Caps

Until the 1970s, nurses were instantly recognizable by their caps. Each school and hospital had its own cap design and method for indicating the level of training. The Canadian Nursing History Collection includes 267 nurses' caps, most of which belong to the Gloria (Barwell) Kay Nurses' Caps Collection.

Nurses' caps were a very visible and symbolic part of their uniform. Originally designed, like maids' work caps, to modestly cover the hair, nurses' caps became highly stylized: they were starched, pleated and raised to perch precariously on the back of the head. For more on nurses' caps, see Symbol of a Profession.