Hats on Men and Caps on Pipes

[frozenchurchwarden]

I may invest in a Stetson Homburg to go with my suit, but I really don't think it would go well with a plaid shirt and denim everywhere else.

Maybe if I change my jacket, but when there's nothing but a dog and some heavy machinery to admire it I don't quite see the point.

Anything I wear needs to look good covered in grease, and in the coming months I'll be bundled up like the Michelin man anyway.
Flat caps, now flat caps I like (I'm 1/8 Scottish so I can call it a "bunnet" too).

They were originally mandated as the working man's hat (wearing one was made mandatory in 1571 to increase wool consumption), and are an inherent reminder of government meddling.

It serves the same purpose as a baseball cap, and effectively is the baseball cap of 443 years ago, except that neglecting to wear one came with a fine of three farthings (I'm guessing about $15 by today's standards, based on this list.

If it weren't for the wool stimulus shenanigans I have to wonder if people wouldn't have come to wear what we now know as the "ball cap" hundreds of years earlier. Which makes me doubt the inherent value of any of these other hats over a ball cap, other than that most ball caps are nearly disposable.

Which seems to be the point of the whole discussion. Not to look like trash. Now on to order some proper English made caps.

 

[oldreddog]

I love hats, from the cheap cotton cycling biretta that keeps the sun off on torturous assents of Pyrenean Cols to my very dapper trilby.
I'm fortunate to spend my holidays in the south of France and its great to see men of all ages wearing a Gascon Beret.

 

[tbradsim1]

. Proper Porch Pork Pie.

 

[voorhees]

Top Notch Bradley!

 

[lordofthepiperings]

I used to wear baseball hats all the time. Now I typically only wear fedoras, a trilby, or flat caps.
As far as the etiquette goes, I know it's ungentlemanly, but I never remove my hat going into a building. To me it seems better to keep the hat on than to punish people's eye sight with hat hair.

 

[eightywon]

I feel like the times, they are a-changed. I don't mean to offend, or to to come off as an ill-mannered Neanderthal, but I never leave the house without a ball cap- LA Dogers, or Philadelphia Eagles depending on the season, and it never comes of until I get back home, save for when the Star-Spangled Banner plays at ball games. Almost. I'm supposed to wear a suit to work, but they let me get by with rolled up sleeves and a tie, but won't let me wear my cap when I'm on the clock. If I'm going out to a fancy restaurant I'll usually leave the cap in the car but don't worry about 'hat hair' because I keep my head shaved pretty close. I don't live in a terribly cold area, but my cap does provide function, keeping the sun out of my eyes, and covering up my ever thinning hair- this is accomplished even when I wear my hat backwards. And as much of a fashion faux pas as some people may think a backwards hat is, I feel like fashion trends come and go, and do unfortunately think gone are the days of the common people wearing 'proper' hats. However, in these times, if my backwards hat's only function is to allow others to know I support a certain team, I feel like it's done its job, whether I share in some camaraderie with a stranger, or exchange a couple blows with the enemy (I live in Giants country).

On a side note, I have been wanting to add a nice flat cap to my collection. Thanks for the links, and encouraging more HAD. Damn enablers.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I'm curious... So, I take it that the guys who are worried about having hat head aren't married. Because of course, married guys wouldn't give a flip what other people think of them. Thus, women are always more attracted to married me, because of their confidence. ::cough cough::: So, do you think that girls are gathered at the bar making fun of guys with hat head? Or, is it your buddy's opinion of your hair that bothers you? Wait a minute, what is hat head? Maybe it's not what I think it is. And, does it hurt?
This of course is a young mans worry. I remember the fleeting concern that someone would think me crude with hat hair back in my teens, but of course a few years being married cures this, leaving you a confident man... with hat head. ::

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I'm trying to imagine John Wayne caring about hat head ::

naaaaah...

 

[conlejm]

I wonder if 200 years ago men were having this same conversation about Powdered Wigs, Canes, and Tricorne Hats going out of style, or still required attire of proper gentlemen.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I think it is something that you grow out of. I felt ok in poking fun at it, because I remember that feeling of embarrassment at things like this when I was a kid. And, it's ok to pick on them... because they are young and can sleep all night without having to get up to urinate, ha ha.

