Beanie (seamed cap)

Last updated

In Australia, New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere, a beanie is a head-hugging brimless cap, sometimes made from triangular panels of material joined by a button at the crown and seamed together around the sides. Beanies may be made of cloth, felt, wool, leather, or silk. In many US regions and parts of Canada the term "beanie" refers to a knitted cap (often woollen), alternately called a "stocking cap" or (especially in Canada) a "toque".

Contents

Styles

One popular style of the beanie during the early half of the twentieth century was a kind of skullcap made of four or six felt panels sewn together to form the cap. The panels were often composed of two or more different contrasting colors to give them a novel and distinctive look. This type of beanie was also very popular with some colleges and fraternities, as they would often use school colors in the different panels making up the headgear.

Another style of beanie was the whoopee cap, a formed and pressed wool felted hat, with a flipped-up brim that formed a band around the bottom of the cap. The band would often have a decorative repeating zig-zag or scalloped pattern cut around the edge. This gives the whoopee cap the appearance of a silly-looking crown made of fabric, or yarn that has been knit or crocheted instead of precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, and so on. It was also quite common for schoolboys to adorn these styles of beanies with buttons and pins.

Etymology

According to the Oxford English Dictionary , the etymology is uncertain, but probably derives from the slang term "bean", meaning "head". In New Zealand and Australia, the term "beanie" is normally applied to a knit cap known as a toque in Canada and parts of the US, but also may apply to the kind of skull cap historically worn by surf lifesavers [1] and still worn during surf sports. [2] The non-knitted variety is normally called a "cap" in other countries.

Other explanations have referred to the cloth-covered button on the crown, which is about the size of a bean. Some academics believe that the term is instead derived from a type of headgear worn in some medieval universities. The yellow hats (bejaunus, meaning "yellowbill", later beanus, a term used for both the hats and the new students) evolved into the college beanies of later years. [3]

In the United Kingdom, the term "Benny hat" may also refer to a knitted style of head-covering. This name originally comes from the character "Benny", played by actor Paul Henry in the British Crossroads soap opera. The character appeared from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s and usually wore a knitted version of the hat.[ citation needed ]

History

Cornell University freshmen wearing beanies in 1919 Cornell Beanies at Schoelkopf Field.jpg
Cornell University freshmen wearing beanies in 1919

A larger variant of the skullcap, the beanie was working apparel associated with blue-collar laborers, including welders, mechanics, and other tradesmen who needed to keep their hair back, but for whom a brim would be an unnecessary obstruction.[ citation needed ] Beanies do sometimes have a very small brim, less than an inch deep, around the brow front. The baseball cap evolved from this kind of beanie, with the addition of a visor to block the sun.[ citation needed ]

By the mid-1940s, beanies fell out of general popularity as a hat, in favor of cotton visored caps like the baseball cap. However, in the 1950s and possibly beyond, they were worn by college freshmen and various fraternity initiates as a form of mild hazing. For example, Lehigh University required freshmen to wear beanies, or "dinks", and other colleges including Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg, Rutgers, Westminster College, and others may have had similar practices. [4] Benedictine College, in Atchison, Kansas, still carries this tradition for the first week of a freshman's classes, [5] and is said to be the only college in the US to maintain this tradition. [6] Georgia Tech continues to provide freshmen with RAT caps, though their mandatory wear ceased in the 1960s. [7] Wilson College continues this tradition today as a part of its Odd/Even class year "rivalry". [8]

At Cornell University, freshman beanies (known as "dinks") were worn into the early 1960s. [9] Dinks were not officially required, but their wearing was enforced by student peer pressure. [10] An annual ritual was the burning of the caps in a boisterous bonfire. [10]

Propeller beanie

Propeller baseball cap Noogler.png
Propeller baseball cap

In the summer of 1947, while still in high school, science fiction fanzine artist Ray Nelson, per his claim, invented the propeller beanie as part of a "spaceman" costume on a lark with some friends. He later drew it in his cartoons as emblematic shorthand for science fiction fandom. The hat became a fad, seen in media such as "Time for Beanie", and was sold widely by many manufacturers over the next decade. [11]

