Examples of Men's Headwear

Accessories Myths

Myth: Flat caps were commonly worn by English gentlemen.

While flat caps are very easy for costumers to make, by the 1570s they were more exclusively worn by apprentices, shopkeepers, artisans, and citizens, and was called the 'City flat-cap'. They were out of fashion among the nobility. As you can see above, gentlemen wore a variety of headwear.

Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein, c.1527. (wearing Milan cap)
Miniature of an Unknown Man by Hans Holbein. (wearing flat cap)
An Unknown Man by Hans Holbein, 1541. (wearing a hat)
Miniature of an Unknown Man by Nicholas Hilliard, 1572. (wearing a bonnet with pleated crown and small brim)
Miniature of an Unknown Man by Nicholas Hilliard, 1588. (wearing a tall hat)
Images retrieved January 29, 2007 from http://www.tudor-portraits.com

Portrait of George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, c. 1590 by Nicholas Hilliard (wearing a tall hat with a single glove from Elizabeth I). Retrieved on January 29, 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.wga.hu/html/h/hilliard/clifford.html

Cunnington, C. Willett and Cunnington, Phillis. Handbook of English Costume in the 16th Century ©1970, Plays, Inc., Great Britain. ISBN 0823800814