Inspired by another thread - if you are white British/Irish, did your Mum routinely wear a headscarf when you were small, and when did she stop?

[astoundedgoat]

Looking back at baby photos of me from the 70's (rural Ireland), I realise that my Mum (Catholic, born in the 1930's) nearly always wore a headscarf when she was out of the house during the day.

Being the 1970's, the scarves were often brown/orange/mustard and of course nylon, and she must have abandoned them by the time I was 3 or 4 because they were in my dressing-up collection by then. She had a small black lace mantilla and I think I remember that she sometimes wore it to Mass, probably around the time she ditched the headscarf for daily wear but was wondering how to cover her head in church, but it disappeared (into my dressing-up box too!) pretty soon.

Sometimes they were tied behind her head (summer?) and sometimes under her chin, like the Queen (winter?).

My Nanna (Dublin/Protestant/working class, born in 1910) never ever left the house without wearing a hat (usually a knitted one, with a smart one for occasions/funerals etc.).

Was this just Ireland? Common in the UK too?

Yes mum wore this in the 70s, always under the chin like the queen. In the UK.

My grandma always wore a headscarf when she went out, and she always had a perm.

My mum was born 1950s and she would be horrified at the thought of either of those!

Yes my Mum wore a scarf through the 60s and 70s. Under her chin like the queen.

My mum didn't but many of my older relatives did. Squares of material folded into triangles and tied round the front. Bit like in this photo

My Irish Catholic Nanny always wore a rain hood which you never see anymore but I never remember her wearing a material one but I was born mid 80s and she'd lived in London a long time by then.

No. I am white British and was born in the early 70s. Neither my mother nor any white British women I knew wore a headscarf.

Yes! I was just talking about this with my sister the other day. Our mum always wore a headscarf tied under her chin when leaving the house. This was sixties/seventies in Ireland.

Yes frequently - to cover her ears I guess - and also her curlers sometimes - folded into a big triangle and over head like queen e 2

Yes in the 70’s, and probably early 80’s. I guess they walked places more - no need to keep your head warm in a car!

In the 70s my mum wore a headscarf in England and we were nt Catholic. Queen used to didn't she?

My mum didn't, but lots of (mainly older) women did when I was young (born mid 70s). Some also wore those plastic see through rain hoods.
I remember a class mate's mum when I was at primary school used to wear a headscarf over curlers.

I’m sure I have a photo of my granny (born in the 1930’s) in the 70’s wearing a headscarf. Can’t quite remember how it’s tied, I’d have to look it out. I don’t think I have any photos of my mum wearing a headscarf though, she was born in the 50’s, again would need to check.

(UK) I remember even in the 1990s, ladies age 75+ wore nylon headscarves. You could even get plastic ones for the rain. So i assume they wore them when they were younger too. Like the older ladies on corrie.

Yes my mum wore one when I was at primary school late 70s in South London.

My mum was born during the second world war but has always been quite old fashioned in her dress. I remember her wearing a headscarf (particularly on windy days) up until the mid 1980's just like her mum did. She is from Hampshire.

Tied respectably under the chin, not the more bohemian way

My nan did she was born in 1917. As soon as she went out her scarf went on but later on she did not wear so often

Yes, my mum wore a silk headscarf sometimes in the 70s. It was considered quite stylish! See Grace Kelly and Princess Anne for references.

My late mother used a scarf, born in 1925. She wasn’t very religious, C of E. I think it just the way until about the late’70’s. A lot of women, my aunts and their friends, used a scarf over their hair to stop the wind etc to ruin the style. Some used a scarf when they had curlers in their hair.

My grandma (born 1909) wore a headscarf regularly, my mother (born 1934) wore a headscarf occasionally. Our late Queen Elizabeth II (born 1926) wore a headscarf regularly. My mother and grandma didn't wear crowns or tiaras, though I'm sure they would have if they'd had the opportunity. What was the question? I didn't wear a scarf (born 1957) of the square/fold to a triangle kind, but I did and do wear long scarves daily. Hats were correct for formal occasions until the early seventies - my first formal grown up coat had a hat to wear with it.

My grandma was born in 1914 and always wore one when she went out.

Yes in the 1970s

UK here too. My mum wore a headscarf when we went out, mostly through the 70s. I think she stopped wearing them in the 80s.
She set her hair every night in rollers, so I'm assuming she wore the headscarf, again, tied under her chin, to preserve her hair.
My grandma wore one occasionally too, where as my mums mother preferred horrific hats (typical Hyacinth Bucket!!!)