Cap

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

For informal occasions at home a gentleman discarded his curled wig for the ease and comfort of a dressing cap. In order to wear a heavy wig comfortably, a man had to wear his own hair closely cropped. Naturally, when the wig was off he presented rather an awkward picture and was exposed to cold drafts in chilly rooms. Dressing caps were made in a wide variety of materials, including silk, satin, linen, and fur. The embroidery seen here – probably the handiwork of a gentlewoman – depicts on one side a fashionably dressed man wearing an undress cap while smoking, and on the other side a lady in a formal dress in a pastoral setting. Gentlemen did not sleep in these fancy caps; they preferred to wear plain cotton or wool versions, often quilted for warmth.

The Costume Institute

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

Metropolitan Museum of Art