A

Abacca (Musa textilis) A plant grown in the Philippines that produces the fiber used in the production of sisal and sinamay.
Alamode Thickly woven silk, common during the 16th century and beyond.
Ammana Large wound turban worn by Muslims.
Armazine A kind of strong corded silk used for ladies' gowns and for gentlemen's waistcoats.
Armilausa A surcoat attached to a hood, and worn over armor.
Attour de Gibbet A scathing name for the hennin.
Ayrshire Work Embroidery for caps, bibs and babies' long dresses, done on fine muslin or cambric in delicate patterns, using openwork to emphasize the designs.

B

Backcombing The backwards (South to North) combing of the hair, in an attempt to produce a soft roll, or gives a fluffed-out appearance.
Badges Worn on hats, originally as decoration, but later in trades to denote the firm or company for which the wearer works. They were made oflead, silver, gold or cloisonne work. Benvenuto Cellini mentions making these hat badges and describes the figures, animals or other devices he modelled for them.
Bag-wig A wig, the queue of which was tied back and enclosed in a black silk bag, which had a draw-string to close it. Mid 18th cent.
Balmoral A Scottish Tam of cloth with streamers of ribbon in back and a feather in front.
Bandeau A headband of material, structured or unstructured.
Band A collar of linen or cambric, usually stiffened with starch or, if allowed to fall limply on the shoulders, was called a falling-band. Hence band¬ box in which to keep collars.
Bang A roll of hair or a fringe over the forehead.
Banging Chignon A woman's hair bundled into a net or kept in place with hair-pins, placed at the back of the neck. 19th cent.
Barbe (literally a beard). A piece of pleated linen or other white material worn ueder the chin, or just below the mouth, and descending on to the breast. Possibly denoting that the wearer was a widow. Middle English.
Barbette (little beard) A flat chin-strap attached to each side of the fillet (14th century)
Bardococulus A hooded cape worn by both sexes in Roman and Saxon times.
Baseball cap Cloth cap with brim. Originally worn by baseball players ,now worn as a general leisure hat.
Basinet Helmet of the time of Edward II and III, and Richard II.
Baudekyn A beautiful material, usually shot with gold, like a brocade, supposedly first made in Babylon. Henry III wore baudekyn.
Beaver Fur of the animal of that name extensively used in the making of hats. An quality felt hat that is made primarily from felted beaver fur is also called a "Beaver".
Beaver (2) The visor of a helmet.
Bearskin A large furry high crowned hat, which is part of a uniform worn by the Coldstream Guards
Becca A long flat streamer worn attached to the right side of a hat. 15th cent.
Billycock From 'William Coke' who ordered the first hard felt hat of the 'bowler' shape.
Beret Cap made from felt, felted jersey or fabric with soft, wide, circular crown.
Biretta A soft flat-topped cap, often with four corners. Late 15th and early 16th centuries. Name of a Cardinal's soft hat.
Best stuff 19th century term for rabbit fur, including the backs and the best parts of the sides mixed together.
Bicorne Hat of the late 18th and early 19th century wide brims were folded up to form two points.
Biretta Square cap worn by clergy the crown has three or four projections.
Block A wooden form used as a mould to shape, by hand a brim or crown.
Blocking The term used to describe the action of molding a hat shape.
Boater Flat-topped hat with small flat brim. traditionally, made of stiffened straw braid.
Bongrace A frontlet attached to a hood. Tudor period.
Bonnet A small soft hat for men (Hamlet. "Put your bonnet to his right use; 'tis for the head." Shakespeare. 16th cent.) Later for women and worn to the back of the head and secured in place with ribbon bows. Now often used to refer to babies' caps.
Bonnet Rouge Red cap worn during the French Revolution as a symbol of liberty.
Bowler Oval hat with round, rigid crown and a small, shaped, curved brim. Also known as a derby, because the style was made popular by the Earl of Derby in 19th century England.
Breton Women's hat with domed crown and brim turned-up all around.
Bridal veil White or ivory veil worn during wedding ceremony.
Brim Projecting edge of a hat.
Brocade. A material used in 17th and 18th centuries for ladies' dresses and men's coats, originally called brocat, silk interwoven with threads of gold or silver-not unlike a baudekyn. 1563.
Buckram Stiff netting used to make hats. May be blocked or sewn. Once used by milliners to make blocks for limited use.
Buckram (2). Middle English, from the Italian boucheraine, a kind of fine linen or cotton fabric, stiffened with gum or paste. Used as an expression of false strength by Shakespeare's, 'Buckram knights'. 'Four rogues in buckram let drive at me.'
Budge Lamb's skin with the wool dressed outside.
Bumping Term used for the process of final felting of a hood, further compressing and felting of hoods done in a bumping machine.
Busby A tall cap of bearskin, black sable fur or black Persian lambskin, having a bag hanging out of the top on the right. Worn by hussars, artillery men and engineers. 1760.
Butterfly Headdress A head-dress worn by women in the 15th cent. composed of a truncated cone cap on which light veiling was erected by means of wires. These are seen on brasses of the period.
Bycocket. A hat for men, sometimes adopted by women, which had a high pointed crown and an upturned brim with a point to the fore, and sometimes, as the name implies both back and front. Middle English.

