Authentic Hats and Headgear for a Renaissance Faire

When going to a Renaissance Faire or festival, it is always fun to dress in period garb. Wearing an appropriate costume of the Renaissance period allows you to get in the spirit of the historical reenactment. One thing you must wear at the fair is a hat or headgear. After all, in Elizabethan England, you were required to wear a hat in public if you were over the age of thirteen.

The following types of hats and headgear are appropriate for the Renaissance Faire.

Renaissance Hats for Nobility

Renaissance nobility wore impressive hats. Both men and women wore high crowned hats with large brims. These were often decorated with feathers. Pheasant feathers were popular with the richest renaissance nobles.

Noble women almost always wore their hair in a snood. A snood is a type of net that covers the hair in the back and lies against the neck. These can be plain or decorated with beads and ribbons.

At the Renaissance Faire, you will also see foppishly dressed lords wearing cavalier hats. These are popularly seen in Three Musketeers movies.

Renaissance Hats for the Middle Class

Middle class, or merchant class, men and women wore very similar hats. Felt hats with broad brims were popular. They also wore feathers on their hats, but from much plainer birds such as roosters or grouse.

Women in England often wore broad-brimmed straw hats. These, and other headgear, were often worn over turban-like cloth wraps close to the head. Muffin caps were also very popular for both sexes.

Renaissance Hats for Peasants

People from the peasant class wore the plainest hats and headgear. While some may have a brimmed felt hat, it would not have been decorated with feathers other than chicken or duck. Most men and woman wore small cloth caps or wrapped a cloth around their head in a turban fashion.