The \u0160ibenik cap is the most widely known version of the traditional Croatian headgear. <\/b><\/p>\n
Today, it is usually orange, with two rows of black embroidered detail, while earlier versions of the cap were red with one row of embroidered black circles, and not two rows as we see today. Historically, the red cap is associated with the Iapod headwear, though these were only worn by the women. One of the heads in the frieze of the \u0160ibenik cathedral wears a similar cap, created in the period prior to the Juraj Dalmatinac phase of construction in about 1440, while Father Krsto Sto\u0161i\u0107 found records of this cap in the documents from 1500.<\/p>\n
The \u0160ibenik red and orange caps owe their fame to a series of socio-political circumstances. In the 1880s, a power struggle was ongoing in \u0160ibenik and the rest of Dalmatia between the narodnjaci (folk, with the folk cap as a symbol) and the autonoma\u0161i (independents, with the gentleman\u2019s hat as a symbol). In the 1920s, this folk cap became a symbol of Slavism during the period when Italy annexed Zadar. Its popularity was further promoted by the activities of the company called Industrija narodnog veziva (Folk embroidery industry), established by the Matavulj family in \u0160ibenik in 1880. This company produced these folk hats, parts of the folk costume, traditional cakes and liqueurs.<\/p>\n
In the late 19th and early 20th century, the production of the cap was made simpler thanks to the sewing machine, and it soon became taller and more similar to the Drni\u0161 cap, which was larger than the \u0160ibenik cap, with a flat top and different details in the embroidery. A similar cap was also worn in Knin until the mid-19th century. In that sense, today\u2019s \u0160ibenik cap lies somewhere between the original \u0160ibenik and Drni\u0161 caps.<\/p>\n