The Origin and Evolution of the Kepi in Military Dress

Abstract

A kepi is a light military cap with a peak of leather or cloth and a chinstrap of leather or cord. The kepi originated during Algerian war in the nineteenth century but was then was named a casquette or bonnet de la police à visière. The casquette (képi) was modelled on, and developed from, a fifteenth-century bonnet with a peak and the cap called a montera or boukinkan worn during the reign of Louis XIII . In the nineteenth century, the peaked cap became pervasive as military headgear in many different forms. In the twentieth century, it has assumed many forms and uses beyond the military in a wide range of sports, professional and other civil uniforms.