Polychrome brocade SCA BARONIAL CORONET Framed hotsell Pillbox hat Unisex adjustable Incl veil + veil pins: 5-16th c Middle East, Byzantine, Ottoman

Framed pillbox

This item was hand made by me in the US based on historical examples.

Pillbox hat: Byzantine, Ottoman, Mediterranean, Spanish, Egyptian Mamluk 5-16th c SCA LARP

Like my other hat styles, this hat is based on my research on historical examples of head wear in the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe and Central Asia in the pre-modern period (pre-1600). I mostly make these hats for historical researchers and dancers. Please feel free to message me with questions including historical details and where I conduct my research.

The last 5 images are for historical reference only. You get the hat pictured in the first 5 photos.

This hat is made from polychrome brocade in a historically correct geometric pattern with stylized flowers. The hat has fleece padding and plastic canvas base.

It is adjustable with ties in the back. It is fully lined. It includes a cream and buttery yellow veil and veil pins.

If you are a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, this functions as a Baronial Coronet with 6 pearls (genuine) at the points of the gold filigree. If you aren't a member of the SCA, ignore this bit; although we are lots of fun (SCA.org)

This hat is a size Regular (sizing information included below), it measures 19 inches completely closed and 24 inches fully open.

Framed Pillbox Hats

Pillbox hats and their variations show up across a great sweep of time and space beginning in the classical period and continuing through the middle ages and into the present day.. It's a very basic and useful hat that pops up all over the Mediterranean world, Europe, Russia and Central Asia.

The simplest pillbox pattern has a rectangular band sewn to a circle at the top. It's basically a tube with a lid. There are variations such as domed tops and truncated cones that appear as well. The most common styles have a brim that is 2-4 inches tall.

Some of the historic hats are very soft, and include quilting and embroidery. Others have a rigid structure in order to create a specific silhouette or to support heavy ornament or veils. In some places they were worn by themselves and in others they were the under-layer for a more complex headdress.

Men typically used them as the bases of turbans, which sometimes allowed the turban to be taken on and off without having to be re-wrapped or they wore them alone. Women frequently wore them with an under-veil that draped around the face and neck and another larger, more elaborate veil that was pinned on over the top and then fell loose down the back. Many of these pillboxes were also ornamented with embroidery, beading and metal work.

These styles show up for women in Byzantine art as well as Russian, Mamluk Egyptian, Arabic, Syrian, Moorish Spanish and Turkish culture (they are a separate/related style to the tarpus or 'flower-pot' shaped hat). They also show up in Central Asia during the classical and pre-classical period among high-ranking Scythian and Sarmatian women but these are quite tall and covered with hammered-gold appliques surmounted by a veil. The rigid form of the hat also shows up occasionally in Persian art where it is worn under a veil and a taj to create a very sharp silhouette. The hat style entered Russia by way of Byzantine influence.

We don't have an extant rigid pillbox with exposed framework (that I know of ). The ones we do have are intact and covered by luxury textiles so we can't observe the interior structure directly. However, most rigid hat forms of the period were made with buckram (fabric soaked in glue or other stiffening agent), felted wool, birch bark or a basketry frame. For much of Russia and Asia we know they used birch bark which is peeled of the tree trunk is strips and can be molded and formed before it dries out.

Working with birch bark is not a skill I currently possess and buckram wilts in humidity and crushes easily so I prefer to use something that is more durable. I've made these hats using a plastic canvas frame, as in my tajs. I have also made them to be adjustable. The rectangular brim doesn't meet at the back, it is held together with ties. I have found two historical examples from Mamluk Egypt and one from Russia that have slit backs. This means that you can get a 5-inch range on the fit so you can adjust it based on the layers you're wearing and how you have your hair styled. The circular top is padded but soft so it is easy to pin veils into.

I make these in two sizes and they fit 95% of the people who try them. If you have a super-tiny or super-large head, message me with the circumference of your head measured parallel to the ground just above your eyebrows and I can tell you which ones would fit you or make you one to order.

Regular sized pillboxes (not medium, they fit 80% of people) have an internal circumference of 19 inches tied closed and will open up to 24 inches.

Large pillboxes have an internal circumference of 21 inches tied closed and will open up to 26 inches.
Many people can happily wear either size.

Their height ranges from 3-4 inches for regular pillboxes and 5-9 inches for tall pillboxes.

To measure your own head, place the tape measure around your head in the middle of your forehead. Measure around your head, parallel to the ground. This is where most baseball hats sit. Add an inch for ease, so it won't be too tight.

If you want me to guide you on what style of ornament and fabric would be most hotsell appropriate to your time period and place, send me a message.