All You Need to Know About Hat Etiquette

[Deleted member 259]

Thats swell for you boys, but how about a lady?
I've been under the impression that I can wear a hat just about anywhere, anytime provided the situation is apropriate (I couldn't wear a hat at work, it's a safety risk - though for the safety of me or the hat, i'm not sure)

I take mine off when at a resturaunt and I never wear a hat in the house (/dorm room)

But otherwise, I think I'm in the clear....

 

[ginobarracuda]

I was reading the info on the VHS site and I think you ladies could probably get away with wearing a hat in a restaurant.

 

[Jack Scorpion]

Gals can wear hats anywhere they'd like and it'd still receive no less than a smile from me!

Speaking of sunshine... It always seemed to me that the panama hat should have different etiquette. The panama just seems more outdoorsy to me, so I always feel I should take it off anywhere inside. I don't know.

 

[android]

Ladies can always keep on hats that are cute and part of an outfit or something that is or can be attached with hat pins.

If a lady is sporting a manly hat or ball cap, she should take it off when a man would.

That's the "official" rules that I've seen.

 

[Quigley Brown]

Quite a few of the nicer restaurants in the town where I live don't allow hats on while dining...one of them not even allowing ladies! In the news around here a woman under chemo treatment for cancer was told to remove her's...she had lost all her hair and was wearing a tasteful one. Needless to say there is a boycott of that place at the moment.

 

[gandydancer]

Thats swell for you boys, but how about a lady?
I've been under the impression that I can wear a hat just about anywhere, anytime provided the situation is apropriate (I couldn't wear a hat at work, it's a safety risk - though for the safety of me or the hat, i'm not sure)

I take mine off when at a resturaunt and I never wear a hat in the house (/dorm room)

But otherwise, I think I'm in the clear....

The only place a lady needs to remobe her hat is in a theater where it may block others view of the stage or screen. In the 50's meovie theaters they still flashed a "Ladies please remove your hats" sign on the screen before starting the film.

Oh, BTW, after reading the first post in this thread there is a slight misapprehension there. A gentleman removes his hat upon entering a sitdown restaurant or hotel dinning room, not when he gets to the table. He does not remove it at lunch counters, or (presummably, by extention) fast food places.

 

[ginobarracuda]

Thanks for the clarification, gandydancer!
:fedora:
I just keep my hat on when I eat at the counter...as long as I pay my bill and leave a decent tip, I'm sure the restaurant doesn't care LOL

 

[Mycroft]

What are the Childcraft books?

 

[gandydancer]

What are the Childcraft books?

A 20+ volumn set of instructions for raising a kid. From child psychology to fairy tales and everything inbetween. My mom had a set back in the early 50's. I read all the stories in them, but must have missed the Hat Etiquette article. I do not doubt it was in there however, about everything else was.

 

[Mycroft]

Intersting, looks like I know a few who were raised on those.

 

[Andykev]

This is what I use

What are the Childcraft books?

Use GOOGLE and your answer will appear.

"Vintage Childcraft

Most homeschooling parents are already long familiar with the Childcraft sets published by World Book. This encyclopedic anthology for young children has been published for many years; many of us grew up with a set in our homes.

Before World Book owned the name, Childcraft was published first by The Quarrie Corporation and then by Field Enterprises. I love the Quarrie Corporation set published in 1947. It has lovely, old-fashioned illustrations and almost all of its terrific literature selections are not found in later Childcraft sets. (As one example, it includes Little Black Sambo, which no later set includes.) From this set, I recommend volumes one through six most highly, for the literature they include. Some of the other volumes are okay, but I wouldn't go out of my way to find a complete set.

I also recommend the Field Enterprises Childcraft sets, published between 1949 and 1961. Because of the superb illustrations in volumes 1 and 2, these are my hands down favorites among the series. Due to the quality of paper used, sets between 1949 and 1961 have somewhat brighter illustrations.

I do not especially recommend any set published after 1961. I would not purchase one for my children, nor would I purchase one for resale. The illustration quality is lower, the literature selections are not nearly as good, and when it comes to a modern treatment of science and nature, there are better books on the market, in my opinion.

Each set year--1947, 1949, 1954, and 1961 has its unique characteristics:

The 1947 set contains older literature not found in the later sets, but the illustrations, of a different, older style in line drawings and two colors are somewhat less appealing to most readers, young and old alike. It is still a lovely set with a superior collection of older literature that you will not find in later editions.

