The smoking cap is also called a ‘smoker’s cap’ or a ‘lounging cap’. These were often embroidered and, by the end of the nineteenth century, further embellished with a long tassel. They were often made of velvet (the same material used for contemporary smoking jackets), in order to help reduce the smell of stale tobacco.
See also: embroidered undress caps; nightcaps
Source: ROTHSEIN, Natalie (ed., 1984), Four Hundred Years of Fashion, London: V&A Publications, p. 103.
V&A online catalogue (retrieved 16 March 2017).
GVE