Bicorne

Napoléon Bonaparte in his trademark bicorne hat

An 1803 caricature uses an oversize bicorne to mock Napoleon's stature

The Bicorne hat is an archaic form of headgear associated with the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Much worn by European and American military and naval officers, it is most associated with Napoléon Bonaparte.

Evolved from the tricorne, the black-coloured bicorne originally had a rather broad brim, with the front and the rear halves turned up and pinned together, forming a semi-circular shape; there was usually a cockade in the national colours at the front. Later the hat became more triangular in shape, its two ends became more pointed, and was worn with the cockade at the right side; this kind of bicorne eventually became known as the cocked hat.

Some forms of bicorne were designed to be folded flat, so that they could be conveniently tucked under the arm when not being worn.

Current usages

The Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom wears a tricorne hat, but the other Lords Commissioners wear bicorne hats.

Members of the Académie française wear the habit vert (green habit) at the Académie's ceremonies. The habit includes a black jacket and bicorne hat, each embroidered in green.

Students at the Ecole Polytechnique wear a bicorne as part of their Grand Uniforme (GU). Female students used to wear a tricorne hat but now also wear a bicorne.

The uniform of the horsemen of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna includes a bicorne.

See also

* List of hats and headgear
* Tricorne
* Cocked hat
* 1813 cartoon showing men with collapsible bicornes tucked under their arms