The fez Turkish: fes, plural fezzes or fezes), or Tarboosh طربوش, not to be confused with North African Checheya, is a red felt hat in the shape of a truncated cone. The fez cap is of Morocco origin, yet for the first time it appeared in Ottoman Empire, and was worn by the army members, but quickly adopted by Turks and was worn by many different religious and ethnic groups in the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. Its use has subsequently become less widespread.

A version of the fez was used as an arming cap for the 1400-1700s version of the mail armour head protector (a round metal plate or skull-cap, around which hung a curtain of mail to protect the neck and upper shoulder. The fez, presumably padded, raised up the metal plate an inch or two to provide effective protection from heavy blows. The fez could be optionally wrapped with a turban.

The red fez with blue tassel was the standard headdress of the Turkish Army from the 1840s until the introduction of a khaki service dress and peakless sun helmet in 1910. The only significant exceptions were cavalry and some artillery units who wore a lambskin hat with coloured cloth tops. Albanian levies wore a white version of the fez.

During World War I the fez was still worn by some naval reserve units and occasionally by soldiers when off duty.

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