII

From the same batch of helms as the last post all picked up at bring and buy kit fair.

Arabic Helm

This lookalike Persian/Arabic/Saracen style helmet is made from fibreglass and has string mail around its rim, it's about cheap a lookalike as you can get before you go into toy helmets but is ok for lrp and theatre where its the impression you need not accuracy or actual protection.