Snood (headgear)
Encyclopedia
Headgear
Headgear, headwear or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on one's head.Headgear serve a variety of purposes:...
, or in modern times a tubular neck scarf. In the most common form the headgear resembles a close-fitting hood
Hood (headgear)
A hood is a kind of headgear that covers most of the head and neck and sometimes the face. They may be worn for protection from the environment, for fashion, as a form of traditional dress or uniform, to prevent the wearer from seeing or to prevent the wearer from being identified.-History and...
worn over the back of the head. A tighter-mesh band may cover the forehead or crown, then run behind the ears and under the nape of the neck.
A sack of sorts dangles from this band, covering and containing the fall of long hair gathered at the back. A snood sometimes was made of solid fabric, but more often of loosely knitted yarn
Yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or...
or other net-like material. Historically (and in some cultures still in use today) a small bag—netted, tatted, knitted, crocheted, or knotted (see macrame
Macramé
Macramé or macrame is a form of textile-making using knotting rather than weaving or knitting. Its primary knots are the square knot and forms of "hitching": full hitch and double half hitches...
)—of fine thread, enclosed a bob of long hair on the back of the head or held it close to the nape.
Modern hair nets, commonly in use where shed human hair may be undesirable, are often made of microfibre. In modern times the word also has come to be applied to a tubular neck protector or warmer, often worn by skiers or motorcyclists. The garment may be worn either pulled down around the neck like a scarf, or pulled up over the hair and lower face, like a hood. The tubular ear and neck protector used to protect the ears of long-eared or long-haired show dogs is also referred to as a snood.
History
The word was first recorded in Old English from sometime around 725. It was widely used in the Middle Ages for a variety of cloth or net head coverings, including what we would today call hairbands and caulCaul (headgear)
A caul is a historical headress worn by women that covers tied-up hair. A fancy caul could be made of satin, velvet, fine silk or brocade, although a simple caul would commonly be made of white linen or cotton. The caul could be covered by a crespine or a mesh net to secure it from falling off.It...
s, as well as versions similar to a modern net snood. Snoods continued in use in later periods, especially for women working or at home.
In Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and parts of the North of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, a silken ribbon about an inch (2 cm) wide called a snood was worn specifically by unmarried women, as an indicator of their status, until the late 19th or early 20th century. It was usually braided into the hair.
Snoods came back into fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
in the 1860s, although the term "snood" remained a European name, and Americans called the item simply a "hairnet
Hairnet
A hairnet, or sometimes simply a net or caul, is a small, often elasticised, fine net worn over long hair to hold it in place. It is often worn by food service workers to prevent hair from contaminating the food...
" until some time after they went out of fashion in the 1870s. These hairnets were frequently made of very fine material to match the wearer's natural hair colour (see 1860s in fashion - hairstyles and headgear) and worn over styled hair. Consequently, they were very different from the snoods of the 1940s.
Snoods became popular again in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. At that time, the British government had placed strict rations on the amount of material that could be used in clothing. While headgear was not rationed, snoods were favoured, along with turban
Turban
In English, Turban refers to several types of headwear popularly worn in the Middle East, North Africa, Punjab, Jamaica and Southwest Asia. A commonly used synonym is Pagri, the Indian word for turban.-Styles:...
s and headscarves, in order to show one's commitment to the war effort.
Now, women's snoods are commonly worn by married Orthodox Jewish
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
women, according to the religious custom of hair covering; see shpitzel
Shpitzel
A Shpitzel is a headgear worn by many married Hasidic Women. It consists of a web-net covering the women's head, often with a "braid of hair" across the front. It is covered by a tichel....
. Since these snoods are designed to cover the hair more than hold it, 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.
A Winter Olympics 2010 television broadcast (NBC: February 27, 2010) an on-site interview of a European woman skier wearing a beret headgear with snood expansion at the nape.
Beard Snood
Another similar garment which is also referred to as a snood is used to cover facial hair when working in environments such as food production. Although it appears that 'hairnet' has replaced snood as the commonly-used term for hair containment on the head, the term 'beard snood' is still familiar in many food production facilities.Football
Though popular for many years with European footballers like Gianluigi BuffonGianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Juventus and the Italian national team. He has won the FIFA World Cup and is widely considered by fans and experts to be one of most dominant and successful goalkeepers in history...
- in the 2010-11 English football Premier League season, a number of high profile players including Carlos Tevez
Carlos Tévez
Carlos Alberto Tévez is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for English club Manchester City...
and Samir Nasri
Samir Nasri
Samir Nasri is a French international footballer who plays for English club Manchester City in the Premier League and the France national team. He primarily plays as an attacking midfielder and a winger, although he has also been deployed in central midfield. Nasri is known for his technical...
were seen to be wearing tubular neck scarves and commentators erroneously referred to them as "snoods". The apparent new fashion was much derided by commentators, prompting one journalist to state that 'snoods are the new gloves' in professional football.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...
claims he will no longer allow his players to wear snoods. Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996...
, on the other hand, defended their use, suggesting they serve a medical purpose when players have neck problems in the cold weather.
The International Football Association Board
International Football Association Board
The International Football Association Board is the body that determines the Laws of the Game of association football.-Operations:...
feels that snood scarves may pose a risk to a player's neck if jerked from behind. Players in the UK have been banned from wearing them during matches since 1 July 2011.
The International Football Association Board
International Football Association Board
The International Football Association Board is the body that determines the Laws of the Game of association football.-Operations:...
had a meeting where this issue was brought up, and they were immediately and totally banned on the 5th of March, 2011 due to not being part of the uniform.