Description
We have not yet decided the date for the next pre-order batch.
Reproduction of a Swedish Skidmössa.
This hat called Skidmössa, literally Ski Hat, were an item issued to the Svenska Frivilligkåren during the Winter War. Svenska Frivilligkåren was a unit compromised of roughly 9000 Swedish and Norwegian volunteers that functioned under the Finnish military command. They were mainly uniformed by the Swedish and Norwegian militaries, which means that they had their own uniforms different from the Finnish armed forces.
As far as we know, this hat was only ever issued to these volunteer troops. The hat itself is made out of Swedish Kommisskläde m/39 -wool, a slightly greenish grey wool used in the Swedish military uniforms. The shape of the hat is essentially a civilian ski hat of the period but made in a colour fitting for the military. There is no button closure for the side flaps unlike many other period field hats. Instead, there’s a shoestring used to tie it in the front as a leftover from the civilian heritage of the hat. These hats typically had a Finnish enamel or steel blue-white national cockade as well as a grey coat-of-arms button for enlisted men and NCO’s or a red-gold officer cockade for the officers. The liner is a straight forward brownish cotton liner with wadding stitched in it for insulation. Large brim in the front, a useful feature in bright, snowy environment.
The hat is probably one of the only field hats that could realistically be used during the winter, mainly thanks to the liner. It is warm and comfy and large enough to actually cover the head. The side flaps can be used to cover the neck and they are commonly seen in period photos with small ear muffs. There is a separate earwarmer head piece for it that we also offer as a reproduction, but there are no known photos of them having been used during the war that we have found.
Most of the original hats have a black shoestring with brown and white spots on them. We are unable to find anything similar, so we’ve opted for a full black shoestring which can be seen in some of the surviving examples of the hat.
NOTE! Does not come with cockades!
Made to order, so sometimes it may take a few weeks for these to be finished.
