And the hat came back

If you were to study photos of groups of men from the 1930s, ‘40s or ‘50s the one thing you would notice was that virtually all the dudes have covered heads. To be a man was to wear a hat. ‘Man hats’ (we used to call them when I was a child), such as fedoras, trilbys, homburgs and bowlers were very much the order of the day for decades. A man wasn’t dressed properly without his chapeau, and boys longed to be men so they could deck out in proper man hats, rather than the caps of boyhood. It was one of those rites of passage, sort of like taking up smoking or buying your first condoms.

They say that the sartorial style set by JFK killed the hat vogue, and virtually every male in the western world doffed his hat in the utterly vain hope that he too might get laid as often as the hatless president. It didn’t work, in the getting laid department that is, but the fashion statement remained right to the present day.

Now, it seems, that hats for men are making a comeback. I don’t mean the ubiquitous and hideous ballcaps that should only be worn by ballplayers, truckers and farmers and then only frontwards, I mean real hats. I’m happy about that. I like the idea of grown-up fashions.

I should note, however, that I don’t ‘do’ hats. I like the look of them, and I wish I liked wearing them, but I think I look stupid in a hat, and I don’t like the sensation. I always find if I have worn a hat that two days later I still feel like I’m wearing one. Anyway, I don’t want to mess my hair. I got this far in life with all my own hair, so I’m not about to mess with that success by covering my head.

Not only are hats making a return for men, they are as well for women. That’s even nicer. I love to see a woman I a hat. Sometimes nothing but a hat provides an agreeable image, but one beyond the scope of this blog. But, one of those lovely, wide-brimmed Audrey Hepburn kind of creations enhances the beauty of any female, and definitely makes her look like a sophisticated adult. Or, how about that little

pillbox that Jackie Kennedy used to wear? That was an item that was cute and chic.

At one time females always wore hats when they went to church. Even little girls had their little ‘Sunday go to meetin’ hats. Adorable and again, properly dressed. I think God likes to see his congregations show proper respect, and part of that is care with appearance.

What I am hoping, with the hat thing, is that it marks a genuine return to non-slob dressing. Maybe a guy could wear a jacket and tie once in a while when he goes out to dinner – to a wedding – to a funeral? And women could maybe lower their slacks (as it were) and deck themselves out in dresses, or blouses and skirts? Oh, and put on a lovely hat. All of this would give a big boost to the millinery industry, not to mention the hatbox industry. When did you last notice a hatbox on somebody’s upper closet shelf? Exactly.

For men, there are many hat options. As I said, there are fedoras, trilbys, bowlers are cool, or flat straw boaters. Some Bogey macho sneaking up? Well go for your standard Sam Spade fedora. Feel like a be-bop jazz musician ambience? Can't go wrong with a pork-pie. And, for formal occasions, why not go the whole hog with a topper? I've always like the look of stetsons, but I am wary of fake cowboy motifs. I mean, for real cowboys, it's kind of mandatory, but for day trippers?

For women there are even more. And so many more chances to wear them, since they can be worn in office environments, and at formal and informal situations.