Nightcap (garment)

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Portrait of Henry Shaw wearing a nightcap. 1909 - Henry Shaw - portrait in nightcap - MoBOT GPN 1982-0180 (cropped).jpg
Portrait of Henry Shaw wearing a nightcap.

A nightcap is a cloth cap worn with other nightwear such as pajamas, a onesie, a nightshirt, or a nightgown; historically worn in the cold climates of Northern Europe. Nightcaps are somewhat similar to knit caps worn for warmth outdoors.

Contents

Design

Women's night caps were usually a long piece of cloth wrapped around the head, or a triangular cloth tied under the chin. [1] Men's nightcaps were traditionally pointed hats with a long top, sometimes with a pom-pom on the end. [1] The long end could be used like a scarf to keep the back of the neck warm. [1]

History

From the Middle Ages to the 20th century, nightcaps were worn in Northern Europe, such as the British Isles and Scandinavia, especially during the cold winters before central heating became available. [1] People tended to think that cold air was harmful, so a nightcap protected them. [2]

In the Tyburn and Newgate days of British judicial hanging history, the hood used to cover the prisoner's face was a nightcap supplied by the prisoner, if he could afford it. [3]

Nightcaps were worn by many women in the Victorian era, but were seen as old-fashioned by the Edwardian era. [4] Some women still wore nightcaps, similar to mobcaps, to protect their elaborate curly hairstyles that were fashionable. [4] Edwardian men wore nightcaps as well. [5]

In the 1920s and 1930s, the boudoir cap became popular among some European women.

Fiction

Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol wearing his nightshirt and nightcap. Illustration by John Leech. Marley's Ghost-John Leech 1843-detail.jpg
Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol wearing his nightshirt and nightcap. Illustration by John Leech.

Nightcaps are less commonly worn in modern times, but are often featured in animation and other media, as part of a character's nightwear. Nightcaps became associated with the fictional sleepers Ebenezer Scrooge and Wee Willie Winkie. [5] The hat has become typical nightwear for a sleeper especially in comical drawings or cartoons along with children's stories, plays, and films; for example, in several Lupin III animations Daisuke Jigen has worn one as a continuation of the "hat covering eyes" gag, and in The Science of Discworld Rincewind has one with the word "Wizzard" stitched onto it.

People with curly and Afro-textured hair often wear a form of night cap to protect their hair while sleeping, typically a silk or satin wrap or bonnet. [6] [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balaclava (clothing)</span> Woollen cap covering the head and neck

A balaclava is a form of cloth headgear designed to expose only part of the face, usually the eyes and mouth. Depending on style and how it is worn, only the eyes, mouth and nose, or just the front of the face are unprotected. Versions with enough of a full face opening may be rolled into a hat to cover the crown of the head or folded down as a collar around the neck. It is commonly used in alpine skiing and snowboarding.

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

A turban is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Communities with prominent turban-wearing traditions can be found in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central Asia, North Africa, West Africa, East Africa, and amongst some Turkic peoples in Russia.

<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.

A knit cap, colloquially known as a beanie, 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">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">Bonnet (headgear)</span> Large semicircular head covering framing the face; alternatively, a brimless hat or cap

Bonnet has been used as the name for a wide variety of headgear for both sexes—more often female—from the Middle Ages to the present. As with "hat" and "cap", it is impossible to generalize as to the styles for which the word has been used, but there is for both sexes a tendency to use the word for styles in soft material and lacking a brim, or at least one all the way round, rather than just at the front. Yet the term has also been used, for example, for steel helmets. This was from Scotland, where the term has long been especially popular.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ushanka</span> Russian fur cap with ear flaps

An ushanka, also called an ushanka-hat, is a Russian fur hat with ear-covering flaps that can be tied up on the crown of the cap, or fastened at the chin to protect the ears, jaw, and lower chin from the cold. An alternative way to wear is to bend the flaps back and tie them behind the head, which is called "ski-style" — this offers less protection from the elements, but much better visibility, essential for high-speed skiing. The dense fur also offers some protection against blunt impacts to the head. They are also traditionally worn in the Baltic region including Sweden, Finland, Norway and the whole eastern European region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nightwear</span> Garments worn at night, especially to sleep in

Nightwear – also called sleepwear, or nightclothes – is clothing designed to be worn while sleeping. The style of nightwear worn may vary with the seasons, with warmer styles being worn in colder conditions and vice versa. Some styles or materials are selected to be visually appealing or erotic in addition to their functional purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nightshirt</span> Shirt worn at night to sleep in

A nightshirt is a garment intended for wear while sleeping, often with a nightcap. It is longer than most regular shirts, reaching down below the knees, leaving some of the legs uncovered. It is often referred to as a nightgown for men, but nowadays, nightshirts are an optional sleepwear for women too.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durag</span> Type of mens headscarf to maintain hair positioning