C

Calotte A close-fitting skull cap as worn by the Roman Catholic Clergy.
Cambric Fine woven natural colored or bleached cotton fabric, usually used for undergarments. A little heavier than muslin.
Canadian Mountie's Stetson Official head-dress of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Canotier Boater (French).
Cap. Any close-fitting head-gear.
Capper A man who made caps, often referred to in old account books. Thus in an account book of 1579, headed 'Payments made on the behalf of the Earl of Oxford' is the following entry, 'To William Tavy, capper, for one velvet hat, and one taffeta hat, two velvet caps, a scarf, two pairs of garters with silver at the ends, a plume offeathers for a hat, and another hat band. £4. 6. 0.'
Cappeline A small skull-cap worn by the archers of the middle ages.
Castor The reddish-brown unctuous substance having a strong smell and nauseous taste obtained from two sacs in the inguinal region of the beaver, used in perfumery, hence 'castor' used for a beaver hat. A demi-castor was halfbeaver and half coney. Castor is the French word for the beaver.
Carroting Preliminary treatment of wool or fur with acids, to curl the hairs. Produces a reddish-yellow colour which is the origin of the name.
Catherinette French term for milliners. Named after St Catherine the patron saint of milliners. The 27th of November is St Catherine's Day.
Caul Historical term for a a net or close-fitting indoor head-dress, or the plain back part of the same.
Caul A close-fitting cap, usually of net-work, enclosing the hair worn, as a rule, by women, but occasionally by men as in Germany in the 17th cent.
Cavalier hat A wide-brimmed, plumed hat worn by cavaliers in the 17th century: the right side of the brim was pinned up to the crown so that the wearer's sword arm could move freely above the shoulder.
Chapeau Bras A hat of beaver or felt made to fold in half so that it could be carried under the arm, and so avoid ruffling the wig. Last half of 18th cent.
Chaperon The final phase of the gorget, hood and liripipe, worn hatwise. 14th and 15th cents.
Cheerer The top hat with a rather low crown and curled brim, usually brown, which was favoured by gentlemen farmers in the late 19th, early 20th centuries.
Chignon A large roll of natural or false hair, worn by women at the back of the neck. 1783 onwards.
Chintz Cotton cloth or calico, printed with flowers or other devices in different colours. India.
Choux. A bun of hair resembling a cabbage. End of 18th cent.
Circlet A band for the hair, often of gold.
Chef's hat White, starched bonnet with tall crown . French tradition states that a chef’s hat should have 100 pleats to represent the number of different ways in which a great chef can prepare eggs.
Chira Indian Turban
Cloche Women's hat of the 1920's. Close-fitting round crown, with no brim or a small flare at the brim edge.
Cloche A bell-shaped hat worn covering the eye¬ brows, 1926-7.
Clocks A term applied to the wide ruffs of the 16th cent.
Clump Wig A powdered wig, bushed at the sides and clumped off short at the ears. Mid 18th cent.
Coalman hat A short visor cap with a protective flap at the back, derived from a hat worn by English coal deliverers to protect their backs from dust.
Coastguard A small boys' hat in straw or felt, with turned-up brim and ribbon streamers, in imitation of those worn by coastguard men. 19th-20th cent.
Cockade Ornamental rosette of ribbon or cloth, worn on a hat as a badge of office or as a decoration.
Cocked hat An old-fashioned three-cornered hat.
Cocktail hat A small, often frivolous, hat for women, usually worn forward on the head.
Coif Head-cover worn by nuns as part of their habit, often with long veils.
Coif (2) . A close-fitting hood or bonnet for the head, usually made of linen and tied under the chin with tapes or strap and buckle, and worn by all classes of men during the 13th and 14th centuries.
Coif de Fer A hood of mail worn by soldiers. 12th. cent.
Cointoise A pendant scarf from hat or helmet. Originally the cloth worn by Crusaders to keep their helmets cool in the heat of Palestine; later as a decoration when jousting; the same term being applied later to the veil worn by women which floated from the top of their henins. It is the original of the heraldic 'mantle' or wavy scrolls around a coat of arms.
Commode The term applied to the tall lace head¬ dress worn by women in the 18th cent.
Copotain A tall crowned hat made of felt or velvet worn by men, and adopted by women to some extent in the 16th cent.
Confidents Small side curls, bunched at the temples favoured by women at the end of the 16th cent.
Cone Conically shaped hood of felt or straw used as a base for blocking small hat shapes or crowns.
Coolie hat A shallow conical straw hat with a large brim to protect wearer from the sun.
Cornet Another derisive name for the henin.
Coronet Small crown worn by members of nobility as a symbol of rank.
Coronet (2) The head ornament of the nobility. In the early 12th century usually a plain circlet of gold worn round the forehead and hair, later becoming decorated with jewels uhtil these decorations denoted the wearer's rank-duke, earl, marquis, baron and viscount.
Cotton Woven originally in the East, but also in this country at an early period.
Coventry Blue 16th cent. A special colour, worn particularly by pages and servitors, and therefore eschewed by the nobility for which reason there are so few English portraits in which the sitters are wearing blue
Cover Chief A covering veil for the head worn by women; a development of the Saxon head-rail or couvrechef.
Cowboy Hat (see ten gallon) Hat with high crown and wide brim, originally worn by cow hands. Usually made of felt or leather.
Crespine A golden net caul worn by ladies in the q.th and 15th centuries-sometimes called a dorelet.
Crown Head-dress usually made of gold and worn as a symbol of sovereignty by monarchs.
Crown (2) The top part of a hat.
Crush Hat A collapsible opera hat.
Cushion. A padded roll made into a head gear, with sometimes another or even two rolls on top, worn by both sexes, particularly in Italy. 16th cent.
Cyprus A fine black material, often bound round scallops, but at times serrated like the edge of a leaf. crowns of hats.

