The caul is a big hair net or round piece of material gathered to a band or ribbon with pearls and embroidery which was attached to the back of the head and secured with buns and/or plaits and pins.
The french hood is a stiff rounded hat like headpiece with a veil attached at the back. They can be simple or plain or very elaborate decorated with pearls, ribbon or netting. Head accessories were used as a big part of the whole outfit and outfits would often match them.
The attifet is similar to the french hood however instead of being rounded it is heart shaped and has a point in the middle that comes down onto the forehead. It accentuates the heart shaped hairstyle worn by a lot of wealthy and important women during The Golden Age, including Queen Elizabeth I herself.
The pillbox hat is a small round structured hat with a flat top and straight up sides worn on the crown/towards the back of the head which was heavily decorated with pearls, jewels and embroidery. It could also be worn with a veil-like piece of material attached to the back.
The coif is a close fitting cap that conceals the hair made out of light fabric usually in white or a light colour or silk for the richer people. It was worn by the people of higher and also lower class. It was worn alone but also commonly under other headpieces like the french hood.
In all of the Elizabethan portraits I have noticed that everyone it seems wore a straight middle parting. No one had fringes during this era and it was fashionable to have a high hairline. Queen Elizabeth I used to shave her hairline as to have a larger forehead symbolised wisdom and intelligence. Below are some illustrations I found on Google of Elizabethan hair styles which show the high hairline, some of the hats and headpieces I spoke about in this post and some of the most recognisable Tudor hair styles that are seen in the paintings.
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