Religious habits say a lot about the people who wear them. The quality of the materials, degree of embellishment, use of iconography and the colours all reflect a certain standing or hierarchy within a given faith. A friar’s robe has always been a humble garment, designed to be both understated and functional. The habit worn by the Catholic Church’s order of Capuchin Friars is no exception. The origin of the robe goes back to the 1500s when certain members, in an effort to adopt a more primitive lifestyle, broke away from the Franciscan order. The common brown fabric used to make their robes was donated by local residents and served to disguise the mess left from a Friar’s time sleeping on dirt floors. The Capuchin Friars soon became instantly recognizable by their vestments with long pointed hoods, called capuches, which fell down the length of their backs.
That characteristic brown hood has had an impact beyond the monastic brotherhood. It was the inspiration for the naming of capuchin monkeys who appear to be wearing a brownish cap. And somewhere along the line, someone found an espresso’s appearance to also be reminiscent of a Friar’s garb. That is why the beverage is called “cappuccino.” It seems ironic that the robe worn by a fraternity of down-to-earth Italian devotees should influence the name of an expensive, upscale coffee house brew.