What About the Smoking CAP?

[scotrace]

A couple of these (in different styles) have popped up recently. I was very tempted to go for this one. Never saw one outside a photo or painting before. Victorian Smoking Cap.

"I'll be at my club..."

Another style:

 

[Feraud]

Very interesting. It did not sell for a very high price.
I am in discussion with the boss (wife) to crochet one for me. She told me to take a flying leap..[huh]

 

[Vintage Betty]

I own one, but never did anything with it, so I tried to sell it.
It never sold on ebay, so I still have it. I'll post pics when I have time.

Vintage Betty

 

[jake_fink]

Very interesting. It did not sell for a very high price.
I am in discussion with the boss (wife) to crochet one for me. She told me to take a flying leap..[huh]

"Discussion," eh? lol

 

[Fletch]

I am in discussion with the boss (wife) to crochet one for me. She told me to take a flying leap..[huh]

She just doesn't want you hanging around with hookahs. lol

 

[Rick Blaine]

Lock & Co. still offer one:

All of these are quite "Fez" looking. The fashion must be another manifestation of the fascination for all things "Oriental" when the "Heathen" Turks were the ally of the West in that period following the Crimean War. This is the also the period when Turkish tobacco first became widely available, so it would make sense, in a way.

...depending on just what you are smoking, however, this may be more appropriate headwear.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Years ago, somebody told me, "If your feet are cold, put on a hat." (IT WORKS!) I suspect the smoking hat (or cap) was intended to provide such a garment, which could be worn , indoors without anybody complaining or feeling like they were breaking the rules. Most of the pictures I remember are obviously set in the dead of winter, not in hot weather. For marketing, the "smoking" designation had more pinache than "keep your feet warm" hat.

 

[AlanC]

Surely the sort of thing Mycroft Holmes wore in the Diogenes Club.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

smoking caps have less to do with being cold indoors and more to do with keeping ones hair from smelling like smoke. Same thing with Smoking jackets...they came into vogue during times when standards were different.

If you only bathe once a week or so....then its quite practical to wear things -just- for smoking that help you not smell like an ashtray the rest of the time.

 

[vonwotan]

Turnbull & Asser still order a large assortment of smoking caps to go with their smoking jackets. Once in a while some true Edwardian smoking caps come up for sale. Very tempting...

 

[Dr. Shocker]

I am sure if you asked the guys at Fez-O-Rama they would make one for you at a price of course

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

smoking caps have less to do with being cold indoors and more to do with keeping ones hair from smelling like smoke. Same thing with Smoking jackets...they came into vogue during times when standards were different.

Two additional factors: oils and the like, which were more commonly applied to a man's hair, probably helped keeping the unwanted smell, and indoor headcoverings were more common until the 19th c anyway. (One reason for this in turn might be less heating.)

 

[cookie]

Wonderful Ornate Victorian Smoking Cap



interior shot

 

[Doh!]

I am sure if you asked the guys at Fez-O-Rama they would make one for you at a price of course

I have two of their off-the-rack fezzes (fezi?) and can't recommend them highly enough for comfort.

And coolness factor.

 

[J.B.]

...I am in discussion with the boss (wife) to crochet one for me. She told me to take a flying leap..[huh]

She just doesn't want you hanging around with hookahs. lol

:eusa_doh:

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

smoking caps have less to do with being cold indoors and more to do with keeping ones hair from smelling like smoke. Same thing with Smoking jackets...they came into vogue during times when standards were different.

If you only bathe once a week or so....then its quite practical to wear things -just- for smoking that help you not smell like an ashtray the rest of the time.

I am so glad I no longer smoke and therefore do not need all that extra equipment.

 

[Edward]

Years ago, somebody told me, "If your feet are cold, put on a hat." (IT WORKS!) I suspect the smoking hat (or cap) was intended to provide such a garment, which could be worn , indoors without anybody complaining or feeling like they were breaking the rules. Most of the pictures I remember are obviously set in the dead of winter, not in hot weather. For marketing, the "smoking" designation had more pinache than "keep your feet warm" hat.

As Miss Neecerie has pointed out, thesmoking hat had purposes other than heat retention. However... it does make sense that putting on a hat would heat up the feet in a roundabout manner. 90% of heat loss in the human body is through the top of the head, so I gather. As the body loses heat, remaining body heat is concentrated in the torso, to protect the vital organs, hence the feeling of cold in the extremities. Donning a hat should keep more of the heat in, thus requiring less concentration of heat to the torso, thus making the extremities - including feet - feel warmer.

I did science until 16, me.

 

[Bebop]

I never knew that smoking caps existed. I have always wanted a fez. Now I can add a smoking cap to the list. I wear some kind of headwear indoors when it's really cold and it does keep me warm but my feet stay cold if I am inactive too long (which unfortunatly is never long enough).

 

[johnnycanuck]

Great Fez!

GREAT SCOTT! A Fez! Good grief! Now I have another silly hat to buy and add to my collection. Now where does one buy a really nice Fez (assuming Nice and Fez can go in the same sentence together) It cant be made of wool or I will break into a rash. Any help/recommendations/reviews?
Johnny

 

[fatwoul]

Very interesting. It did not sell for a very high price.
I am in discussion with the boss (wife) to crochet one for me. She told me to take a flying leap..[huh]

My sister does crochet. She has just started selling stuff for other people. I discussed with her the possibility of crocheting a hat liner for me.

She did a very nice tie for me with crochet, too.

Incidentally, johnnycanuck, I have a fez. What was good enough for Tommy Cooper is good enough for me. lol