The Frock Flicks team is taking a little time off for a summer break, so we’re repeating some favorite posts from the archives. Enjoy this hot Tudor summer!
The Real Deal on French Hoods in Film & TV
We’ve snarked TV shows and films for their wildly inaccurate takes on the iconic 16th-century head covering, the French hood. Let’s take a deep-dive on how it evolved, what it should look like, and if any frock flicks get it right.
Anyone watching 3 Body Problem? One of the characters in one of the ‘historical’ bits has a real French hood! And there are partlets and spiral lacing, and beaucoup trim, and if the grommets are metal they are at least covered by thread. I don’t know if the Chinese ‘historical’ bits are accurate, but they do look good
What I don’t understand is why, if Genevieve Bujold (for example) insists on showing her hair, why they don’t just dispense with the hood completely. The whole idea of the hood is that it is a hair covering, and seeing the front piece without the fall at the back makes all of these women look like Zeppo Marx with half a hat.
I can’t think of any other headgear where they just dispense with an integral part of the hat. It would be like making a movie with men in top hats and derbies, and deciding to put brims on the toppers but not the derbies.