The propeller beanie increased in popular use through comics and eventually made its way onto the character of Beany Boy of Beany and Cecil . Today, computer-savvy and other technically proficient people are sometimes pejoratively called propellerheads because of the one-time popularity of the propeller beanie. [12]

In the 21st century, propeller beanies are rarely seen on the street and are primarily worn for satirical or comedic purposes. Google offers these to their newly hired employees, "Nooglers", as part of their onboarding.

In 1996, student hackers placed a giant propeller beanie on the Great Dome at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The scaled-up propeller rotated as the wind drove it like a windmill. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toque</span> Type of hat with narrow or no brim

A toque is a type of hat with a narrow brim or no brim at all.

<i>Kippah</i> Skullcap traditionally worn by Jewish men to cover the head

A kippah, yarmulke, yamaka, bullcap, or koppel is a brimless cap, usually made of cloth, traditionally worn by Jewish males to fulfill the customary requirement that the head be covered. It is worn by all men in Orthodox Jewish communities during prayers and by most Orthodox Jewish men at all other times. Among non-Orthodox Jewish communities, some who wear them do so at all times, while others wear them only during prayer, while attending a synagogue, or in other ceremonies.

A knit cap is a piece of knitted headwear designed to provide warmth in cold weather. It usually has a simple tapered shape, although more elaborate variants exist. Historically made of wool, it is now often made of synthetic fibers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baseball cap</span> Type of soft, billed hat

A baseball cap is a type of soft hat with a rounded crown and a stiff bill projecting in front.

A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head covering". Over time, the word has evolved and changed its meaning, but it still retains its association with headwear. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal settings, and are seen in sports and fashion. They are typically designed for warmth, and often incorporate a visor to block sunlight from the eyes. They come in many shapes, sizes, and are of different brands. Baseball caps are one of the most common types of cap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hat</span> Shaped head covering, having a brim and a crown, or one of these

A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mechanical features, such as visors, spikes, flaps, braces or beer holders shade into the broader category of headgear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slouch hat</span> Wide-brimmed soft felt or cloth hat most commonly worn as part of a military uniform

A slouch hat is a wide-brimmed felt or cloth hat most commonly worn as part of a military uniform, often, although not always, with a chinstrap. It has been worn by military personnel from many different nations including Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Canada, India, New Zealand, Southern Rhodesia, France, the United States, the Confederate States, Germany and many others. Australia and New Zealand have had various models of slouch hat as standard issue headwear since the late Victorian period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fedora</span> Type of hat

A fedora is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides. Fedoras can also be creased with teardrop crowns, diamond crowns, center dents, and others, and the positioning of pinches can vary. The typical crown height is 4.5 inches (11 cm). The term fedora was in use as early as 1891. Its popularity soared, and eventually it eclipsed the similar-looking homburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trilby</span> Type of hat

A trilby is a narrow-brimmed type of hat. The trilby was once viewed as the rich man's favored hat; it is sometimes called the "brown trilby" in Britain and was frequently seen at the horse races.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zucchetto</span> Type of headwear

The zucchetto or solideo, officially a pileolus, is a small, hemispherical, form-fitting ecclesiastical skullcap worn by clerics of various Catholic Churches, the Syriac Orthodox Church, and by senior clergy in Anglicanism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sombrero</span> Traditional Mexican folk hat

A sombrero is a type of wide-brimmed Mexican men's hat used to shield the face and eyes from the sun. It usually has a high, pointed crown; an extra-wide brim that is slightly upturned at the edge; and a chin strap to hold it in place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whoopee cap</span> Style of hat or headwear

