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Smoking Caps

A smoking cap from the 1860's, made in South America for the Portuguese market. It is made from embroidered velvet and lined with silk, the long tassel is also of silk A smoking cap from the 1860's, made in South America for the Portuguese market. It is made from embroidered velvet and lined with silk, the long tassel is also of silk Copyright Victoria and Albert Museum, London, acc. no. T.230-1931.

In the nineteenth century, a form of man’s indoor cap, called a smoking cap, became very popular among urban groups in Europe and elsewhere. This type of cap was particularly popular from the late 1840's until the 1880's.

The smoking cap is also called a ‘smoker’s cap’ or a ‘lounging cap’. These were often embroidered and, by the end of the nineteenth century, further embellished with a long tassel. They were often made of velvet (the same material used for contemporary smoking jackets), in order to help reduce the smell of stale tobacco.

See also: embroidered undress caps; nightcaps

Source: ROTHSEIN, Natalie (ed., 1984), Four Hundred Years of Fashion, London: V&A Publications, p. 103.

V&A online catalogue (retrieved 16 March 2017).

GVE

Last modified on Wednesday, 15 March 2017 11:08