D

Dagging The cut edges to hats and gowns or round of immense size in the tops of their helmets, and the gorget edge worn by both men and women in in 16th century Germany, every lansquenet's hat the 15th centuries. The dags were usually simple was profusely.adorned with ostrich feathers. Many bIrds are now protected, particularly the Birds of Paradise. Aigrettes were banned from women's hats early in this century. In the London Museum is an Ascot hat bearing a whole peacock!
Danbury Shakes See Mercury Poisoning
Deer Stalker A hunting cap with visors at the front and back, and ear-flaps that can be tied up over the crown. Made famous by the fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes.
Demi-Castor A hat made of half beaver, half coney, 18th-19th centuries.
Derby Another name for a Bowler hat.
Diadem A crown or other head gear as a badge of royalty. (Poetical) 'Diocletian ventured to assume the diadem. It was no more than a broad white fillet set with pearls which encircled the Emperor's head.' Gibbon.
Dimity Stout cotton cloth, ribbed and figured, used undyed.
Doff The action of partially removing a hat by males as a sign of respect
Diadem A jeweled headband.
Dolly Varden A straw hat, tilted forward over the forehead named after a Dickens character in Barnaby Rudge.
Dogona The Doge's hat of state.

E

Easter bonnet Women's hat: A spring style to be worn at Easter.
English driving cap Low-profile cap, originally only for men, with small brim at the front. Crown may be tailored with side panels, or gored.
English Work Embroidery for which the English became noted early in the 12th century and which consisted of geometrical designs.
Esparterie A flat sheet material used for the making of blocks and as a stiffening in the construction of hats.

