NPR: What Killed Men's Hats?

[scottyrocks]

I also think the discovery and labeling of "whiplash" contributed. Hats couldn't be worn as much any more with head rests hitting the back of the brim.

I don't remember head rests being in many cars until the late 1960s, quite past the time frame in question.

 

[jbucklin]

If we baby boomers in our youth were at least partly responsible for the decline in hats, then perhaps the apparent comeback of the hat is partly the result of us "older, wiser" boomers. Let's hope that the circle is on it's way to being completed.

Ditto on that one Dan.

Btw, who is that painting in your avatar by? Hopper?

 

[Mystic]

I don't think the decline of hat (fedora) wearing can be attributed to any one cause or several causes.

I think it was simply a cultural change aided by a fashion change.

Hat companies had a part to play in the decline also. Their response to the change was to cut back on the quality of their products and hang on to their old advertising targets too long instead of recognizing the new demographic and shifting their advertising approach. hwell:

Much the same as "Detroit" did to allow the smaller foreign car market to get a foothold in America during the 70's. :sad:

 

[Dan Allen]

Yes--one of the Night Hawks

 

[Fletch]

Hat companies had a part to play in the decline also. Their response to the change was to cut back on the quality of their products and hang on to their old advertising targets too long instead of recognizing the new demographic and shifting their advertising approach.

Another thing hat companies hung onto was their distribution network. AIUI, Hatco for one favors the brick/mortar shop model and were very slow to warm up to internet based dealers.

 

[Lefty]

except that the hat industry was struggling by the 40s, after decades of decline - during which time (teens-end of 30s), they were making fantastic hats.
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?31016-Hat-History-from-The-New-Yorker-Archives

 

[SHOWSOMECLASS]

I think their is a general trend towards informal and ultimately what is the most comfortable to wear.
After all most senior citizens here in the states wear athletic/running shoes daily just like their grand kids. Going along w/ comfort and simplicity once the hat is on the head most likely the hair cannot be restyled to look as good as it had prior to donning and doffing the hat.
BTW if you want to stick out like a sore thumb in Europe dress like a american. That is a baseball cap, t-shirt (must be a bright color), jean pants or shorts, and the slam dunk for Euro's to spot a american is the athletic shoes. My wife and I intentionally do not pack any of those things when we travel abroad.

 

[Chasseur]

One thing that European vintage menswear collectors/dealers tell me is that in the European context the depravations of the depression in the 1930s, followed by WWII (and Nazi occcupation in some cases), and then the rough 2-3 years after the war (do not forget the severe winter of 1946-47 that really hurt most European economies, one of the reasons for the Marshal Plan) really made pre-WWII men's wear, especially hats, much less common. They wore out, were re-made/re-used for other necessities, etc.

 

[1961MJS]

Building on the ex-servicemen's issue, a hat might have become a marker for balding men, or men too old or unfit for service.

Hi

I'm not sure that this helps or proves your hypothesis, but... My father, a WW2 Veteran of the South Pacific, wore hats until sometime in the 1960's when his mother-in-law said his hat looked stupid. He wasn't bald in 1942, but was pretty much bald in 1945. He said that the comb-over went away prior to 1950. In short, he was bald too. The teachers that I knew wore hats until about when Dad quit, and they were those (in my not so humble opinion) stingy brimmed things.

Later

 

[Oldsarge]

Well if the urban planners have their way and mass transit makes a comeback it might just encourage the growing trend to mens hats.

BTW, it isn't sneakers that label you as an American in Europe, it's white sneakers.

 

[SHOWSOMECLASS]

We have friends in England and Spain. They said, time and again americans can be easily spotted. Primarily athletic shoes and baseball caps. Also according to them we talk audibly loud on the train and the underground in contrast to the locals.

