Blue Bonnet

Blue Bonnet

The Blue Bonnet is a soft woollen hat that for several hundred years was the customary working wear of Scottish farmers and labourers. Although a particularly broad and flat form also known as a Scone Cap was associated with the Scottish Lowlands, the bonnet was also worn in parts of Northern England and became widely adopted in the Highlands.

In later years it came to be associated with Highland dress, and in the 19th century gave rise to other types of largely military headgear such as the more elaborate Balmoral bonnet, the Tam o’ Shanter, and, with the addition of a wire cage, the military Feather Bonnet.

Other names for Blue Bonnet

  • Scone Cap

Famous wearers of the Blue Bonnet

  • Bonnie Prince Charlie
  • Lord George Murray
  • Jacobites