The 1947 set has an Art/Music volume that is somewhat inferior to the 1949 Art/Music volume, IMHO. Whereas the 1949 volume has a wonderful treatment of classic paintings, the 1947 volume concentrates on children's works, which even to most children, are much less inspiring and delightful than are the works of the great masters! The 1947 set has an excellent section teaching how to make musical instruments at home, but the 1949 set does not include this information.

The 1949 set is the earliest to offer the stunning artwork for which collectible Childcraft books are most recognized. With the use of four color printing and the work of such illustrators as Tasha Tudor, Eloise Wilkin, Walt Disney, and Janice Holland, the 1949 set inaugurated over a decade of stunning illustration in Childcraft!

The 1949 set also offers an Art/Music volume that is unparalleled in any earlier or later set! This volume measures 10x14" and includes large, clear black-and-white reproductions of wonderful classic paintings, with wonderful discussion questions. I love to open this volume across my lap, with children on either side of me and read from it and examine the paintings together. After reading about a painting, we can easily find it in color in other books in our library, which is certainly an advantage, but I wouldn't like to miss the charming descriptions in this volume.

The literature content itself changes very little, almost insignificantly, between 1949 and 1961. The only major difference is that the 1949 and 1954 history volumes contain several retold Bible accounts while the 1961 volume replaces these with later history, mostly American history. (In my opinion, being one who has a special love for Scripture itself, even for children, I would rather have the later history stories in the 1961 volume than the retold Bible stories in the earlier volumes.)

The only other major change between 1949 and 1954/1961 are in the Art/Music volumes and Science/Industry volumes. In both cases, we prefer the 1949 editions overall. The 1949 editions seem to invite children into the adult world (which is something my children treasure) by introducing them to classic paintings by adults and industry and invention (including pictorial factory tours). The 1954/1961 volumes concentrate on more children's art, more modern art, and children's experimentation and an introduction to simple machines and other beginning science concepts. We found that both the content and illustration were somewhat less pleasing in the later volumes when compared to the 1949 set. The one advantage the 1949/1961 Art & Music volumes have is that they include much more music, including more hymns.

NOTE WELL: Childcraft sets were published in a variety of covers, even during a single publishing year. 1954 was published in cream and burgundy leatherette, in plain, dull gray cloth, and in an orange pebbled paper hardback. Orange sets were published AT LEAST from 1947-1957 and the contents vary significantly from the first to the last of those years. Externally, the 1947 and 1949 sets are almost identical, but inside there is little similarity.

In other words, when buying Childcraft sight unseen, DON'T rely on the cover colors! They are simply NOT a reliable indication of content!

For more information, please see the following pages, which give an overview of contents and include pictures from the books!

Childcraft 1947

Childcraft 1949-1961"

 

[Mycroft]

Thanks for all the info, the buying tip, and are these books really effective in raising kids?

 

[Quigley Brown]

Here's what they do in my redneck town if you don't remove your hat indoors.
______________________________________________________________

Published on Friday, March 18

By James Rada
News-Post Staff


FREDERICK -- A hat cost the Frederick County Parks and Recreation Department $35,000 on Thursday morning.

It is a common courtesy to remove a hat while indoors, and it is a courtesy the county commissioners enforce at their meetings. When someone forgets, usually ex-Marine Mike Cady or ex-Navy pilot John Lovell Jr. remind them.

No big deal. Usually.

Department heads introduced new employees at the beginning of the commissioners' Thursday meeting. Randy Davis of the parks and recreation department stood in front of the commissioners to introduce new employee Westley Etters. Mr. Etters wore a knit hat.

Mr. Cady asked Mr. Etters if the Air Force had stopped teaching their airmen to remove their hats.

"In the Air Force, I did," Mr. Etters said without removing his hat.

Mr. Cady immediately made a motion for Mr. Etters' dismissal for insubordination.

Mr. Etters said, "You have a commissioner sitting next to you with a hat. Does she have special privileges?"

Commissioner Jan Gardner was wearing a green-and-yellow felt hat she had been given for St. Patrick's Day. She removed her hat, but Mr. Etters still made no attempt to remove his.

Commissioners President John L. Thompson Jr., Commissioner Bruce Reeder and Ms. Gardner voted not to dismiss the employee.

Mr. Cady then motioned that $35,000 be removed from the parks and recreation budget immediately.

Mr. Thompson, Mr. Cady and Mr. Lovell voted yes.

The money will be placed in the county contingency fund this budget year.