F

Faldetta. A combined hood and cloak worn by the women in Malta.
Fascinator A soft frilly scarf of silk or wool worn over the head for evening wear, in place of the hat. 18th-19th cent.
Favorites The small curls arranged on the fore¬ head at the time of Charles I and Charles II.
Feather head-dress Ceremonial and symbolic head-cover worn by chiefs of North American Indian tribes.
Feathers A favourite form of hat decoration and head-dresses of all nations; in Europe from the 14th century until the end of the 19th, with a revival in the small feather tucked into the band of the Robin Hood hat of 1960. Particularly favoured by all natives, special varieties being reserved for chiefs such as the Quetzal feathers of the Aztecs, the Duke of Saxony Paradise plumes by the New Guinea Islanders, and the eagle plumes of the red Indians. Knights wore plumes
Fedora A brimmed soft felt hat with a tapered crown that is dented lengthways. It comes originally from the Austrian Tyrol and is named after FEDORA a play by the French dramatist Victorien Sardou which was shown in Paris in 1882.
Felt Cloth made from wool, fur or hair, compacted (felted) by rolling and pressing, in the presence of heat and moisture.
Fez Brimless, conical, flat-topped cap with a tassel attached at the top center. Men's head-cover, made of red felt, worn in Islamic cultures. The fez originated in Turkey, and is often of a crimson color with tassel in black.
Fillet A band round the forehead, sometimes goffered.
Fish tail Ribbon with a decorative v-shape cut at the end.
Flowers Worn by Greeks and Romans as garlands for the head and freshly plucked for banquets or special occasions. Artificial flowers were made as early as the 13th century and made into chaplets.
Forage cap Military cap with a small brim.
Foretop A loop of hair turned aside on the forehead. 17th cent.
Fret The caul of gold or silver wire worn to conceal or confine the hair.
Frieze A coarse woollen cloth, 16th cent.
Frontlet A band for the forehead, worn partially concealed by the head-dress in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Fulling Tumbling and pounding of cloth in hot water to induce felting.
Fur. Extensively used in the making of hats, either the whole hat, such as the bearskin, busby, or parka of the Eskimos, used with the fur either inside or outside, and also for decoration on felt or other hats. Miniver was the choice for hats in the middle ages, but beaver, coney, astrakhan and budge were also used, the latter by countryfolk.
Furians. Long cases of silk, plain or striped, into which Saxon ladies put their long plaits or coils of hair.
Fur felt Any hood or capeline of felt made from fur fibers.

G

Gable Tudor head-dress for women, named from its shape. Sometimes called the kennel.
Gainsborough Hat A high crowned big brimmed hat decorated with feathers and ribbons became popular in the 1780's
Galloon OR Galon Worsted lace or braid, later made of gold or silver.
Garbo Hat Slouch hat. (a soft, broad-brimmed hat)
Gaucho hat A black felt hat with a wide flat brim and shallow flat-topped crown.
Gauze. A transparent stuff of silk or cotton used for veils, probably named from Gaza where it was manufactured in the 13th century.
Gibus Collapsible top hat. [French, from the maker's name.]
Glengarry Highlander's cap of thick-milled woolen cloth, generally rising to a point in front, with ribbons hanging down behind
Goffering Material waved or pleated with hot irons.
Gorget. A covering for neck and shoulders.
Guarded Edged with lace or braid.

H

Hat Item of dress worn on the head, from a word of Saxon origin meaning hood.
Headrail(Heafodhraegl). The head-covering worn by Saxon women.
Helmet Protective or ceremonial head-cover for soldiers.
Helmet Metal or leather head protection worn by soldiers of nearly all periods.
Hennin A high conical hat with a veil attached at the top, worn by women during the 15th century.
Herisson (A hedgehog). A name gives to a fluffy wig for women in the 18th cent. It was usually powdered.
Holland A coarse linen, used for caps, unbleached.
Hijab A covering for a Muslim woman's head and face, sometimes reaching the ground, often accompanied by the niqab (face veil).
Hood Any soft head covering closing round the neck and shoulders.
Horns The two excrescences on the top of women's head-dresses in medieval times which brought upon them so much abuse from reformers.
Houve A hood over a hat.
Homburg A man's hat, made of felt, with a narrow upturned brim, and a depression in the top. First worn at Homburg, town in western Germany usually trimmed with a band and bow.
Hood Cone or capelin of felt or straw for making hats.
Horsehair Hair from a horse's mane or tail; a mass of such hairs; a fabric woven from horsehair.

I

Iron Hat The flat-topped helmet worn by Crusaders. (See figures on the Doge's Palace, Venice).

