This post will be the first in an ongoing series about hair coverings around the world and throughout history.  If there are any styles you’re particularly curious about, let me know!  I randomly decided to start with snoods, because they go pretty far back.

Basically, a snood is a loose bag that covers some or all of the hair; they can be both functional (ever seen a chef wearing a hairnet?) and decorative.  The style goes back to medieval Europe, although they became really popular around the 1500’s.

The first snoods were made of hand-knotted lace and pinned or tied on; they were a pretty, practical way to cover some or all of a person’s hair.  Wealthy people decorated theirs with beads or even precious stones.  The term “caul” referred to snoods made of solid cloth like linen or silk, rather than net.  Crocheting became popular in the 1600’s.  Sometimes snoods were worn with other pieces of headgear, such as hats.

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