Snood (headgear)

This article is about a netlike hair covering. For a scarf, see Snood scarf.

19th century painting of a woman wearing a snood (by Adolph Menzel)

Two women working at a Texas Naval Air Base in 1942, wearing hairnets (snoods)

A snood (/snuːd/) is a type of traditionally female headgear, with two types known. The long-gone Scottish snood was a circlet made of ribbon worn by Scottish young women as a symbol of chastity. The other type was intended to hold the hair in a cloth or net-like hat. In the most common form, the headgear resembles a close-fitting hood worn over the back of the head. It is similar to a hairnet, but snoods typically have a looser fit.

Decorative hairnets, popular among women in the Victorian era, were referred to as snoods. This term was then applied to any netlike hat, and, in the 1930s, to a net bag headgear. This latter meaning became popular during the Second World war when women joined the workforce en masse and were required to wear the headgear to avoid their hair getting caught by the moving parts of the factory machinery.

Beard snood

Another similar garment which is also referred to as a snood is used to cover facial hair such as beards and moustaches when working in environments such as food production. Although it appears that "hairnet" has replaced "snood" as the common term for hair containment on the head, the term "beard snood" (essentially a "ringed scarf") is still familiar in many food production facilities.

Religious use

Women's snoods are often worn by married Orthodox Jewish women, according to the religious requirement of hair covering (see Tzniut). Since these snoods are designed to cover the hair more than hold it, they are often lined to prevent them from being see-through. Contemporary hair snoods for Jewish women come in a wide range of colors and designs.

Snoods are also worn by some Christian women as a headcovering in obedience to 1 Corinthians 11:2–10.

External links

Media related to Snoods at Wikimedia Commons