Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
A kerchief, from the French couvre-chef, cover the head, is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the head or around the neck for protective or decorative purposes. A handkerchief primarily refers to a napkin made of cloth, used to maintain personal hygiene. A bandanna or bandana, from the Hindi bandhana, to tie, is a type of large, usually colorful, kerchief, usually worn on the head, and bandannas are frequently printed in a paisley pattern. This page explains the kerchief family — kerchief, handkerchief, bandanna and neckerchief — and their protective and decorative uses, from head coverings to dust protection at work.
Certain
colors of
kerchiefs
are associated
with gangs
making it
potentially
dangerous
to wear
different
types of
them in
certain
areas. For
example,
in Los Angeles,
California,
a red kerchief
is associated
with Bloods
and a blue
one is associated
with Crips
or Sure
os. In certain
cities such
as Richmond,
Virginia,
non-violent
bicycle
clubs such
as The Loners
may wear
black and
white bandannas
to show
their association.
Bandannas are also worn around the neck by cowboys, pirates, farmers, bakers, and railroad engineers to wipe the sweat off their faces, and keep dust out of their collars. Worn over the mouth and nose, bandannas are used to lessen inhalation of dust and fumes.
What is the difference between a handkerchief and a bandana?
| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/bandana) Definition Modified by Apparel Search 2/26/07 |
The kerchief family is a set of names for almost the same object — a square of cloth — separated by how the square is used. Folded and tied on the head it is a kerchief in the word's original sense, cover-the-head, worn for protection from sun and dust or as decoration. Carried in the pocket as a small cloth napkin for personal hygiene it is a handkerchief, the use that became the word's primary meaning. Enlarged, coloured and printed, usually in paisley, and tied on the head or neck, it is a bandanna. Worn specifically around the neck it is a neckerchief. The cloth changes little across the family — cotton squares of increasing size — while the names track the wearing, which is why the same bandanna can be headgear on one wearer, a sweat cloth around a worker's neck on another, and a dust mask over the mouth and nose on a third.
Because a kerchief is visible and comes in colours, it has also served as a sign. Colours of kerchiefs are associated with groups and affiliations — in working dress the bandanna became a symbol of working-class identity, and in some cities particular colours carry gang associations that wearers need to be aware of, as the definitions on this page record for Los Angeles and elsewhere, while clubs and other non-violent groups wear their own bandanna colours to show association. The related head coverings in this section, the veil and the do-rag, are the kerchief's shaped and specialised descendants: garments that began as a tied square and became fixed forms of their own.
A kerchief, from the French couvre-chef, cover the head, is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the head or around the neck for protective or decorative purposes.
A bandanna or bandana, from the Hindi bandhana, to tie, is a type of large, usually colorful, kerchief, usually worn on the head. Bandannas are frequently printed in a paisley pattern.
Bandannas are worn around the neck by cowboys, pirates, farmers, bakers, and railroad engineers to wipe the sweat off their faces, and keep dust out of their collars. Worn over the mouth and nose, bandannas are used to lessen inhalation of dust and fumes.