J

Jabot. Originally the frill down the front ofa man's shirt, edging the opening. Later, a falling frill over a woman's bodice.
Japanned Leather treated with lacquer, and made hard stiff and shiny by a Japanese process
Jockey cap Cloth cap with close-fitting 6-panel crown and wide brim at the front.
Juliet Cap A round close-fitting skullcap worn by women. the style dates back to the Renaissance.
Jute Hood Cone, capeline or sheet materiel made of jute fiber.

K

Kalpak A triangular Turkish or Tatar felt cap.
Kaffia The shawl-like drapery worn over the head and kept in position by two padded rings, worn by the muslims of Iraq. 196 I.
Kippa Skull-cap worn by Jewish men. Also known as yarmulke.
Kasi A Korean hat.
Kettle Hat The iron hat of a knight in the middle ages.
Kevenhuller A type oftricorne hat, very large and heavy. 18th cent.
Kokoshnik Russian woman's head-dress-heavily jewelled.
Kolinsky The Siberian mink. An expensive fur worn by Russians until the 19I7 Revolution.
Kufie Islamic (Muslim) prayer cap.

L

Lappet The lace pendants of a lady's head-dress. LAMBEQ.UlN. A covering for the helmet to protect it from wet and heat.
Lawi A delicate linen fabric, brought to England during the reign of Elizabeth I, and used for ruffs' and ruffles.
Leghorn 1735. A kind of straw plaiting for hats and bonnets made from a particular kind ofwheat, cut green and bleached, imported from Leghorn, Italy.
Leuring Lathe Turntable with a block to support a felt hat. The hat is placed on the block and, as it turns, it is then polished or "leured" with a plush or velveteen pad, to impart a shine to the felt fibers, particularly on the crown.
Liberty cap Phrygian cap.
Linen Cloth made of flax.
Liripipe The extension of the top of the hood into a long pipe, worn, in the 14th and 15th centuries by men.

M

Mad Hatter Famous character of Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" also see Mercury below.
Mercury Usage Mercury Nitrate was used to soften the thicker and coarser fur (guard hair) from a rabbit or hare. This was to make the finished felt hood as soft and fine as possible, before it was made into a hat for the obvious reason that it would be of a higher quality and price.
Masks. Coverings for the face to disguise the identity of the wearer (often religious, such as those worn by witch doctors, initiates, etc.) but much favoured by the Venetians in the 18th century, to facilitate intrigues.
Macaronis A name given to the exquisites of the 18th century, and especially to their small tricorne hats perched on immense wigs. 'Stick a feather in his hat and call him Macaroni.'
Memem Oriot Mongolian fur-trimmed hat.
Mercury Poisoning Mercury is acutely hazardous as a vapor and in the form of its water-soluble salts, which corrode membranes of the body. Chronic mercury poisoning, which occurs when small amounts of the metal or its fat-soluble salts, particularly methyl mercury, are repeatedly ingested over long periods of time, causes loss of memory, irreversible brain, liver, and kidney damage. paralysis, mental derangement and eventually death. In the United States it was referred to as the Danbury shakes. Because of increasing water pollution, significant quantities of mercury have been found in some species of fish, which has aroused concern regarding uncontrolled discharge of the metal into the environment.
Mandel A turban woven with silk and gold.
Milliner Artisan who makes and sells hats.
Millinery The craft of making hats.
Miniver. A valuable fur made from the squirrel's belly, and much used on hats in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Mitre A high, pointed headdress, cleft crosswise on top and with two ribbons hanging from the back. The right to wear the mitre belongs by law only to the pope, the cardinals, and the bishops. Others require for its use a special papal privilege.
Morion Helmet. 16th cent.
Mortarboard A graduate's cap with square top, named from the likeness to a builder's board for mixing mortar.
Mortarboard Flat, square head-cover worn by professors and students for solemn academic occasions.
Muslin Muslin is a type of finely-woven cotton fabric, introduced to Europe from the Middle East in the 17th century. Named for the city where it was first made, Mosul (now Iraq).
Mutch A woman's cap. In the treasurer's accounts for James VI of Scotland (later James I of England) is the entry 'Ten elnes and a half of Tours taffeta for a gown; four elnes and a half of black velvet to be her skirt and layout the hem of her gown, and one quarter of black velvet to one mulch.' These for the nurse, Isabel Colt.

