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?

I've seen photos of my mum wearing headscarves from when I was little. And I remember both of my grandmothers wearing them. I think they were to protect hair - important when your hair was washed and set only once a week. One of my grandmothers would have wanted to cover her head in church too.

Hi@astoundedgoat yes my Mum used to wear a headscarf late 60s/early 70s England. Also a plastic fold up rain bonnet in the rain!

Yes, through the 70s my mum always wore a headscarf in the winter, tied under the chin, it was pretty common. She had a weekly shampoo and set, so a silk scarf protected that and she didn't get hat hair.

My mum did. Early 1980s Ireland. She'd have been in her early 30s and very fashion conscious. I'd say it was to stop perms frizzing

Yes, my mum born very late 50's did and still does. Often as a scarf but pulled up when desired for warmth
If you spend a lot of time outdoors they don't blow off like hats do.

No she never wore one

Yes to the plastic rain hood too! I'd forgotten about that.

My mum never wore a headscarf in her life but when we went to mass in the late seventies and eighties most of the older women wore them (Dublin). Also they wore them for shopping and walking their jack russell with a little tartan coat on.

At least they had a way to actually use their scarves. I see women now with a fancy headscarf "casually" tied onto their expensive handbag, and I makes me smile thinking of the mass ladies rolling their eyes.

Yes, absolutely. My Mum born in 1922. I'm afraid they were for practical reasons though, to keep warm in Scotland. Most had some wool content and were muted shades.Rarely either parent bare headed. Very rare.
The wicker basket, the scarf, the tweed coat. A uniform.

I wore a headscarf in that way when I was about 12/13. mid 70s (Eta: actually may have been 14/15 so late 70s). Red paisley. It was definitely fashionable for a short while.

My mum wore a headscarf in the more traditional way in the 60s, but had stopped by the 70s.

Born early 80s. England. I don't think my mum ever wore a headscarf. And i. Funny recall any pictures of her mum wearing one in the 60s/70s either.

My mum wore a headscarf almost each time she went out during the day, tied with a knot under the chin. Paisley patterned, or similar. I remember trailing behind her as she pushed her shopping trolley to the greengrocer. The spuds, covered with mud, would be tipped straight into the bottom of the trolley, followed by unwrapped carrots, tomatoes and mushrooms in brown paper bags at the top. In the evening she would glam up and either wear a proper hat or go bareheaded. This would be around 1970. England, home counties.
Funny how things come back!

My mum was born in the 1930s and I never remember her wearing one. My granny used to wear one of those plastic rainhoods.

Mum did always wear a hat to church when I was small though.

My mum (born in 1938) definitely owned some because they ended up in my dressing up box. I have no clear memory of her wearing one but it can be seen in some photos taken in the 1960s

My nan did in the 70's but mu mum (born in the 50's) never did.

Mum born 1930, Working class town uk. Headscarf’s worn in the sixties never after. Some went out with rollers in, but Mum thought it common. Think things changed when styling stuff like heated rollers came in. Before that a lot had a weekly shampoo and set at the salon and nothing in the week. My m in law was born 1920 and she carried on the headscarf into the late 70 s, many older women did. Mum now in her nineties and has never worn trousers of any kind.

My mum (anglo Irish, born 40s) did occasionally, more in homage to Joan Baez/hippies than the Queen. My nan (White British, born 1910s) wouldn't leave the house without one.

What about the Queen? Often seen with a headscarf - even on a horse.

My granny wore a headscarf when I was little in the early 80s. Rural Scotland. She was born in 1922.

Audrey Hepburn rocked a scarf.

My gran did! And just the other day an elderly lady was walking down the road doing exactly the same. It was a blast from the past and I’m worried that DH and I smiled a little too much as it brought back so many memories! She must have thought we were so weird.

We are in Cornwall. Gran wasn’t catholic

But it is windy / wet here so maybe it’s to protect a perm?

White British protestant born in the 1950s. My mother and grandmother wore a headscarf during the 60s and into the 70s. A square folded into a triangle. Not so much when heated rollers and curling tongs came in.
My generation never did. we were hippies and punks

I was looking at some photos my Dad took from where I grew up in the late 70s and early 80s, and all the women over approx 35 were wearing headscarves. I think it was weather rather than religious, but it was a religious bit of the country so maybe not.

It looked so old though. I felt like I had been alive in ancient history.

My Mum was born in 1929. I don't remember her wearing a headscarf ever.

My granny did. I don't think it was anything to do with religion though. She would get her hair set every week at the hairdressers and she didn't want the wind and rain messing it up. She used to wear those clear plastic covers that tied under the chin too.