Snood (headgear)
A snood (/snuːd/) is a type of traditionally female headgear, with two types known. The long-gone Scottish snood was a circlet made of ribbon worn by young Scottish women as a symbol of chastity.[1] In the 1590s, Elizabeth Gibb made snoods of Florentine silk ribbon for the gentlewomen at the court of Anne of Denmark (the wife of King James VI of Scotland).[2]
The other type sought to hold the hair in a cloth or net-like hat.[3][4] In the most common form, the headgear resembles a close-fitting hood worn over the back of the head. It is similar to a hairnet,[4] but a snood typically has a looser fit.[5]
Decorative hairnets, popular among women in the Victorian era, were referred to as snoods. This term was then applied to any netlike hat, and, in the 1930s, to a net bag headgear. This latter meaning became popular during the Second World War of 1939 to 1945, when women joined the workforce en masse and often had to wear headgear to avoid their hair getting caught by the moving parts of factory machinery.[3]
For a short time during WWII, snoods stood at the height of fashion (a hit of Paris collections in 1939).[6][need quotation to verify][7]
Beard snood
[edit]Another similar garment which is also referred to as a snood is used to cover facial hair such as beards and moustaches when working in environments such as food production.[8] Although it appears that "hairnet" has replaced "snood" as the common term for hair containment on the head, the term "beard snood" (essentially a "ringed scarf") is still familiar in many food production facilities.[citation needed]
Religious use
[edit]Women's snoods are often worn by married Orthodox Jewish women,[9] according to the religious requirement of hair covering (see Tzniut). Since these snoods are designed to cover the hair more than hold it,[10] they are often lined to prevent them from being see-through. Contemporary hair snoods for Jewish women come in a wide range of colors and designs.[11]
In the 21st century, women use snoods primarily for religious reasons.[12]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Snuid", Dictionaries of the Scots Language
- ↑ Jemma Field, "Dressing a Queen: The Wardrobe of Anna of Denmark at the Scottish Court of King James VI, 1590–1603", The Court Historian, 24:2 (2019), pp. 158–159. doi:10.1080/14629712.2019.1626120
- 1 2 snood at the Encyclopædia Britannica
- 1 2 "History of Hair Covering Part #1: Snoods". Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- ↑
Karen Roemuss; Martin Green; Leo Palladino (2018). Professional Hairdressing: Australian and New Zealand Edition (2nd ed.). ISBN 978-0170415927.
Snoods ... They're like a hair net but have a looser fit and much coarser mesh ...
- ↑ Blum 1993, p. 28.
- ↑
Hill, Daniel Delis (31 December 2014). "The Great Depression and World War II 1930-1945: Women's Hats 1930-1945". Necessaries: Two Hundred Years of Fashion Accessories. San Antonio, Texas: Gemini Dragon. p. 159. ISBN 9780986425400. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
'All the designers are working at ways and means to keep mats on without elastics,' reported Vogue in 1939. [...] Attached snoods also held the forward inclining hat in place. [...] The snood itself became a trend in 1939. '"Phenomenal" is none too strong a word for the sweeping success of snoods,' declared a report on the fall Paris collections. One hat shop reportedly sold 26,000 snoods that season, and 80% of hats from another shop were sold with snoods.
- ↑ "SmartGuard Beard Snood | | Food Industry Workwear | Disposable Workwear | Protective Workwear | Personal Protective PPE". Protec Direct. Archived from the original on 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2011-09-23.
- ↑ "Rabbis' Rules and Indian Wigs Stir Crisis in Orthodox Brooklyn". The New York Times. May 14, 2004.
- ↑ Silver, Rivki (5 February 2012). "Me and My Covered Hair, Part Two: Tichels, Hats and More". Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- ↑ "Snoods VS. Sheitels". Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- ↑ Lynch et al. 2014, p. 276.
Sources
[edit]- Blum, Dilys E. (1993). "Ahead of Fashion: Hats of the 20th Century". Philadelphia Museum of Art Bulletin. 89 (377/378). Philadelphia Museum of Art: 1–48. ISSN 0031-7314. JSTOR 3795480. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
- Lynch, A.; Strauss, M.D.; Eicher, J.B.; Bradley, L.A.; Braithwaite, N.; Buckridge, S.O.; Camerlengo, L.L.; Colburn, C.A.; Collins, V.; Craik, J. (2014). "Snood". Ethnic Dress in the United States: A Cultural Encyclopedia. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 276–277. ISBN 978-0-7591-2150-8. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
