A toque or a beanie? you decide

Okay, so my first night here in New York City consisted of a late night dinner at a rather subpar, but comfortable 24 hour diner. I was joined by a few friends and at some point the topic of conversation consisted of what is the proper name for a wool style hat, worn for both style purposes, as well as the more practical use of keeping ones head warm.
Naturally, I being a Canadian have always called it a toque, but have no idea where the name comes from, or why we as Canadians are the only people to call it a toque. It seems to me that the term beanie is more commonly used throughout the world when referring to the warm woolen stylish and practical head piece.

So i left my rather bland tasting dinner and decided that i would do a little bit of research, for you my followers, to state the facts and leave you to decide on your own......toque? or beanie?

1. A toque (pronounced /ˈtoʊk/) is a type of hat with a narrow brim or no brim at all. They were popular from the 13th to the 16th century in Europe, especially France. Now, it is primarily known as the traditional headgear for professional cooks.

2. Toque blanche (French for "white hat"), often shortened to toque, is a tall, round, pleated, starched white hat worn by chefs. The many folds on a toque blanche are believed to signify the many ways that an egg can be cooked




1. The ultimate in high Canadian fashion. worn year round whether it's cold or warm outside. and yes it does get warm in Canada!

2. The proper name for a warm winter hat, traditionally knitted but now available in numerous materials





1.The beanie is the name for two distinct types of hat or cap...the woven variety and the knit variety. Sometimes with a visor or without. The name most likely comes from the early 20th century slang term "bean" meaning head.

2 The beanie historically was a working hat associated with blue collar laborers, welders, mechanics, and other tradesmen who needed to keep their hair back but for whom a brim would be an unnecessary obstruction




So through my research, which mainly consisted of Wikipedia, just in case you were worried i put a lot of time into this discussion....ha...i discovered a few other interesting points to leave you with...

1. The baseball hat came out of the beanie with the advent of a brim to shade the sun

2 The word beanie is most commonly used in New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom, with us Canadians using togue as our main term.

3. Other names used for this mysterious multi named head piece are skull cap, skully, ski cap, etc.

I leave you to form your own opinion and call it what you will. In my mind the beanie is a little more stylish and a cooler term to use.
However growing up Canadian it will always be a toque to me....



I promise future posts will not be so thought provoking ....