Searching for winter headwear in the Galaxy

Hats of any type are comparatively rare in most Star Wars sources (especially when it comes to main characters), and hats for cold-weather scenarios are doubly rare. Since the main films only depict one cold-weather setting (Hoth in Episode V), we have an extremely limited pool from which to draw inspiration for cold-weather gear. As a result, most depictions tend to use variations on the Episode V ensembles, such as an obscure ‘cold weather gear’ Obi-Wan action figure based on Han Solo’s parka, or the Jedi Academy PC game, which outfits Jaden Korr for his mission to Hoth in the uniform of an Echo Base technician.

However, having proper GFFA cold-weather items is necessary if, like me, you don’t want to be limited to three-season excursions.
On New Year’s Eve some friends and I took an afternoon dayhike to explore some local bouldering formations.
The temperature was hovering riiiiight around freezing when we headed out, but as sunset neared it had dipped into the mid teens (°F). The knit purple Underarmour beanie I’ve been wearing for years was comfortable, but with the wind blowing on top of Courthouse Rock, it wasn’t enough, and I swapped it for my three-layer, medieval-type hood. The hood is incredibly warm and provides excellent coverage, but it is very restrictive of my peripheral vision, which I needed as I was scrambling up a crevice to the top of the Rock.
Additionally, I recognized that even with my frame pack and layered-for-winter Jedi clothes, neither purple beanies nor medieval wool hoods fit the GFFA aesthetic at all. I realized that, ideally, I needed something that was insulated, provided some measure of sun/snow glare protection, and maybe cover my cheeks/ears without restricting my vision…AND fit into the generic GFFA aesthetic.
Since I didn’t want to settle for a Hoth trooper’s quilted soft ‘helmet’, I was going to have to do some digging.
Thankfully, my recent Artifact ID article on the Donovian ‘rainmen’ had revealed one possible option: hanging on one of the rainmen’s belts appears to be a faded green Swedish military winter cap.

This shows me that the general style (cap with ear flaps and visor/bill/brim) is known in common contexts as early as c. 22 BBY, making it appropriate for use with my AgriCorps Jedi impression.

While I browsed examples of European milsurp winter caps online, something in the back of my mind kept saying, ‘this looks familiar…I’ve seen this before!’ But where??

Like I normally do when my brain is fried and I can’t remember things, I took a shower and slept on it. When I woke up the next day, I had it! I remembered seeing another hat with a visor and ear flaps in The Illustrated Star Wars Universe. (If you haven’t read this book before, I highly recommend it; despite Kevin J Anderson’s quintessential-mid-‘90s-Star Wars writing, it’s still a solid collection of in-universe documents paired with Ralph McQuarrie artwork.)
In this case, the individual in question is one Pfilbee Jhorn, of the Imperial Survey Corps; his was the crew first responsible for scouting the forest moon of Endor prior to construction of the Death Star II.

This gave me evidence for the same basic style surviving into the Imperial/Galactic Civil War era, and the general similarity to the Swedish military cap meant I could probably get away with using one as a base! (Project writeup to follow next week!)

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