The blue bonnet was a type of soft woollen hat that for several hundred years was the customary working wear of Scottish labourers and farmers. Although a particularly broad and flat form was associated with the Scottish Lowlands, where it was sometimes called the scone cap,[1] the bonnet was also worn in parts of Northern England and became widely adopted in the Highlands.
In later years it came to be associated with Highland dress, and in the 19th century gave rise to other headgear such as the more elaborate Balmoral bonnet, the tam o' shanter, and (with the addition of a wire cage) the military feather bonnet.
- ^ Jameson, An etymologic dictionary of the Scottish language, v2, p.352