Smoking cap

They were soft caps, shaped like a squat cylinder or close fitting like a knit cap, and usually heavily embroidered with a tassel on top.

They were originally worn for warmth, but continued with their new use after improvements in Victorian heating.

They were popular in the period 1840–1880, and usually used by gentlemen in the privacy of their homes.

[2] They were often a gift from women, who made them themselves to give to male partners.

Neither was worn by everyone, as smoking was not as popular as it became in the twentieth century,[3] although they could also be worn as part of a man's loungewear outfit with no connection to smoking.