Headgear

Headgear, headwear or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on one's head.

Headgears serve a variety of purposes:

Overview of headgear types

Bonnets

Bonnets, as worn by women and girls, were hats worn outdoors which were secured by tying under the chin, and often which had some kind of peak or visor. Some styles of bonnets had peaks so large that they effectively prevented women from looking right or left without turning their heads. Bonnets worn by men and boys are generally distinguished from hats by being soft and having no brim—this usage is now rare (they would normally be called caps today, except in Scotland where the "bunnet" is common in both civilian life and in the Royal Regiment of Scotland).

Headgear (band)

Headgear is the current musical project of the Dublin-born musician and producer Daragh Dukes and several other collaborators and fellow producers. Musically, it can perhaps best be described as a collage of electronica and rock.

Where This Good Life Goes, a 6 track mini-album, was released in October 2002 on Diamond Head Recordings.

The eponymous album, Headgear, featuring the singles Singin' in The Drain and Halibut, was released in 2004, on Dukes' own Marthadigs label, to critical acclaim. Irish music magazine Hot Press called it "a beguiling marriage of bedsit melancholia with laboratory electronica and quite the chamber-pop pocket symphony".

Irish comedian Pat Shortt plays saxophone on the Headgear track Singin' in The Drain. The Cranberries' drummer, Fergal Lawler, played live with Headgear in Dublin in 2003.

In recent times, the music of Headgear has seen increasing public exposure due to plays on the popular Mystery Train radio show on RTÉ Radio 1, including a live set, and appearances on The View on RTÉ television.

Headgear (martial arts)

Headgear is padded helmet worn during sparring in the martial arts.

Boxing

In June 2013 AIBA repealed mandatory headgear for amateur elite male boxers (19–40 years old)

Headgear is a padded helmet, worn on the head by contestants in Amateur and Olympic boxing. It effectively protects against cuts, scrapes, and swelling, but does not protect very well against concussions. It will not protect the brain from the jarring that occurs when the head is struck. Also, most boxers aim for the chin on opponents, and the chin is usually not protected by headgear.

There are different types of boxing headgear available. Some headgear is open-faced. This is the style normally used in amateur boxing competitions. Unlike open-faced headgear, training headgear covers the cheek. "Face-saver" headgear features a pad across the face so that no direct contact is made to the face. As the amount of padding in headgear is increased, visibility is reduced.

Wrestling

Wrestling headgear is designed to protect the ears from damage. It features either soft or hard plastic ear covers and straps around the chin and back of the head. It is commonly used in grappling sports such as amateur wrestling, submission wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.