N

Nap Short fibers extending above the surface of cloth, fabric or felt, creating a soft, downy effect such as on velvet.
Nebula. The 14th century head-dress with goffered frills round the face.
Nivernois A very small tricorne hat, named after the original wearer, the Duc de Nivernois.
Night cap Men's cap worn informally indoors from the 16th to the 19th century. The cap had a deep crown made of four segments, with the edge turned up to form a close brim.
Niqab Face veil worn by Islamic women, together with the hijab (head-cover).

P

Panama The name given straw woven in Ecuador, as well as Peru and Colombia.
Panama hat Straw hat made with panama straw .
Paper panama Cone or capeline made of Japanese Toyo paper, woven to imitate natural Panama can be 1x1 or 2x2 weave.
Parasisal A two over two weave of sisal fiber used to make cones and capelines. Available in 5 grades, depending on the fineness of the fiber, it is lightweight, resilient and takes dye well.
Parka The fur head-dress of the Eskimos. PATCHES. Black spots of velvet stuck on the face to enhance the whiteness of the skin, mentioned by Shakespeare, and later by Pepys. At the height of the fashion (18th cent.) the spots were cut into various shapes such as a moon or stars and even a coach and horses. Glapthorne, in his Lady's Privilege says, 'Look, you, signor, ift be a lover's part you are to act, take a black spot or two. I can furnish you; twill make your face more amorous, and appear more gracious in your mistress's eyes.' 1640.
PeakVisor.
Peplum A coverchief worn over the head and round the neck.
Periwigs (See text). Wigs made of human hair, horsehair, feathers or tow, worn over a shaven head.
Phrygian Cap Conical cap with the top bent forward, named for an ancient people of Asia Minor. Worn as a symbol during the French Revolution, it is now also known as the cap of liberty.
Picture Hat A hat with a very wide brim.
Pile Nap.
Pillbox A small brimless cap with a flat tip and cylindrical side. Polo players in the Bois de Boulogne wore pillboxes tied under their chins in the early 1900’s. This hat became popular when Jackie Kennedy wore them. Clothes designer Halston reinvented the pillbox worn by Greta Garbo in the 1932 film As You Desire Me, especially for Mrs Kennedy. Pillboxes can be made in most types of fabric.
Pinner A ladies' lace and cambric head-dress of the early 18th century.
Pith helmet Helmet of cork or pith (dried spongy tissue from the sola plant), covered with cloth.
Plaits Hair divided into three and woven under and over; a method of hair-dressing in all times and countries, even the Polish and Russian soldiers adopting it in the early 19th century.
Planking Rolling and heating the hoods to complete the felting process.
Plug Hat See Top Hat
Plush (Hatters Plush) Cloth of silk or cotton, with a longer and softer nap than velvet.
Plush hats Men's hat, usually Top Hats of plush, an imitation of napped beaver hats.
Poking Sticks Instruments for shaping the flutes of Elizabethan ruffs originally made of wood or bone, later of steel.
Pompon Pompon a fluffy or woolly ball, tuft, or tassel.
Pouncing Rubbing down the outside of felt hats with pumice stone, sand paper or emery paper to produce a very smooth surface.
Puritan Black felt hat with high conical crown and narrow straight brim, worn by the Puritans during the 17th century. It was usually trimmed with a buckle at the front.

Q

Quoif (see coif)

R

Raffia A natural straw from Madagascar, the Raffia palm or its leaf-bast. available in cones, capelines, braids and hanks.
Raising Card Small wired instrument to raise nap on felt.
Rastafarian Hat The Rastafarian hat is called a "Crown" and has religious significance, the knitted version is usually colored red, yellow and green, the colour of the Ethiopian flag.
Reticulated Headdress A net of silver or gold wire forming side pillars to the face, in which the hair - was concealed.
Robin Hood Hat A soft felt or stitched cloth hat with -a small brim and feather, which came into fashion m 1959.
Royal Ascot The world famous English horse race meeting at Ascot, dating from the early 18th century, is particularly renowned for Ladies' Day, a unique occasion and setting to flaunt the most spectacular hats.
Roll The hair turned up above the forehead, or an artificial pad to turn the hair over. RUFF. A circular - collar, usually made of goffered pleats, in favour with both sexes in the 16th and early 17th centuries.
Rush Capeline made of a stiff thick straw, usually left its natural green colour.

