the.com/balaclava
Named for a battlefield, beloved by bank robbers, snowboarders, and shy people who hate their own faces.
means A close-fitting knitted garment that covers the head and neck, leaving only the face — or sometimes just the eyes — exposed.
from Named after the Battle of Balaclava (1854) in the Crimean War, where British troops, freezing in the Crimean winter, were said to have worn such knitted headgear sent from home. The town's name itself comes from Crimean Tatar, often traced to roots meaning 'fish nest' or 'fish weather.' The garment name only attached itself to the head-covering later — soldiers fought there, but the word 'balaclava' for the woolen mask wasn't widely used until decades after the battle.
- Origin
- Knit for soldiers freezing at Crimea's Battle of Balaclava, 1854
- Dessert twin
- Constantly confused with baklava, which is far flakier
- Fashion pivot
- Luxury runways now sell them for hundreds
- Three holes
- Classic design exposes only eyes and mouth
- Modern uses
- Adopted by skiers, cyclists, and protest movements alike
battle of balaclava — crimean war battle in 1854 where the light brigade made their famous charge