All You Need to Know About Hat Etiquette

[MK]

Originally posted by PrettyBigGuy
Perhaps it would be appropriate to post these rules on The Golden Era site so that 6 months from now when somebody asks about them we can direct them there. What do you think MK?

That is a lovely idea. I will have to do that.....when I get around to it.

BTW: Nice avatar.

 

[havershaw]

I try to go with old-school etiquette as much as I can. If I'm in a restaurant, I take the hat off when I get to my table. I will usually look for a ledge or something like that to sit it on (I sit it on the brim, but only if I can leave the front curl hanging off the ledge). If I can't find a suitable place to sit it, I'll hang it on the corner of my chair (this will sometimes depend upon how oblivious I perceive my server to be). If that seems like it'll be a bad idea, then I just wear the damned thing. I know no one knows any better, anyway. (Well, my wife does.)

I try to take my hat off whenever I'm in an elevator with women, but only because Shirley Maclaine seemed so impressed with Jack Lemmon when he did it in The Apartment. When I'm in a store, I wear my hat until I have to talk to a clerk or someone (like asking a question or needing to locate someone), although this generally only applies to female clerks.

I never take my hat off in cars or anything like that. I see too many folks driving around in cars in old movies, wearing hats.

I guess, too, it depends on the company you keep. For example, being a recording engineer, I hang out (when I have time to hang out) with a lot of musicians and folks like that. When I go to a party at someone's house, most of the folks are in their late twenties and couldn't care less about hat etiquette. And most of these folks' houses are not such that you'd want to put a hat down in 'em, anywhere. So I'll wear my hat then, although if I get into a heavy conversation that I know I'll be occupied with for a while, I'll take my hat off and set it on the edge of the table or on my knee.

But to each his own. Fedora's rules make sense, and as he lives in what I assume is a more rural area where cowboy hats are not uncommon (stop me if I'm wrong here!), the rules seem pretty sensible. I just do what I do because it feels natural to me, I guess. I don't wear hats in the house much (unless it's a new arrival and I want to see how it sits for a few hours). No good reason - just seems like the thing to do.

One more thing - I set my hat on the brim (but with the front curl hanging into midair) because that's how folks do it in old movies. Wait - they don't even really do that. Hats are always just set on their brims, usually tossed into chairs, onto tables, etc. - just look at the various places Bogie's hat ends up in The Maltese Falcon. That, and I don't want to seem like more of a fussbucket than I already am, what with my insistence on letting the front curl hang over just right (I can't tell you how many times I've watched someone else set my hat down for me, then I adjust it so the front curl is hanging, then I get some kind of exasperated sigh from my wife and whoever else is with us). In an attempt to retain any scraps of man-liness I might have, I would rather not be any pickier about where I set my hat down. Sometimes it's a tough pill to swallow...but can you imagine Mitchum or Bogart double-checking the position he laid his hat down in?

 

[Fedora]

LOL

What do you do if you are asked to? I'm not being facetious, just curious.

Not to worry. If the resturant wanted me to take my shoes off before I could eat there........I would take em' off. Of course, I don't know if the other patrons could handle the smell. I know, I would have a hard time doing so. regards, Fedora

 

[jamespowers]

Originally posted by Canadave
What do you do if you are asked to? I'm not being facetious, just curious.

David

It depends if I want to be disrespectful or not. LOL
I would probably actually remove my chapeau if asked though. Have you ever been asked to remove your hat somewhere?
Wait a minute, this is 7 7/8 David isn't it? I am guessing you probably have. "Please remove your hat. I cannot see the statue of Liberty from here." LOL LOL LOL

Regards to all,

J

 

[Paladin]

Havershaw--The reason you see so many men in the old movies wear their hats in their cars is because they didn't have the safety head-rests back then. It's so annoying to have a head-rest that can't be removed, so you can't wear your hat. I used to drive a Lexus SUV and you could remove the thing. But when I switched to a Tahoe, you couldn't. That's especially hard with western hats. Another thing is you saw movie actors tossing their hats around on their brims because they were movie props and not theirs. When Bogie and others went out, they had coatcheck girls take their hats. And cigarette girls touring the tables to sell them the finest Cuban cigars.

And with western hats, you can't put it flat down on the brim because the front and back are curved and doing so would work the shape out of the brim. I got into the habit of turning my hats over on their crowns because all the hatters I know advised it and it didn't make my hat's brim look like something I slept in. Although it looks like some fellows do that here.

 

[Andykev]

A couple of things: I DO NOT and HOPE no one removes their head rest in the car. In an accident (who ever knows when that is?) it can prevent severe neck injury.

I have a Ford Truck and the hat is no issue, and my Toyota is fine also, even my being short. But there have been cars that I have dirven that bumped my brim, so I just set the lid on the seat.



Second, we have a small cafe, serves breakfast and lunch. It is a "Dive". A page out of the 1950's. They have the counter where the "regulars" eat, and small tables. The place only seats 10 at tha counter, and double that at the tables if that.