When called for comment later in the afternoon, Paul Dial, department head for Frederick County Parks and Recreation, was in a meeting about the incident.

"My only comment is that we are reviewing the issue," said Mr. Dial. "Other than that I have no comment."

An attempt to contact Mr. Etters was not successful.

 

[JDCrockett]

What to do with your hat?

Here's a newbie question for you and I apologize in advance if it falls in the
FAQ or beating a dead horse category. I'm considering wearing hats alot more but in this day of limited hat wear what do you do with them in restraunts?
Sure some swanky places still have coat checks (but not too many) but several
places my wife and I like to go don't and the unattended coat rack doesn't seem
like a good idea. If you're lucky enough to get an extra empty chair thats an option but one excellent Italian restraunt we go to has tables for 2 so small
you can hardly fit the silverware on it, would you hang it on your knee? Tilt it back & push it up off your forhead and eat with it on? Alot of people never remove their baseball caps these days but somehow it just doesn't seem right.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Incidently this whole subject of hat etiquette is interesting to me. Can anyone
suggest further research on all facets of it? For example when & where it's okay to keep one on,tipping or touching the brim to acknowledge others etc. are all questions that come to mind but perhaps the customs vary widely.

 

[fedoralover]

I personally am not as hung up on some of the etiquette as some are when it comes to eating out, simple because there aren't accomadations for a hat in many eating places. So for me, if there's a place to check it I do, if there's an extra chair to put it on I do, but if not I leave it on my head while I eat. Fortunately I live in a town where you can see people wear just about anything and nobody thinks much about it, so seeing a guy wear a hat while he eats isn't even given a sideways glance.

fedoralover

 

[TroubleMan]

I believe that what you have stated is the correct etiquette: if there's no place to put the hat, you may leave it on your head.

Getting hung up is one thing, but to me, the etiquette is half the reason to wear a hat.

 

[shamus]

Interesting thread,

Now most of us wear hats for both the pleasing sense of style and looks but also because we appreciate the a period of time, where men held the doors for women and men said, "Hello" and not "Whatsup".

Taking your Hat off in a building is part of that un-written code that many of us live by. That's why we wear dead rodent fur that's 50 to 70 years old on our heads and actually enjoy it.

If there is not a spot to put your hat, put it on your knee, never wear it while eating, unless you're at the counter by yourself and there is not anywhere to put it. You can also wear it if drinking at bar, but only for a few shots. If you sit at a table and order, take it off.

It's late and I"m rambling... But I still say don't wear it. Oh, unless it's outdoors. Then do wear it as it keeps the sun off you.

Shamus

 

[ClintonHammond]

I wear mine at the restaurant table all the time...

Mind you I also like it when sometimes my wife holds a door open for me, or when some of the folks at my local greet me with a "Wazzup dawg!?!"

Cause I might appreciate the past, but I know I don't live in it...

 

[TroubleMan]

At least for me, it's not about living in the past, it's simply availing myself of an etiquette prop that is "old fashioned". I can't claim to be a "gentleman", but I can put on a better show of being one if I'm wearing (and doffing, at appropriate moments) a hat. These little gestures (tipping one's hat to a lady, taking it off as a sign of respect) send a powerful message: courtesy never goes out of style.

(Speaking of which: where's the hat-tipping animated emoticon?)

-TroubleMan

 

[dlgilbert]

I can't bring myself to wear my hat while eating, regardless of venue (unless outdoors in the sun). I even take it off when eating outside on the covered portion of our deck. If I don't have a convenient place to put the hat, I usually do put it on my knee, which works with varying degrees of success depending upon the which hat I'm wearing. The spare chair is usually my preferred hat-holding area when it's available. The toughest time I've had is sitting in a casual restaurant in a booth with 3 other people. Knees are usually a bit close under the table for knee-hanging and there isn't really much room on the benches or on the table for the hat. The few times that happened, I was fortunate enough to be wearing a crushable hat, so when my wife happened to leaned against it on the pile of coats next to her, it didn't matter.

The only indoor areas that I'll wear a hat are public areas... grocery stores, department stores, malls, hotel lobbies, convenience stores. Sometimes, depending upon the nature of the shop and who the attendant is, I'll take my hat off in smaller shops. I always do at the dry cleaners because it's a small shop and is staffed by a friendly elderly woman and I just don't feel right having my hat on while talking to her.

I haven't taken to tipping or doffing my hat. How many folks here do that? What kinds of reactions do you get when you do? Just curious.

- Dan