All You Need to Know About Hat Etiquette

[Short Balding Guy]

This afternoon I met a couple of fellows who were representing their fortune 100 companies at a local coffee shop. All of us wore felt hats. Yes all of us know each other, all of similar age, and and have more similar backgrounds. Business was the plan. Three laptops, briefcases, jackets on chair backs, and cups and saucers of coffee were littered on the table. We had removed our hats and put them on the fourth chair. A few minutes into our conversation, the coffee barista came over with a clean marroon towel and asked if she could store our hats on the shelf behind the register/coffee bar. Oh yes she could! With considerable care she picked them up placing them on the towel draped on her arm and wisked them to wait on a shelf. SWEET! After our meeting we came picked up our hats and she asked if she could have a pic of us hatted for her shop. We granted the wish. Happily we tipped and arranged to be back. I, for one, have to go back and and see if the pic resides on the wall with a few other notable pics. (If so, I will see about capturing an image for presentation on the forum.) Pleasantries are alive in Minnesota, USA today.

Content and hatted, Eric -

 

[EggHead]

Eric, I would loved to see a photo of all 3 of you wearing hats in a coffee shop!

 

[Bob Beecher]

Not that I recall, but then again I wasn't looking. i prefer to keep my hat with me. I'll hang it on the corner of my chair or set it on the edge of the table depending.

I'm an emergency manager and on top of the flipper cabinet at my desk, I keep three helmets. They work great as "hat stands" since they keep the brim and crown off the surfaces...

 

[Hoyt Clagwell]

I'm an emergency manager and on top of the flipper cabinet at my desk, I keep three helmets. They work great as "hat stands" since they keep the brim and crown off the surfaces...

Bob, you must be darn good at managing emergencies, those are the cleanest hard hats Ive ever seen.
And nice fedora!

 

[Bob Beecher]

Bob, you must be darn good at managing emergencies, those are the cleanest hard hats Ive ever seen.
And nice fedora!

They're just NEW! And, hopefully, they'll only get scuffed up during training. Although, where I work I could use a flak jacket sometimes.

 

[Effingham]

Bob, you should get an extra-large fedora you can permanently mount to the hard hat. It would be seriously stylin'.

Tony

 

[dnjan]

Too bad the only "hat" hard hats I've seen are cowboy hats. But I guess the above suggestion would be the next best thing.

 

[John Galt]

Bob:

Maybe you should just don a good hard shellacked Bowler, which was reportedly designed to protect the head from branches while hunting from horseback. Per Wickipedia's entry: "When Coke arrived in London on 17 December 1849 to collect his hat he reportedly placed it on the floor and stamped hard on it twice to test its strength; the hat withstood this test and Coke paid 12 shillings for it."

 

[John Galt]

How to hold the hat in public

I'm a newby and I haven't finished this entire thread yet, but I recently read that the hat should be held so that the liner (think sweat stains) is not visible to the room. This makes sense (like not setting your hat on the bar or table) but is a bit of a hassle, because it is more natural to cup the brim in your hand with the liner pointing out.

 

[John Galt]

Do most courtrooms have a hat check? A hat rack, even? I have to admit, I've only seen the inside of a courtroom 4 times, when I served jury duty. I wasn't a hat wearer at the time. That said, I don't even remember a place for people to hang their coats, and I did wear coats. I don't imagine they'd have a problem with people holding their hats in their hands, which would be perfectly fine with me. The only scenario that would leave me getting fined for noncompliance, and fined again for arguing, would be if they expected me to leave it unattended on some hat rack. If I'm not given a paired number tag, the hat stays with me. After all, it's not like I can fine the judge 350 in return when the hat's been stolen. I've never had a hat stolen, but how many stories on the Fedora Lounge should I have to read before I take action against such preemptively?

A few weeks ago, I noted that the turn of the century courtroom that I was in stillhad the original vintage hat and coat rack (a very large stand, actually) from days gone by. I guess that it was in keeping with the marble stairs, wooden rails & bannisters, and photographs of judges over the last 100 years or so. Very nice indeed.

