Monday, April 15, 2013

Mr. Jones, Please Remove Your Hat: Stereoviews A-Z


 

Ha-ha-ha... Mr. Jones has just broken one of Emily Post's rules for wearing hats. There are fifteen hat rules for men.



  "Mr. Jones, Remove Your Hat." (ca. 1890s)


 HERE ARE THE RULES:

Men must leave their hats on . . . 
-outdoors
-at sporting events (inside and outside)
-on public transit
-in some public buildings (hotels, airports, post offices, or office lobbies)
-and on elevators! 

Men must take off their hats (even baseball caps) . . .
-in someone's home
-at mealtimes (at the table)
-when introduced (indoors and out, unless extremely cold outside)
-in house of worship (unless required)
-in some public buildings (school, library, courthouse, or town hall) 
-in restaurants and coffee shops
-at movie theaters, indoor performances
-when national anthem is played
-when national flag passes by (e.g., in a parade) 


Men never left home without their hat in the 1890s, and it really wasn't until the 1960s that the wearing of hats began to decline. Most people attribute this decline in the U.S. to President Kennedy, who disliked wearing his top hat. He was often seen carrying one in his hand, but seldom wore it. Maybe it had to do with all those rules (historically, women have always been exempt from the hat rule :).

It seems that hats have slowly been making a comeback (for men at least). Harrison Ford of the Indiana Jones movies certainly made the Indy Fur Fedora hat popular for awhile. My husband has at least two versions, and does wear them occasionally. How about you (guys and gals)? Do you wear hats today? If so, what kind?  




(See Post A and Post B for history of Stereoviews/Stereoscope)



Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl; [Gravseth family archive; Cosmopolitan series stereoviews 1890s] 
source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/05/04/152011840/who-killed-mens-hats-think-of-a-three-letter-word-beginning-with-i 




Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

14 comments:

  1. I think women had a similar thing with gloves. At least my mother always tells me that it was in the late sixties and early seventies when it finally became okay for her to go somewhere special without wearing gloves.

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    1. You know, I remember this too. Appreciate the stop, Kellie!

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  2. I wear a baseball cap to keep the sun off and beanie when it's cold. I have no hair so I need portection. Otherwise I probably wouldn't bother. I don't think much of hat fashion. I'm not very fashionable I guess.

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  3. You are either a hat person or you're not. I'd quite like to be a hat person but I don't have the attitude.

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  4. Hats will probably make a successful comeback if all the rules are ditched :-)

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    Replies
    1. DA - Ha-ha. Some guys really benefit from a hat!

      Sally - It does take a certain attitude doesn't it? I keep trying but hats never stick with me.

      Rosanna - Good point! And they are so much fun to wear sometimes, too.

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  5. Oh, perfect timing. My new story idea has some thematic issues about proper etiquette (in 1905), and so it's good to know this about men and hats!

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  6. Great post Sharon. Interesting topic and once again really cool stereoview. I think that caps are still pretty popular. My girls wear more hats than my men do, but the boys like to wear gag hats, like an Uncle Sam hat, a Mad Hatter hat, etc. Interesting to think about. God bless, Maria from Delight Directed Living

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  7. I had no idea there were so many hat rules.

    I'm not much of a hat person. I made myself a few (knitted and crocheted), but rarely wear them.

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  8. This is a fun post, Sharon!

    I've never been one for hats, because I have an enormous head. :)

    My husband wears a golf-style cap fairly often, and he looks great in it--very professor-ish. I used to be a sucker for cowboy hats (for cowboys in general)...until I met my poetry professor husband. :)

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  9. Cathy - That's great. Glad it works with your new book, and so excited to hear more about this new story too!

    Maria - Interesting your girls wear hats more. And hadn't thought of gag hats before :)

    Liz - Nice to meet :) Stopping at your blog next.

    Kim - Welcome back! Hmm...was kind of wondering when someone would mention the ever popular cowboy hat!

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  10. I never have liked wearing hats, much to my mother's dismay. I didn't have fancy hats, but she did like my head covered in the winter. I still only wear them in the very coldest of weather. My girls, however, do like to wear hats occasionally as fashion accessories, and DH has a fedora that he loves, a safari type hat, and a myriad of baseball caps, but doesn't wear them much unless he's going to be out in the sun for a long period of time.

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  11. Hats for men and gloves for women. My great-grandma always wore her gloves.

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  12. Marcy - Oh, it sounds like your mom was a hat person. My mom was always dressing me up (I was her first:)

    Jai - gloves, yes. Definitely remember those!

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You could call me an eternal optimist, but I'm really just a dreamer. l believe in dream fulfillment, because 'sometimes' dreams come true. This is a blog about my journey as a writer and things that inspire and motivate me.