S

Salade A light helmet for soldiers. 14th cent~ SAMITE. A rich silk interwoven with gold, or embroi¬ dery. 'In the myddes of the lake Arthur was ware of an arme clothed in whyte samite.' Malory.
Sarcenet Now spelt sarsenet. A fine silk. (Sara¬ cenic. )
Satin A close woven silk with a high gloss on the right side 13th century onwards.
Say A sort of thin woollen cloth, suitable for hoods'; one of the earliest cloths made in England.
Scarlet Middle English 1440. Cloth of a brilliant red colour tending towards orange.
Sendal A tough silk cloth. 'There was pight up a pavilyon of crimson send all right noble and riche.' 1523.
Serge A rough woollen cloth. Now a durable twilled cloth of worsted.
Skaut A Norwegian head-dress of goffered linen.
Solitaire A loose necktie of black silk, usually the ends of the ribbon that tied the bag-wig, brought round to the front of the neck and tied in a wide bow. First worn at the Court of Louis XV.
Shako A tall, nearly cylindrical military cap with a plume, flat-topped.
Sinamay Plant grown in the Philippines. The fibres are woven into sheet or hood forms and are often made into ladies' and men's hats.
Sisal Comes from the fiber of the Abacca (Musa textilis) and is used to make cones, capelines and woven fabric.
Sisal hood Cone or capeline of sisal fiber made with a one over one weave.
Sombrero A broad-brimmed felt hat, common in Spain and Spanish America. 1770.
Spangles Small metal disks, sewn on to hats or the quills of feathers for hat decoration to give a scintillating effect. Richard I had spangles sewn on his surtout. Lady Verney wrote to her nephew in London requesting him to buy her some gold lace 'with one spangle in each peak.' Mid-17th cen tury.
Steinkerk A particular kind of neck-cloth, twisted, worn in the late 17th century. Named from the Battle.
Stock. A high neck cloth, often of black satin. Mid 19th cent.
Supportasse or Supper Tasse A wire structure placed beneath the 17th century ruff to support it behind the head, sometimes called an 'under propper'.
Skimmer Boater
Slouch Hat A soft hat with a high crown and drooping flexible brim. Also called a Garbo hat, from the name of the actress who worn this style in many films.
Smoking Cap Men's pillbox shape cap, worn during the 19th century to prevent the hair from smelling of tobacco.
Snap Brim A brim that turns down sparingly.
Snood A band for the hair, once worn by unmarried women in Scotland as the badge of virginity; an ornamental hairnet supporting the back of a woman's hair.
Sombrero Mexican hat with high, conical crown and very wide brim. Usually of straw or felt. "Sombrero" is literally "hat," in Spanish.
Spartre (see Esparterie)
St. Catherine of Alexandria Patron saint of milliners in France, + c. 307 A.D., celebrated November 2th.
St. Clement I 3rd Bishop of Rome, + c. 100 A.D. Patron saint of hatters in England, celebrated November 23. By tradition, the discoverer of felt.
Stiffening Originally gum Arabic, mucilage, shellac or gelatin, now superseded by cellulose or pva based chemicals. It is applied by hand or dipped, to stiffen felt or straw.
Stocking cap Knitted cap, usually conical, often finished with a pompon.
Stovepipe hat A tall 19th century top hat, made popular by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
Suede felt Fur felt hood or capeline with short nap surface texture resembles suede.