 

[scottyrocks]

I'm a newby and I haven't finished this entire thread yet, but I recently read that the hat should be held so that the liner (think sweat stains) is not visible to the room. This makes sense (like not setting your hat on the bar or table) but is a bit of a hassle, because it is more natural to cup the brim in your hand with the liner pointing out.

True, but if you hold the hat by the brim in exactly the same way and then turn it upwards onto your chest, it's just as easy to hold, and the liner doesn't show. Of course, you wouldn't want to do this all day, but for short periods, it works fine for me.

 

[dnjan]

Maybe you should just don a good hard shellacked Bowler, which was reportedly designed to protect the head from branches while hunting from horseback. Per Wickipedia's entry: "When Coke arrived in London on 17 December 1849 to collect his hat he reportedly placed it on the floor and stamped hard on it twice to test its strength; the hat withstood this test and Coke paid 12 shillings for it."

We need OSHA-approved Bowlers!

 

[Earl Needham]

I think this is the right thread for my anecdote. I was at a bachelor's party this weekend, part of which included dinner at a high-end restaurant. Upon entering the restaurant I removed my Borsalino ('The Film" model, taupe, 2 5/8 brim, purchased by my wonderful wife as a gift for me at JJ Hatters in Manhattan). Two twenty-somethings in baseball caps, including the best man who is the groom's little brother, did not remove their hats. The father of the groom, a classy septuagenarian, approached the boys and, pointing to me said, "See that, a man who knows what kind of hat to wear knows when to remove it. Take those damn ball caps off or go to McDonalds."

Oh that's GREAT! :eusa_clap

When I walk into the local Western store, and remove my hat, they all instantly assume that I need my hat blocked, or cleaned, or something. They all wear the hats all the time, indoors or out. No idea to remove the cover while inside.

 

[Effingham]

When I walk into the local Western store, and remove my hat, they all instantly assume that I need my hat blocked, or cleaned, or something. They all wear the hats all the time, indoors or out. No idea to remove the cover while inside.

That's kind of sad.

 

[Bob Beecher]

Too bad the only "hat" hard hats I've seen are cowboy hats. But I guess the above suggestion would be the next best thing.

The first thing I found while looking for "hardhat fedoras" was this. The Vulcan Cowboy Hard Hat. "Complies with ANSI Z89.1, 2003, Type 1 Class C, E & G Standards" and is only about $26.00. Yee haw!! Oh, and if you snap the brim . . . better turn it in to the forman for a replacement!

 

[Effingham]

Do want!

 

[rlk]

Hat Life 1945

 

[Short Balding Guy]

RLK; Thanks for the posting. 1945 etiquette I appreciate. Much of what is said is the attire and behavior I was taught in etiquette class when I was very young. I truly detested that Tuesday evening class, but it has really paid off as I have gotten older and spent more time in public settings and functions.

"Wearing a dinner coat with a derby or colored daytime hat is as bad manners as wearing unpolished shoes." A classic statement, as I remember hearing about the unpolished shoes as a child. My folks must have read the article in '45.

Thanks again. Eric -

 

[Gene]

That's kind of sad.

Western and cowboy hats follow different rules:

"c. Indoors, a man always takes off his hat, except:

(1) in public buildings, such as railroad stations or post offices;

(2) in entrance halls and corridors of office buildings or hotels;

(3) in elevators of public or office buildings. (You have to use your judgment about this, though. In a department store elevator full of women you might take it off. Also, if a woman you know gets into an office building elevator, you would probably take it off, and you certainly would do so if you started talking to her.)"

 

[m0nk]

Please forgive me if the question has been addressed, I tried searching the thread and the search failed... plus, it took a while to go through so I may have missed it...

Question about the following terms: saloon and club. We have 3 types of bars around here; modern night clubs, Irish pubs, and dives (some call them sports bars). Now, I try to stay away from the dives and night clubs (neither are really my "scene"), and since the last Martini bar disappeared a few years back, I only really end up in Irish pubs (although one of our Irish pubs downtown turns into a night club at 11pm every Friday and Saturday night). The terms saloon and club are rather generic, and based on the postings, have different rules associated with them. Would ettiquette dictate removal of the hat in pubs or would it be acceptable to keep the hat on?