To some regret, only echoes of the former glory of the legendary fawn cap reached the modern man. Now it’s quite problematic to even find the most complete information about the origin and history of this headgear. So what is a fawn hat, who wore it when, is there any modern analogues of this product?
Fawn hat. Story
Of course, in order to learn a thing better, you need to look into history. It is there that you can find out the most unexpected and interesting, but for some reason unknown facts.
So, fawn caps. What are they made of and why are they called that? By definition, “fawn” is the fur of a young, monthly or six-month-old reindeer calf. Their color is mainly light or dark brown.
According to some historical data, fawn hats were worn exclusively by St. Petersburg students who studied at the Fontanka at the Imperial School of Law. These hats complemented the green student uniforms and made their wearers look like siskins. Therefore, the children who wore a similar uniform were called by the people "Siskin-Fawn." From here, by the way, are the roots of the song about the Siskin-fawn known to every child.
Fawn cap in the USSR
Fawn cap received its “second youth” during Brezhnev’s time. In the 60-80s, it became an unchanging symbol of the party elite. Then it was almost impossible to get this headgear in the trading network even with a decent “blat”. Therefore, a fawn cap was an unattainable dream of a simple Soviet hard worker. A certain Konstantin Voinov even shot a significant film “The Cap” in his time, which tells how an ordinary writer died of a stroke when he found out that instead of a fawn cap he would get the most ordinary and cheap.
The days when the fawn cap went down in history came with the advent of Gorbachev. It was then that she was replaced by the famous hats, pies with small lapels.
Some interesting facts about fawn caps
Such hats, like many other things, were practically unattainable and the most desirable thing for any resident of the USSR. They were taken out with great difficulty, they were looked after, they were shamelessly faked. Therefore, such a hat was the subject of discussion, jokes and gossip.
It is known that the fawn cap was one of the many symbols of the Brezhnev era. It was worn mainly by the highest ranks. And sometimes there were whole party districts where these hats were worn everywhere. For example, in Minsk - Troops and Armor Lanes, Pulikhova Street.
In 1956, at the 12th World Olympiad, athletes of the USSR were dressed in expensive fawn hats. So the governors in the Central Committee wished after watching the previous - Swiss - competitions, in which ours looked rather poor. And the fawn cap (photos of athletes in this headdress circled almost the whole world) became even more popular.
Why are fawns in the USSR and rabbits marching?
The choice of fawn hats and their purpose exclusively for senior management gave rise to an interesting playful defining expression: "Why do rabbits go in the USSR and fawn stand?"
This joke riddle was jokingly asked during the times of the USSR and perestroika. The answer to it is quite simple. In Brezhnev’s days, the entire party elite flaunted such caps, including the general secretary. As a rule, in numerous Soviet parades, they stood against the background of the famous Kremlin and watched the unfolding action from above. At this very time, below, in cheap and widespread rabbit hats, military men and ordinary citizens of a great country marched. Therefore, this interesting mystery appeared, characterizing the situation of people at that difficult, but very entertaining time.
The famous fawn hats. What are they made of?
As mentioned a little earlier, a fawn is a baby reindeer. Its fur is soft and thick down. It is also resilient and shiny, which is especially important for cutting. These skins are much larger than other materials from which caps are usually sewn. The width of the material is 30-40 cm, and its length reaches 50-60 cm.
A hat can be sewn from one or more skins. It depends on this exactly which way is best used in a particular case. The basic rule is that all details should be located along the ridge of the selected skin when cutting. Some people ask the question: "What are the fawn hats made of if there is one whole skin?" In this case, the visor is cut out from the spinal part, the earphones and headpiece are cut from the cervical part and the remnants of the spinal part, and the other parts of the face are cut out from the other parts.
If two skins are used, then the direction of fur growth should be considered. At the same time, front parts are machined from better material, while the rest goes to the front side.
Work depends only on the size of the available fawn. If desired, you can find step-by-step instructions with detailed and illustrated descriptions.