Rules for wearing a straw hat

[SurfGent]

 

[SurfGent]

Anytime is good for straw!

 

[dnjan]

Most of the "ignore the rules" type of responses have come from people in the U.S.
I wonder if the customs in various European countries may be more strict.
When I travel, I try not to offend local customs if possible.

 

[TheDane]

Don't try to break the hat rules in Denmark! You'll spend your entire stay to find the rules to obey or break ... we don't have any. Hats are pretty rare in Scandinavia. A straw, turned around front to back on Christmas Day would shock no one around here

Sometimes American friends ask me how to "fly stealth" - or blend in - when visiting Copenhagen. I usually give the following two advice: Keep the knife in your right hand and the fork in the left - and cut the food as you eat it. Not that we mind, but cutting everything up to eat with the fork alone will be an obvious "tell", that you at not local

Another thing is our laws and unwritten social rules on drinking. You don't have to hide your bottle of wine, beer or hard alcohol in a brown paper bag. You're even allowed to drink it in the middle of the street, if you want. We don't ... and yet we seemingly do ... details are a bit tricky.

A chilled bottle of white wine and a couple of glasses on a park lawn is perfectly okay. A beer, bought around the corner, consumed over a chat on the bulwarks of one our city channels is okay. Strolling down the walking street, sipping from a beer bottle is not so okay ... rather a bit bum-like. A kind of differentiating between "civilized enjoyment" and "addictive need", I guess (probably mixed with a dash of hypocrisy )

Especially youngsters sometimes have a hard time, grasping the latter. "Finally I'm free to drink all over the place!" ... Yes, but that doesn't mean, you should

It usually takes a lot to shock us, and hats most surely won't! If you act as if you were at home, you'll do absolutely perfect. The fact that you care is a really good start. I really hope, you will enjoy coming visits to "The Old World"

PS: Please PM me, if you ever visit Copenhagen. I will be more than happy to introduce you to my beautiful home city. That goes for all Loungers, of course

 

[zetwal]

[...] if you ever visit Copenhagen. I will be more than happy to introduce you to my beautiful home city.

Interesting observations, and a very kind offer.

 

[Edward]

Most of the "ignore the rules" type of responses have come from people in the U.S.
I wonder if the customs in various European countries may be more strict.
When I travel, I try not to offend local customs if possible.

As The Dane has noted - and I think this holds true across pretty much the whole of Europe - brimmed hats are rare enough now that there just isn't any sense of 'rules'. Closest I've ever come across (outside of uniformed organisations, of course, which have their own rules) is that in places of Christian worship it is generally considered appropriate for men to remove their hats; ladies who choose to wear them may keep them on.

You'll see more brimmed hats in Europe, as a rule, during the Summer, as awareness of the dangers of the sun is higher than used to be the case. That being so, a lot of those will be straw. There's no hard and fast rule on when they should and shouldn't be worn in my experience though - predominantly, it's dictated by the weather.

 

[dnjan]

Thanks. I wasn't sure if the rules of hat wearing had outlasted the practice of hat wearing or not.

 

[TheDane]

Thanks. I wasn't sure if the rules of hat wearing had outlasted the practice of hat wearing or not.

Well, we've got no hat rules - and hardly any hat wearers

After writing my post above, I took a walk in town and was reminded of a quite funny thing: It's a lot easier to spot a Brit or Aussie in CPH, than it is to spot an American. The Brits and Aussies are the ones, we physically bump into in the streets!

If I'm on collision course with a fellow pedestrian on the sidewalk, I automatically take a step to the right to avoid bumping into the other person. An American does the same - so we won't bump into each other.

A Brit is raised with left-hand traffic, so he automatically takes a step to the left ... SLAM! We bump right into each other

I noticed this when visiting Perth and Freemantle (Western Australia) about 20 years ago. Since then I have checked the theory on a number of occasions - and it seems to hold pretty well up

 

[tropicalbob]

Absolutely true. The biggest problem I've had in Great Britain and Ireland is coming out of a pub at closing time and looking the wrong way as I attempted to cross the street. I almost met my maker a couple of times.

 

[GHT]

Rules on this, rules on that, just cock a snook to the stupid rules, and to convention too and wear what you like. Whilst a lot of mainland Europe is experiencing heavy rain currently, the UK is in the grip of a high pressure cold snap. But high pressure in the daytime means bright sunshine, and although it's a winter sun it's still good enough for me. Straw hat and summer blazer, bring it on.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I think there are a few places where “rules” should still be followed, but for me there aren’t many. Formal/white tie, semi-formal/black tie (unless it’s a “modern black tie” event), and funerals come to mind as times when I personally would want to follow the traditional rules. I think a Panama on a sunny day is perfect, regardless of what the calendar says.


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[Héctor Fernández]

I think there are a few places where “rules” should still be followed, but for me there aren’t many. Formal/white tie, semi-formal/black tie (unless it’s a “modern black tie” event), and funerals come to mind as times when I personally would want to follow the traditional rules. I think a Panama on a sunny day is perfect, regardless of what the calendar says.


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I agree 100% with your comment. Growing up in Puerto Rico, and in an equestrian family, Panama hats are basically stapled to my head, lol....I own many and wear them all the time regardless of the season, but like you said, sun is the deciding factor.

My grail is my Angel Suarez & Hmnos Panama. The Puerto Rican company went out of business and to find one, it is almost impossible. There's no Paso Fino enthusiast who doesn't own one in the island, they were the "it". Needless to say, I only wear it on very special ocassions. I'll post some pics tomorrow.

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[GHT]

I think there are a few places where “rules” should still be followed, but for me there aren’t many. Formal/white tie, semi-formal/black tie (unless it’s a “modern black tie” event), and funerals come to mind as times when I personally would want to follow the traditional rules. I think a Panama on a sunny day is perfect, regardless of what the calendar says.

Requests I certainly agree with, by rules I mean those petty, nitpicking, nonsense irritations usually dreamed up by marketing people and promoted by the press, all to serve their own agenda.

A couple of years ago, at a New Year's Eve Ball, a guy turned up in T-shirt and jeans. His wife was dressed in a fabulous ballgown but he looked like he had been sleeping rough. The invitations did say black tie event, I think he was let in so as not to disappoint the lady. I told her that she looked like a rose and that he looked like a stinging nettle.

Funerals too, I have been to a couple of funerals where the bereaved family wanted to celebrate the life of the loved one and had requested, "no sombre clothing please." Similarly, if a wedding has a specific theme, I will embrace that, it's all part of the fun.

One occasion, when I was much younger, my wife and I were invited to some zany party where the theme was to come as someone from the opposite sex. That was a bit of a shock, but although I may never look like Jessica Rabbit, I did get a few laughs as Miss Piggy.