The Snood

The snood is a simple thing: a bag of netting, crochet, or fabric that gathers long hair at the back of the head, usually attached to a band or ribbon across the crown, or sewn to the back of a hat. It's also one of the accessories that most instantly says "1940s" in a photograph, even though it was already more than a hundred years old.

Hair nets like this were fashionable in the Victorian era, especially in the 1860s, when women wore their hair gathered low at the back of the neck in a net. They faded out, and then came back in the late 1930s, when Paris milliners began showing snoods with hats and fashionable hair was worn longer at the back. The historical costume films of the period, Gone with the Wind (1939) among them, helped make the look romantic. By the time war broke out, the snood had turned from a revival into an everyday item.

Then it became useful. Long hair was fashionable, but long hair near machinery was dangerous, and women going into war work needed a way to keep it contained. The turban and headscarf did one version of that job; the snood did a slightly prettier one, holding pin curls or a roll at the back while leaving the front of the hair on show. It also saved time and money in a world short of shampoo, hot water, and hairdressing appointments, because it hid hair that hadn't been freshly set. And unlike a hat, it needed hardly any materials.

That's what I love most about the snood: almost anyone could make one. Women's magazines and yarn companies published endless free patterns for crocheted and knitted snoods, and a single ball of wool, cotton, or rayon yarn was enough - an ideal project for the make-do-and-mend years. There were plain everyday versions in black or brown to match your hair, cheerful coloured ones to match a sweater, and evening snoods of velvet ribbon, chenille, or netting scattered with beads or sequins. It was practical and glamorous at once, and completely accessible, which is a rare combination. By the late 1940s, as hair got shorter and the postwar look took over, it faded out again - but it's still one of the easiest and most charming 1940s pieces to make for yourself today.