The Evolution of the French Hood
The French hood of the sixteenth century is an interesting garment. Costume designers have been making theatrical version for years that miss the mark, turning them into structured headbands that arc up over the back of the head. So what exactly is a French hood? Not quite a French hood, almost a kokoshnik, from The Tudors I'm not sure what the earliest use of the term is, but Caroline Johnson notes in The Queen's Servants that the Princesses Margaret and Mary were issued red and black velvet for French hoods in 1501, on the marriage of Prince Arthur and Katherine of Aragon, and that Margaret brought "three yards of black velvet for hoods, oreillettes and frontlets of the French style" with her to Scotland in 1503. The version of the French hood worn at the time was far from anything that could translate into a headband - a two-layered headdress, with a (typically) black silk piece overlaid on either a band or cap of (typically) red, white, and/or gold. De...