Draped turban

A draped turban or turban hat is a millinery design in which fabric is draped to create headwear closely moulded to the head. Sometimes it may be stiffened or padded, although simpler versions may just comprise wound fabric that is knotted or stitched. It may include a peak, feather or other details to add height. It generally covers most or all of the hair.

In fashion, the draped turban has a history dating back to at least the late 18th century, and had revivals in most decades of the 20th century. Notably, it rose to popularity in the 1910s as a symbol of eastern glamour, while in the 1940s it was worn by everyone from Hollywood stars to land girls. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was revived by designers including Biba in the UK and Halston in the US – and worn by royalty and hippies alike. More recently, new designs began appearing on the fashion catwalks and in the second Sex and the City movie.

While earlier portraits show examples of the turban in women's dress – notably Vermeer's 1665 portrait Girl with a Pearl Earring – the draped turban is first recorded as a widespread fashion in Britain in the late 18th century, rising to even greater popularity during the Regency era; this was a fashion said to be inspired by increased trade with India for the import of cottons. The fashion may also have been partly inspired by growing interest in, and knowledge of, the Ottoman Empire and Turkey. The writings of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu on Turkey are also said to have been an influence. There are several portraits of her in turban style headgear and the turban was also sometimes known as the turk or chiffonet.

The style of turban was initially simple, in keeping with the drape of gowns of the time, but as its popularity developed it tended to follow the fashion in hair and became progressively larger as hairstyles became more elaborate. Turbans might be lavishly decorated with plumes for balls and functions, but also for daywear – as satirised in a 1796 James Gillray cartoon, High Change in Bond Street. The fashion remained during the early decades of the 19th century, with examples of Paris and London fashions from the 1830s showing ornate turban headdresses topped with tall plumes.

...
Wikipedia