Gabled 'Diamond' headdress frame

Excavations in London have produced a number of brass wire headdress frames, of the kind concealed under fabric and worn by all but the poorest women. Those with a diamond or angular profile (gable headdresses) were especially fashionable in the late 1400s and early 1500s. The curved frame or 'French hood' seems to have been worn concurrently with the gable types throughout the 1520s and 30s, but features more prominently in portraits from the fourth decade, gradually superseding the angular form and remaining popular until well into the 1560s.