Project Cubbins: Hat 204 - Adam of Arabia Edition

Day 204 / Hat 204: White cotton keffiyeh held in place with a with blue- and gold-colored agal. Perhaps the oldest piece of headgear in my possession, my friend Eve brought it back for me as a memento of her trip to Israel and Egypt in the summer of 1985 after spending a year studying abroad in France (we'd met during my freshman year at UVM).

I've had this special piece of headgear ready for the Project since wearing it on Halloween, and when I heard that Peter O'Toole had passed away on Saturday, I knew it would be an appropriate homage to the"Lawrence of Arabia" star, who could rock the keffiyeh like no other actor before or since.

Peter O'Toole in "Lawrence of Arabia."

To tell you the truth, I wasn't actually sure until I started poking around the interwebs  this morning that it was a keffiyeh --  I'd always associated that term with Arafat's distinctively patterned signature number -- but according to the Wikipedia entry for the headdress:

"British Colonel T. E. Lawrence (better known as Lawrence of Arabia) was probably the best-known Western wearer of the keffiyeh. He wore a plain white one with agal during his involvement in the Arab Revolt in World War I." 

A little trivia for you: it apparently takes its name from the city of Kufa (currently in modern-day Iraq near Najaf) and alternative names for it (the headdress, not the city) include ghutrah and shemagh.

While today's hat tip goes to my dear friend Eve for the memento from many moons ago, we feel it necessary to momentarily doff our keffiyeh in the memory of the later, great Peter O'Toole.




Related:
PC 203: Tree Squirrels
PC 202: Teeny Tiny Elf Cap
PC 201: Fish-Morphic Millinery

OK, nice hat -- but what exactly is Project Cubbins, anyway?

A: One man's homage to Dr. Seuss and his second book, "The 500 Hats of Bartholemew Cubbins," which is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its publication in 2013, Project Cubbins is an attempt to document the wearing of a different hat or piece of headgear every day for 500 consecutive days. No do-aheads, no banking of hats, no retroactive entries. PC started on May 27, 2013 with Hat 1. 

Got hats? If you loan 'em, you'll get e'm back safe and sound!