History of the Watch Cap by S. Duggan
Dating back to the early 1890's the "watch cap" was the standard government issue winter headgear for all members of the Navy and Coast Guard. The hat was given this name by sailors and guardsmen who relied on its warmth during long periods of lookout duty during cold hours of the night. With the proliferation of automated textile manufacturing, the watch cap soon became a widespread staple of winter headwear.
Designed with a "one-size-fits-all" approach, the watch cap is a cylindrical skull-fitting hat tapered at the top. It features several extra inches of material on the bottom, with the intention that it be folded to form a double thick layer of extra insulation around the wearer's ears and forehead. The watch cap can be made from wool or acrylic/synthetic materials in a variety of colors, and is manufactured and sold worldwide.
The watch cap is the classic worker's hat, as it keeps hair from the eyes and lacks a brim to obstruct vision. Children often imitated their working-class fathers by wearing these hats to school, and as a result they increased in popularity during the early 20th century. Freshmen were required to wear them during collegiate initiation rites in the early 1930's.
Referred to as a "beanie" in the USA ("bean" is slang for head), the watch cap is also known as a "skull cap" or "skully," "stocking hat", "ski hat", "toboggan", "tuque" or "toque" (Canada), "dinky" (1900’s children's term), "hufa" (Iceland), "driving cap" (Europe), "pom-pom" (Scotland), "brownie hat" (Girl scouts), "crack hat" (Ebonics), "resi-tip" (CVA), and "condom beanie" (NS.com member invader46), to name a few. The tuque is considered Quebec's official hat for winter.
Extreme skiing pioneer Glen Plake wore a watch cap so his mohawk wouldn't get messed up. Corey Vanular and Tanner Hall were major trend setters for the watch cap's widespread diffusion through the newschool skiing community. Laurent Fauvre wore one in the 2006 US Open and X-Games, in addition to wearing his bib toga-style.
The watch cap is a timeless piece of fashion culture, with endearing features like its utility of use and easiness to manufacture. Probably the most common winter hat for the last half-century, no ski area lost and found is complete without at least a few of these. So go out and get one already!
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bibliography:
www.google.com
www.hatsuk.com/skullcaps.pdf
www.villagehatshop.com/goverment-issue_watch-cap.html
www.answers.com/topic/beanie-1
