A tuque (Canadian English: /tuːk/) – variously known as a knit hat or stocking cap among other names – is a knitted cap, originally of wool though now often of synthetic fibers, that is designed to provide warmth in winter. Most tuques are tapered; they sometimes have ear flaps, and may be topped with a pom-pom (this style of tuque is sometimes referred to as a bobble hat, boggan or sherpa). Tuques may have a folded brim, or none, and may be worn tightly fitting the head or loose on top although the latter is considered more standard.
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The precursor to the modern tuque was a small, round, close-fitting hat, brimless or with a small brim. In the 12th and 13th centuries, women wore embroidered toques, made of velvet, satin, or taffeta, on top of their head-veils. In the late 16th century, brimless, black velvet toques were popular with men and women. Throughout the 19th century, women wore toques, often small, trimmed with fur, lace, bows, flowers, or leaves.[1]
The word is etymologically related to the name of the chef's toque, an alternate spelling. Also occasionally spelled touque, although the latter is not considered a standard spelling by the Canadian Oxford Dictionary.[2][3]
In some sections of Canada a tuque with a brim on it, commonly worn by snowboarders, is nicknamed a bruque (a brimmed tuque).[4] The tuque is similar to the Phrygian cap and, as such, during the 1837 Patriotes Rebellion a red tuque became a symbol of French-Canadian nationalism. The symbol was revived briefly by the Front de libération du Québec in the 1960s.[5] It is considered outerwear and is not commonly worn indoors.
Tuques are common in cold climates, and are worn worldwide in various forms. They have become the common headgear for stereotypical dockworkers and sailors in movies and television. The most famous media characters to sport this kind of hat are the SCTV characters Bob and Doug McKenzie. Michael Nesmith of The Monkees also wore this hat in his television series, as did Jay in the films of the View Askewniverse, Robert Clothier's character "Relic" in the long-running Canadian TV series The Beachcombers, and Hanna-Barbera's character Loopy de Loop wore a tuque as well. Bill Murray wore this type of hat in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, possibly as a parody of the tuque worn by Jacques Cousteau. Robert Conrad also had worn one in his role of coureur des bois in the epic TV series Centennial. Bruce Weitz's character Mick Belker wore this hat throughout almost every episode of Hill Street Blues. The guitarist for the Irish band U2, The Edge, is also known for wearing a tuque while performing, or during interviews. Characters in animated series "South Park," including Eric Cartman, Stan Marsh and Kyle Broflovski, usually wear tuques. Jayne Cobb from the TV series Firefly wore an orange sherpa knitted and sent him by his mother in "The Message". Canadian Daniel Powter also wore a blue tuque during the music video for "Bad Day." Tuques are also worn commonly by hiphop artists. A town in Quebec is known as La Tuque, named after a nearby hill that resembles a tuque. Masao Inaba from Revelations: Persona wears one. The character Compo on the British TV show Last of the Summer Wine is almost always seen wearing a tuque.
One of the more notable wearers of the tuque was Jacques Plante, the famed Hall of Fame goalkeeper for the Montreal Canadiens throughout the 1950s. During the 2003 Heritage Classic game (which was played at temperatures below -15 degrees Celsius), another Canadiens goaltender, José Théodore, wore a tuque on top of his goalie mask.
A 1984 Quebecois film about an enormous snowball fight has the French title "La guerre des tuques" (The War of the Tuques).[6]
In other parts of the English-speaking world, this type of hat is more commonly referred to by other names: knit hat or knit cap, sock cap or stocking cap, watch cap, skull cap or skully, snow hat, snow cap, ski cap, tossle cap, woolly hat, chook or beanie. In Australia, New Zealand, United States, Ireland and the UK, the term beanie refers almost exclusively to the knitted hat. Conversely, In Canada the word beanie is used to denote a more rigid cap that is not knitted but rather made up of joined panels of felt, twill or other tightly woven cloth. In the United States South and Midwest, especially southern Appalachia, it is often called a "toboggan".