Bandannas, the familiar squares typically of red or blue cotton usually with spotted or floral patterns, are thought of as distinctively American. For more than a century they have stood for the all-American values of hard work, rugged independence, and egalitarianism. In recent years they have become part of the fashion for work clothes, worn by laborers and celebrities alike. Bandannas have even been enlisted to signal gang membership, drug deals, and sexual orientation. Underlying ...