 

[warren]

Times change with the generations. Each new generation feels the need to bump up against the conventions of the older one. Wearing one's cap backwards indicates to me the desire to be ogled and identified with the generation that finds such behavior acceptable. It's a style statement and affectation shouting "I am a member of the generation that wears my hat backward. I am not a catcher on a baseball team who has lost his mask and is looking for the ball park."
Wearing ones hat backwards is not a "faux pas," it is a statement of the desire to belong, to be acknowledged as being a bit rebellious. Older people simply see it as a sign of immaturity or that the person wearing a cap in such a manner is most likely a welder who forgot to turn the hat back after taking off their face protection.
I never worry about hat hair when going into a fine dining establishment. I simply take my hat off, deposit it with the person in charge of the cloak room, go to the men's room and comb my raggedy mop. The finer restaurants I sometimes frequent do not tolerate a man wearing a hat or cap while inside. Unless, of course that person is the chef or one of the wait staff and the hat is part of the uniform. At cafes and diners without a hat and coat check I simply place my hat on a convenient chair or on the floor under my seat.
I have never been a slave to chic fashion or trends. I do not dress to make a fashion statement, I wear what I'm comfortable with and people can think what they may. But, I always strive to behave in a civil and polite manner at all times. That is, unless and until circumstances require less civilized behavior.
The "Duke" had a lady on set that took care of any suggestion of hat hair. After a take he probably handed her the toupee and waited while she combed it out and affixed it to his pate.

 

[eightywon]

Fwiw my old man is turning 81 in November and can sometimes be seen wearing his trucker cap backwards. He also pierced his ears sometime in the 50's.

 

[yaddy306]

As far as the etiquette goes, I know it's ungentlemanly, but I never remove my hat going into a building.

Pardon my ignorance, but has it always been "ungentlemanly" to wear a hat indoors?

I get not wearing a hat at the dining table, but judging from the photos in the "Pipes in Art" thread, lots of people wore their hats inside taverns, at least.
Case in point:

 

[cosmicfolklore]

All I know is that my dad would whack the hat off my head when we walked inside anywhere. I think it has something to do with his military background.
Seeing people wearing hats backwards never bothers me. Neither do baseball caps in general, nor if another man wears his hat indoors. Other people can do what they want. I am not their judge. I just don't do it. And, I just look strange to myself in a baseball cap. Plus, a cap doesn't protect my ears.

 

[eightywon]

Fwiw my old man is an army veteran who served in Korea.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I had read somewhere that besides JFK, men returning home from WW2 started refusing to wear hats, and after each war, more men started ditching the hat. It was like a small rebellion for some. My dad always had a few straw hats that he always wore, some with dress clothes, others for working outside.
I didn't really take to hats myself till I had to start wearing glasses. I refused those amber looking lenses that change when you're in the sun, because they look too 1970ish to me. And, I could never keep up with the clip ons shades. So, a hat is all that keeps me from squinting into the sun all the time.

 

[eightywon]

I love using sunglasses and hats for sun protection. I never really use the sun visor in my car because of the hat/glasses combo. Perhaps like when people put their visor up when it's not sunny, I find myself turning my cap around. Perhaps I find that the bill is at times obstructing my vision. Or maybe I subconsciously want to share an unimpeded view of my beautiful face with the world. I guess I've never given it much thought, but I've never thought to myself 'I'm gonna walk around with my hat backwards so people will look at me because I'm a badass'

 

[warren]

I really don't have a problem with men wearing hats in bars as there is usually no provision for the hat other than on one's head. I tend to judge people on their behavior. How a person behaves in public to others speaks much more than words. Basic training with the lecture on the cover, when to wear and when to doff, was where a lot of young men learned the proper etiquette of hat wearing.
And then he said (knowingly poking the hornet's nest with a stick): You don't see any ladies in those picture do you? Excepting the obligatory serving wench of course. Back then a lady usually avoided such places as it obviously catered exclusively to males and gentle ladies were not welcome. Of course, certain other "ladies" were welcome, encouraged even. Wives sent the child to the pub to shag the old man home for dinner rather than set foot inside such a place.
We men are not allowed those refuges any longer. I miss them. Belch, tell tawdry stories, scratch the old wedding tackle and etc. We knew our place back then. Men are now, by and large, denied those simple pleasures. We are now expected to fully participate in raising of children and accompany our wives and girl friends to "chick flicks."
Is the world any better for this change? Hah! I think not!
The man cave is not an acceptable substitute as "the old lady" may stick her head in any time. She may even expect to be admitted and be allowed to participate in watching the big game or horror of horrors, suggest cleaning the place and hanging real curtains, as opposed the old blanket, over the window. Perhaps some flowers on the table would brighten up the place. A rug on the concrete floor and maybe we should think of recovering that comfortable, but ugly old chair. Better yet, let's throw it out and get a new one. Something in a nice pastel.
I'm rambling and more than a bit off topic. Sorry! I'll go walk the dog for a bit.

 

[eightywon]

Agreed. Actions speak louder than... hats? Although, and I am guilty of doing so, I try to tell myself not to judge others, but to just accept.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Ha ha!!