Ultimate Guide to Renaissance Hats

If you're looking to dress up as a character from the 16th century, you'll need the perfect hat to complete your outfit! In this blog post, we will take a look at some of the most popular hats worn during the Renaissance era. Whether you're dressing up as a nobleman or woman, a peasant, or even a pirate, we've got you covered! So without further ado, let's get started.

We will start with the basics: the biggin and the coif. Both of these hats look extremely similar, a fitted hat that comes down over the ears usually made of white linen or muslin. The difference is that the biggen has a strap that is always worn under the chin, while the coif has ties the are typically worn dangling. These hats are unisex, versatile and worn under things such as

a wider brim hat or even armor. It can create an easily washed buffer between hats that cannot be washed.

Our next hat is something similar but worn by women. The caul is looks like a shallow muffin top which is worn on the back of the head. It can be made of any materials, even brocade or velvet but it is usually made of beige linen or muslin. Both this hat and the coif and biggens, can be embroidered. The caul can also be embellished with beadwork. At the time a type of embroidery called blackwork was popular. Blackwork was basically black thread embroidered on white or beige fabric. Blackwork was also popular as decoration on underclothing like the chemise. For the modern reenactor this is an easy way to make a hat or chemise look impressive. It does take practice and for some, like myself, either an iron on or drawn on pattern. If you can do this free hand than hats off to you!

Now we come to my favorite hat: the French hood. This is a cresset shaped hat that sits midway on the head and covers your ears. I find this hat to be very flattering on all sorts of face shapes. Most French hoods were embellished with a straight row of pearls and beads across the entire shape of the highest point of the hood. These are called billiments. A French hood is possible without them but it does look so much better with them. A French hood also has a veil attached to the back that hides the rest of your head. Most French hoods were made of black velvet and color was brought into it via the jewels or beads. It can be difficult to secure because of the weight and that the placement is on the crown of your head. If you have long hair this will be an easy problem to solve. For this I part my hair in the middle and do a simple braid of each side. I then pull both braids across the top of my head and secure them with bobby pins. This creates a sort of dam that you can secure the inside combs of the French Hood to. It very effective. I refer to them as my Helga braids.

If you have short hair, I would recommend getting some very small hair ties, parting your head down the middle and securing what you can into a tiny pony tail. You can then butt the hood up against those. One thing to remember is that French hoods are not typically covered in embroidery or blackwork but there are no hard and fast rules for reenacting and you should wear what you like.

The next hat is attifet. This is very similar to the French hood except instead of a crescent shape it frames the face in a heart. This can also be very flattering for many face types. The attifet is often decorated with billiments. One interesting difference from the French hood is that it can be made in white fabric. the attifet is typically not embellished with embroidery and has a veil in the back covering the rest of the head.

Next is the round cap. You might recognize this is what modern people call a pill box hat. This is a round hat with a wide brim that sits on the back of the head with the hair tucked inside. In more modern times this hat was worn on top of the head. This hat (in renaissance times) was often covered with billiments, bead work or even embroidery; although it is most often made with a solid fabric, velvet being the favorite.

Now we move on to the soft cap.This is a very easy hat to make and also has the bonus of being unisex. The soft cap is made with heavy, thick type fabrics. It is relatuvely small, has a little brim attached to the crown piece that looks similar to the caul. This hat is fun becaaue anything goes when it come to embellishment. Embroidery, bead work and blackwork are all commoly found. Also commonly found is a large full feather to top it off. This is a hat that can be worn over and coif or caul. The soft cap is worn at jaunty position, slightly askew.

Renaissance hats come in many shapes and sizes, and can be embellished with a variety of materials to create a unique look. Whether you're looking for an elegant French hood or a basic soft cap, there's sure to be a hat that suits your style. So grab some fabric and get creative!