Schlupfkapp: The Traditional Headdress of Alsace, France

The schlupfkapp, or “the bow cap,” traditional headdress of Alsace, France. While originally a smaller bow worn in the hair, by 1830 to 1880, the schlupfkapp got bigger and bigger, to the large structures still seen today in folk dress. Due to the size of the bows, the headdresses are made from folded fabric to create a bow shape rather than the tied ribbons of its earlier incarnations.

Over in Alsace, another piece of headwear made fashion waves in times gone by: the coiffe alsacienne, or even more satisfying to say, the schlupfkapp. This almost comically oversized bow has its roots in Strasbourg, and like its Breton peer, didn’t start off quite so large.

The headdress began as a coif tied by a ribbon, originally just a few centimeters wide in the 19th century.  With advances in industry during this period, bigger and bigger ribbons were able to be produced. By the turn of the 20th century, the ribbons had reached 35cm wide and could no longer be tied in the traditional way, but folded instead.

How your schlupfkapp was worn depended on your religious affiliation. The knot was worn by women of both Catholic and Protestant faiths, married or otherwise. The Protestant style was more severe: a black bow whose lengths fell to the shoulders. Catholic women were allowed more freedom with their design, having their waist-length bows embroidered or jazzed-up with other fabrics woven in.