Where Did the Beanie Hat Originate?

A beanie is a hat that can have two distinct designs. One design has long since gone out of style, but the other is worn in cold-weather areas throughout the world. The beanie's origins seem to be in the United States around the early 1900s. It has gone through quite a metamorphosis over the years into the style worn today.

Types

One type of beanie cap is made of wool felt. These hats are brimless and can have a very small visor or none at all. These beanies can be made of felt panels of various colors sewn together. The other type of beanie is made of fleece or a synthetic material designed to keep the head warm. They cover the head and can go down over the ears to keep them warm as well. This is the modern beanie, which goes by many other names.

History

Beanies probably got their names from the slang term "bean," which meant head in the early days of the 20th century in the United States. The first beanies were almost like skullcaps and were used by blue-collar laborers who needed to keep their hair out of the way but did not want a brim that could obstruct their vision. Schoolchildren began to wear beanies in the early 1900s to imitate their working dads. The working beanies evolved into the modern-day baseball cap, but the children's beanies morphed into a hat that became hugely popular on U.S. college campuses around 1920. The beanies would have the school colors, the graduating year of the college student wearing it, or some other feature associated with the school. The addition of a small propeller to the top of the beanie made them a hit with kids. Eventually as college students and even children became more sophisticated, the beanie lost its following. However, it made a comeback in the woolen fleece version in the 1990s as cold-weather sports became popular.

Geography

The woolen beanie has a variety of names, depending on where you are. In Canada, these ubiquitous hats are called tuques. In New Zealand, Australia and England, they are still referred to as beanies. In the United States, they are called knit caps, toboggan caps, stocking caps, skull caps, winter hats, ski caps, chooks and sock caps, according to what part of the country you are in. The Amish of Pennsylvania call the woolen beanie a sipple cap. In India, it is simply a monkey cap.

Features

The woolen beanie today can be worn by men and women and effectively protects against the cold. They can have the designer's name emblazoned across them or the name of a professional or college sports team. Beanies can feature logos and insignias, and come in a multitude of colors. They can also be adorned with pompoms on the top. Some can even be pulled down over the entire head with holes cut out for the eyes and the mouth; these are called balaclavas or ski masks.

Expert Insight

Some of the most famous beanies ever belong to characters from the comics, cartoons or television. The Archie comic series featured Jughead Jones, who wore a beanie that resembled a crown. Spanky from the band Our Gang wore a form of beanie, as did Goober Pyle from "The Andy Griffith Show." Perhaps the most famous beanie ever belonged to a cartoon character. The cartoon "Beany and Cecil" featured a boy named Beany who wore a propeller beanie that allowed him to fly.