The seats have those little hat clips at the back of the chair for hanging your hat. THese are the same ones I remember as a child in church on Sundays, The pew's had them spaced every four or five feet.

I have been unable to find them anywhere. I was thinking of buying one and applying some velcro or something so I could take it out to dinner, hence the place to hang my hat.

 

[Imahomer]

Second, we have a small cafe, serves breakfast and lunch. It is a "Dive". A page out of the 1950's. They have the counter where the "regulars" eat, and small tables. The place only seats 10 at tha counter, and double that at the tables if that.

The seats have those little hat clips at the back of the chair for hanging your hat. THese are the same ones I remember as a child in church on Sundays, The pew's had them spaced every four or five feet.

Hmmm... I think I remember those clips on the pews when I was a lad. I never knew what they were for, but I'm pretty sure I remember seeing them. So where is this little cafe at? Shoot me a PM and I'll go check it out and hang my hat there once.

Mike

 

[Canadave]

Originally posted by Canadave
What do you do if you are asked to? I'm not being facetious, just curious.

David

When I asked this, I was talking about being asked to take off your shoes in someone's house.

And oh, jamespowers, if I let one of your "huge head" comments go by, it's not that I'm mad...I'm usually laughing! No-one asks me to take off my hat - since they're so big, people usually think they're some kind of medical device!

David

 

[jamespowers]

Originally posted by Canadave
When I asked this, I was talking about being asked to take off your shoes in someone's house.

And oh, jamespowers, if I let one of your "huge head" comments go by, it's not that I'm mad...I'm usually laughing! No-one asks me to take off my hat - since they're so big, people usually think they're some kind of medical device!

David

HAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHA! LOL LOL
You always manage to one-up me on those. I can't really talk much since you only have about a 5/8 of an inch advantage over me. :cool2: It does make a difference when you go out looking for a hat though. They just look at me funny. For you it must be more like "you want what size!" I can empathize with you though. We might as well make a joke of it because there is more comedic material than there is felt for us to try on. LOL LOL

Regards to all,

J

 

[SHARPETOYS]

If the hat is missin'..... I've gone fishin.
If the hat can't be seen..... I'm on the green.
Take your hat off to the past, take your coat off to the future.
The greatest undeveloped territory in the world lies under your hat.
Man can't straighten the hat on a drunken head.
A well-fit hat will not fly off your head.
Don't hang your hat higher than you can reach.
The price of your hat isn't the measure of your brain

 

[ginobarracuda]

Hat Etiquette/Restaurant

quick question...

As I understand it, if I enter a restaurant and get seated at a table, I should take my hat off. If I sit at the counter, I can keep it on my head. :fedora:

Anyone know why there is a difference?
The only reason I can think of is that if you take it off at the counter, you have no place to put your hat, except for maybe the seat next to you...

Any comments?

Gino

 

[Biltmore Bob]

I don't take my hat off at the lunch counter. I would hesitate to put it on the counter for fear someone would spill something on it. I place my hat on an empty seat when seated at a table and that is still a big risk.. I would not give my hat to a hat check either for fear that it would end up at the bottom of a pile of coats and other stuff. A hatcheck would'nt know how to properly carry or store a hat these days anyway. I would'nt want to store something I paid over $100 for out of my eyesight either. Furthermore, the two gents in the famous painting "Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper, are wearing their hats at the lunch counter.

 

[ginobarracuda]

Thanks Bob...

That all makes good common sense; I'll keep it in mind!

 

[Mycroft]

What if you are at a party?

 

[Mycroft]

The painting "Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper does, but I have seen others that do not. I heard in public places you do not have too, like lobbies? Anyway I love "Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper.

 

[Michaelson]

Leave it in the car. Regards. Michaelson

 

[Mycroft]

Ok, but where in the car?

 

[gcollins]

Are we talking about what WAS socially acceptable in the past or what is the right practice now?

Admitedly, I don't know the US very much anymore, but whenever I'm there...when I eat at a fine establishment, I always require that my hat is on a chair next to me (with the front brim over the edge, of course). If the restaurant has a coat check, I ask that they take special care of my hat and instruct them accordingly (any place that provides this in the US is most definitely high end and can acccomodate). For counters, if there are any left, or more casual restaurants, you can just wear the fine brim and be cool while you eat! :cool2:

My mother's generation had very different values. But those kids working restaurants these days have no idea, so you are free!

 

[Biltmore Bob]

It is not a real good idea to leave a valuable felt hat inside a car for any length of time. I'm surprised that you mentioned that form of storage Michaelson.

 

[Biltmore Bob]

If I'm at a social gathering, Mycroft, I find an out of the way place to store my hat. Somewhere a child or pet will not find it, or guest for that matter. I would'nt want to find some drunk wearing my hat later. That would'nt be pretty. In some instances I continue to wear my hat indoors. Some people would not know me without it.