Many times over the years, we’ve snarked TV shows and films for their wildly inaccurate takes on the iconic 16th-century head covering, the French hood. This was an item worn by upper-class women in Europe from about 1510 up to 1600, although it was most popular at the French and English courts around the 1520s to 1550s. This headgear is often associated with Anne Boleyn, who supposedly brought the fashion to England — that’s probably not true, though she may have made it fashionable. While I don’t know that an actual version of this headgear survives, there are TONS of portraits and images from the 16th century. The French hood appears as one of the most common types of head covering for upper-class women and even more middling-class women later in the century. But movies and TV have a really hard time reproducing it!
Read all of this deep-dive into how French hoods look onscreen and how movies and TV get it right and wrong here!
Don’t want to wait next time? Pledge a small amount each month on Patreon to keep our site running, and in return, you’ll get access to subscriber-only content like this.
What is Patreon? It’s a simple way you can support our work. Pledge as little as a dollar (or your local equivalent) each month to keep our site running, and in return, you’ll get access to subscriber-only content like this.
Elizabeth: Killer Queen keeps coming up in my Amazon Prime recommendations, probably because of all the Lucy Worsley docs I watch (love her!). I’m tempted to watch it, and then I remember all the crappy costumes (not to mention that QEI has her hair down). :)
That’s probably how I stumbled across it. SO BAD.
Thanks for taking one for the team! :)