 

[scottyrocks]

I think their is a general trend towards informal and ultimately what is the most comfortable to wear.
After all most senior citizens here in the states wear athletic/running shoes daily just like their grand kids. Going along w/ comfort and simplicity once the hat is on the head most likely the hair cannot be restyled to look as good as it had prior to donning and doffing the hat.
BTW if you want to stick out like a sore thumb in Europe dress like a american. That is a baseball cap, t-shirt (must be a bright color), jean pants or shorts, and the slam dunk for Euro's to spot a american is the athletic shoes. My wife and I intentionally do not pack any of those things when we travel abroad.

Interesting about the comfort part. For the first time in I don't know how long, I wore a baseball cap when I wen out the other day. It was 70 degrees. I felt like my head was baking. I wear my fedoras into the 90s and don't feel nearly as uncomfortable. Maybe because there is more room in between the hat and my head.

 

[SHOWSOMECLASS]

Yes that is true regarding Euro. sneakers and colors. We observed really bright colored athletics being worn by all types of fashionable young males.

 

[SHOWSOMECLASS]

I see kids wearing COOL stocking caps and Uggs knee heigh boots w/ shorts. It was formally flip-flops instead of Ugg's. Its not totally about comfort but about trends. The common thing w/ all these fads. You can wear your house slippers, shorts, or get out of bed and put on a knit cap and be cool w/o any effort.

 

[RichardH]

One thing that European vintage menswear collectors/dealers tell me is that in the European context the depravations of the depression in the 1930s, followed by WWII (and Nazi occcupation in some cases), and then the rough 2-3 years after the war (do not forget the severe winter of 1946-47 that really hurt most European economies, one of the reasons for the Marshal Plan) really made pre-WWII men's wear, especially hats, much less common. They wore out, were re-made/re-used for other necessities, etc.

Seconded! My grandad (born in 1925) grew up during the depression, and he never wore a felt hat during his upbringing. He didn't wear one as an adult either, mostly because the average guy could not afford a Stetson etc after the war. (We didn't discover oil before the late 60s, so that's when we actually started getting richer) He showed me some pictures from the 50s and 60s here in Norway and there aren't that many people wearing hats, compared to similar pictures from USA in that era. Nowadays he wears a flatcap, but he's always raving about my stingy-brimmed Stetson fedora, so I think I'll get him one for his birthday later this year.

 

[mayserwegener]

I see the same trend in Germany and Austria (same with France and Italy) as you see in the USA. Yes WWII was a major interruption but the hat business returned fairly quickly. In East Europe you had TONAK which is still in operation today and at the pre WWII factory complex of JHS (largest factory in Europe pre WWII and probably in the world today). In Gemany you still have Mayser and Wegener although shadows of their past. Borsalino is still going strong in Italy and you also have Cervo (Barbiso / Panizza) and Guerra, ect. A French company like Flechet made it into the 70s and Austrian Habig into the late 80s (also shadows of their pasts).

 

[Chasseur]

I am not sure about this. I see the same trend in Germany and Austria as you see in the USA. Yes WWII was a major interruption but the hat business returned fairly quickly. In East Europe you had TONAK which is still in operation today and at the pre WWII factory complex (largest factory in Europe pre WWII (was JHS) and probably in the world today).

I have wondered the same thing actually. But its what several vintage clothing dealers in France who deal in men's clothing have told me.

 

[mayserwegener]

I am sure those were factors but these companies had world sales. I have done a good deal of research on German and Austrian hat factories pre and post WWII. I am sure this is not the case with the vintage crowd. The trend is very similar to what you see in the US. Remember Stetson (largest in factory in the world) shutdown in the early 1970s. TONAK being in the east and nationalized (JHS, Pechel, BB) was able to survive (for how much longer is the question).

 

[Chasseur]

Agreed, I have some personal doubts about this particular explanation. It might work for why there is less pre-WWII French suits than American ones today, but not as helpful for hat wearing as a cultural norm post-war.

 

[mayserwegener]

The US had the major buying power. I am fairly sure Borsalino's biggest sales were always (pre and post WWII) into the US market.