A whoopee cap is a style of headwear popular among youths in the mid-20th century in the United States. It was often made from a man's felt fedora hat with the brim trimmed with a scalloped cut and turned up. In the 1920s and 1930s, such caps usually indicated the wearer was a mechanic. The headwear can often be seen worn in the films of the Dead End Kids. It is also referred to as a Jughead hat, palookaville cap, devils cap, clubhouse hat, dink cap, rat cap, or Kingpin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeep cap</span>

The jeep cap, sometimes referred to as the jeep hat, originally the US Army issued Cap, Wool, Knit, M1941 is a knit cap with a short visor made mostly from knitted yarn, originally wool, but now typically acrylic. Also sometimes referred to as a "skull cap" due to its popularity with skateboarders, or a "Radar cap" due to the cap being made famous by the character Radar O'Reilly from the hit US TV sitcom M*A*S*H.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taqiyah (cap)</span> Short rounded skullcap worn by some Muslims

The Taqiyah, also known as tagiyah or araqchin, is a short, rounded skullcap worn by Muslim men. In the United States and the United Kingdom, it is also referred to as a "kufi", although the Kufi typically has more of an African connotation. Aside from being an adornment, the taqiyah has deeply ingrained significance in Islamic culture, reflecting the wearer's faith, devotion, and sometimes regional identity. While the taqiyah is deeply rooted in Muslim traditions, its use varies based on cultural context rather than strict religious guidelines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Headgear</span> Any covering for the head; element of clothing which is worn on ones head

Headgear, headwear, or headdress is any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, decoration, or for religious or cultural reasons, including social conventions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monmouth cap</span> Knitted, round cap associated with Monmouth, Wales

The Monmouth cap was an item of woollen headgear fashionable between the 15th and 18th centuries, and associated with the town of Monmouth in South East Wales. The knitted round caps were used by both soldiers and sailors, and they were widely exported.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tam cap</span> Type of womens hat

The tam is a millinery design for women based on the tam o' shanter military cap and the beret. Sometimes it is also known as a tam cap or the traditional term tam o'shanter might also be used. The tam became popular in the early 1920s, when it followed the prevailing trends for closer-fitting hats that suited shorter hairstyles and for borrowing from men's fashion; other traditional men's hats that rose to popularity in women's fashion during this period included the top hat and bowler. In the British Isles, the tam cap is often used as a headcovering by Christian women during church services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue bonnet</span> Type of soft woollen hat

The blue bonnet was a type of soft woollen hat that for several hundred years was the customary working wear of Scottish labourers and farmers. Although a particularly broad and flat form was associated with the Scottish Lowlands, where it was sometimes called the scone cap, the bonnet was also worn in parts of Northern England and became widely adopted in the Highlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cap comforter</span> Form of woollen headgear

A cap comforter is a form of woollen military headgear originating in the British Army.

References

  1. "Our History", Surf Life Saving Australia, 15 July 2010.
  2. Surf Sports at Surf Life Saving NZ
  3. Kimbrough, Walter M. (2003). Black Greek 101: The Culture, Customs, and Challenges of Black Fraternities. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 38.
  4. Haydock, Michael D. Excerpt from "The GI Bill"
  5. Excerpt from Benedictine College Student Handbook, 2010–2011, p. 84.
  6. Minnis, Stephen D. "Beanie Banquet" Speech, Benedictine College
  7. "RAT Caps". Ramblin' Memories. Georgia Tech Alumni Association. Archived from the original on September 2, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
  8. 'About Wilson College - History and Traditions' Archived April 30, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  9. "Freshmen Codes Have Died But Cornell Legends Live". Cornell Daily Sun. 1 January 1985. p. 51. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  10. 1 2 "Felt Beanies Once Topped Freshman Heads". Cornell Daily Sun. 16 September 1980. p. 53. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  11. "History of the Propeller Beanie and the Ultimate Propeller-Head - Origin of this Geek Icon and an Unusual Patent".
  12. "propellerhead" at Merriam-Webster
  13. IHTFP Hack Gallery: The Great Beanie