Pompom Hats Are Coming. Let’s Find Out More about Their Past

With the winter round the corner, some of us will soon reach out for pompom caps. Speaking of which, this fluffy decoration used to have some more practical functions.

Pompoms are believed to date back to the Viking times (8th - 9th century AD). This is when a statue of a Nordic god, Freyr was made. It was found in 1904 in Sweden. As you can guess, his helmet has got a pompom at its top!

It is also the spiritual leaders or the military officials who wore pompom-decorated hats. However, in 17th and 18th century pompoms had a very practical applications. They were attached to the caps of French sailors who complained about banging their heads against very low ceilings in their ships. This fluffy piece was supposed to protect their heads against the impact so that the sailors wouldn't have to bother about bumps.

Soon pompoms caught on and began to decorate a variety of hats, caps and clothes. They were particularly trendy during the Great Recession in 1930's – cheaply and easily they let tailors decorate any kind of clothing.