A durag is a close-fitting cloth tied around the top of the head to protect the hair; similarly a wave cap is a close-fitting cap for the same purpose. Durags may be worn to accelerate the development of long curly/kinky hair, waves or locks in the hair; to maintain natural oils in hair ; to stop hair breakage; to manage hair in general; or to keep hair, wave patterns and braids from shifting while sleeping. Durags are also worn as an identity-making fashion choice, popular in Black culture and African-American culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Headband</span> Hair accessory

A headband or hairband is a clothing accessory worn in the hair or around the forehead, usually to hold hair away from the face or eyes. Headbands generally consist of a loop of elastic material or a horseshoe-shaped piece of flexible plastic or metal. They come in assorted shapes and sizes and are used for both fashion and practical or utilitarian purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karakul (hat)</span> Traditional sheep fur hat of Central and South Asia

A Karakul hat, sometimes spelled as Qaraqulhat, also known as an Astrakhan hat, Uzbek hat, and Jinnah Cap. It is a hat made from the fur of the Qaraqul breed of sheep. It originally comes from Bukhara. The fur from which it is made is referred to as Astrakhan, broadtail, qaraqulcha, or Persian lamb. The hat is peaked, and folds flat when taken off of the wearer's head.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ochipok</span> Slavic married womans headdress

The ochipok is a married woman's headdress as part of traditional Ukrainian folk dress, often decorated with embroidery. It is a cap that covers the entire head with a slit in the back and laces that pull it tightly around the head.

<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">National costume of Indonesia</span> Indonesian clothing

The national costume of Indonesia is the national attire that represents the Republic of Indonesia. It is derived from Indonesian culture and Indonesian traditional textile traditions. Today the most widely recognized Indonesian national attires include batik and kebaya, although originally those attires mainly belong within the island of Java and Bali, most prominently within Javanese, Sundanese and Balinese culture. Since Java has been the political and population center of Indonesia, folk attire from the island has become elevated into national status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boudoir cap</span> Form of lingerie nightcap

A boudoir cap is a form of lingerie nightcap that was popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of clothing in the Indian subcontinent</span>

History of clothing in the Indian subcontinent can be traced to the Indus Valley civilization or earlier. Indians have mainly worn clothing made up of locally grown cotton. India was one of the first places where cotton was cultivated and used even as early as 2500 BCE during the Harappan era. The remnants of the ancient Indian clothing can be found in the figurines discovered from the sites near the Indus Valley civilisation, the rock-cut sculptures, the cave paintings, and human art forms found in temples and monuments. These scriptures view the figures of human wearing clothes which can be wrapped around the body. Taking the instances of the sari to that of turban and the dhoti, the traditional Indian wears were mostly tied around the body in various ways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malahai</span> Historical headgear from Central Asia

The malahai[a] is a historical headgear originating in present-day Kazakhstan, which was adopted in some of other regions of Central Asia and worn throughout the Russian Empire from the mid-18th to mid-19th centuries. It is a fur hat with a noticeably high conical, cylindrical, or quadrangular crown[c] and flaps that are typically four: two long side-flaps covering the ears, a wide rear one covering the neck and shoulders, and a short front one functioning as a visor. It is lined with furs of diverse animals, which include badger, fox, and wolf.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Chico, Beverly (2013-10-03). Hats and Headwear around the World: A Cultural Encyclopedia: A Cultural Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 351. ISBN   978-1-61069-063-8. Archived from the original on 2023-02-21. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  2. Nieto, F. Javier; Petersen, Donna (2021-11-11). Foundations of Sleep Health. Academic Press. p. 19. ISBN   978-0-12-815502-8. Archived from the original on 2023-02-21. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  3. Clark, Richard. "The history of judicial hanging in Britain 1735 - 1964". Capital Punishment U.K. Archived from the original on 2012-02-12. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  4. 1 2 Lina (2019-06-07). "History Of The Nightcap - Victorian And Edwardian Hair Care". Sew Historically. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
  5. 1 2 Adlington, Lucy (2015-10-08). Stitches in Time: The Story of the Clothes We Wear. Random House. ISBN   978-1-4735-0509-4. Archived from the original on 2023-02-21. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  6. Maddix, Vanese (2022-03-14). "The best silk hair wraps for sleeping in to protect your curly or Afro hair (from someone who wears one every night)". Glamour UK. Archived from the original on 2022-12-26. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
  7. Dawson, Lamar (2018-04-12). "5 Essential Rules for Growing Out an Afro". GQ. Archived from the original on 2022-12-26. Retrieved 2022-12-26.