T

Tabby A thick silken stuff with a soft nap watered into wavy lines hence tabby cats.
Taffeta Used in the 16th century for hats; a stiff silk.
Tassels Middle English. A pendant ornament consisting of a bunch of threads.
Templettes Bosses worn over the ears in medieval head-dresses.
Thrummed Thick nap raised on the surface of felt; from 'thrum' the fringed end of a weaver's web. 16th cent.
Tiara A head-dress or high peaked cap originally worn by the Persians or other Eastern peoples. A high ovate cylindrical diadem worn by the Pope, encircled by 3 crowns, symbols of triple dignity. Also a circlet or half-circlet of jewels worn by women for evening wear, from 1718.
Tiffany A kind of transparent silk or gauze muslin. TIPPET. Middle English. A little necktie slotted through at the ends, later with a cape over the shoulders.
Tam o'shanter Beret with close-fitting headband, usually trimmed with a pompon.
Ten-gallon hat A cowboy hat, especially one with a tall crown.  The 1880's saw the crowns of hats get taller and larger, but by the 1920's, with the movies coming into vogue, crowns of 8" or taller were commonly seen on the silver screen.  Tall, slender crowns would often make these stars look taller.  Although many believe that a ten gallon hat is one that can hold ten gallons of liquid, this is incorrect.  The phrase actually originated in Mexico, where many Spaniards would wear up to ten braided hat bands at once.  In Spanish, galon means "braid," so a ten galon hat  would indicate a hat that had ten braided hat bands.  The incorrect definition became increasingly common after Stetson Hats began an advertising campaign depicting a cowboy letting his horse drink water out of his hat.
Tip The top part of the crown.
Top hat Man's tall cylindrical hat with a narrow brim, made of silk plush. Also see Abraham Lincoln. Very early top hats were made of beaver felt. Also called a "Plug Hat" in the USA.
Topper The high-crowned silk hat of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Toque From the Italian tocca, a cap. A kind of small cap or bonnet worn by men or women in different ages or countries. A small hat without a brim.Toque (2) French term for a chef's tall white hat. 

Tow The coarse part offlax or hemp.
Toyo straw A cellulose fiber that is particularly amenable to dyeing. Transformation A pad of hair or tow put under the real hair to raise it. Early 20th cent. Sometimes used of a small switch of false hair.
Trilby A soft felt hat for men, named after Trilby, George du Maurier's heroine in his novel of that name.
Tressors Another name for the barbette.
Turban Cloth wound round the head as worn by Eastern peoples.
Tricorne Men's hat of the 18th century: wide brims were folded up to form three points.
Trilby The Trilby is a soft felt hat, usually made of fur felt (rabbit) it has a dented crown and flexible brim, the shape originates from the Austrian Tyrol it usually had a small feather trimming. The hat became most popular between the 1930s-40s when Schiaparelly used it to compliment clothes design. The name come from the heroine of G.du Maurier's novel Trilby 1894 in which the heroine of the stage version, wore such a hat.
Tuftaria Taffeta or velvet with a raised nap. Thus Thomas Nash referring to Gabriel Harvey says that he was 'ruffling it hufty-tufty in a suit of velvet.' E.nd of 17th cent.
Tuque A Canadian cap made by tucking in one tapered end of a long cylindrical bag, closed at both ends.
Turban Typical head-dress for Muslim and Sikh men, constructed by winding a long scarf around the head.

V

Vanities 15th century British term for hats.
Veil A covering of fine fabric or net, for the head, face, or both, for protection, concealment, adornment or ceremonial purpose, especially the white transparent one often worn by a bride
Velour felt Fur felt hood or capeline with uniform nap and velvet-like surface texture.
Velvet. A textile mainly of silk having a short dense and smooth pile.
Visca Cone or capeline of rayon fiber, made to look like parrasisal with a 1x1 or 2x2 weave.
Visor A partial brim, usually extending out at the front of a hat or cap. Also known as a peak used as a shade against the sun.

W

Wheat Straw single or double A stiff coarse straw, usually left its natural golden brown colour. Single wheat is 1x1 weave double wheat is 2x2 weave.
Widow's peak A close-fitting cap with a point extending down at the center of the forehead. Originally worn as a mourning bonnet by Caterina de Medici. Also a point of hair over the forehead, like the cusped front of the widow's cap formerly worn.
Willow A woven and sized material made of esparto grass and cotton, used for making the base of fashion hats. Also known as esparterie and spartre.
Wimple A veil folded so as to cover the head and neck and closely frame the cheeks, a fashion of the Middle Ages that remained part of a nun's dress
Worsted A woollen cloth woven at Worsted in Norfolk, 12th cent. onwards. Long-stapled wool combed straight; often used for stockings.

X

Xian Capeline made of an oriental straw.

Y

Yarmulke The skullcap worn by Jewish males, especially during prayers or ceremonial occasions. Also known as kippah.
Yashmak A cloth or other device for covering the face worn until recently by Turkish women, and still by many other Eastern countries.
Yazma An embroidered shawl worn over the Yemeni by Anatolian women.
Yemeni An embroidered cloth for covering the hair worn by women of Anatolia.

Z

Zucchetto skullcap worn by Roman Catholic clergy: black for priests, purple for bishops, red for cardinals, white for the pope.