TIME says JFK Killed The Hat

[leo]

...my research...indicates that men's hats such as the Fedora began declining as a result of WWII...

My 80-year old father and I were watching the Olympic closing ceremonies and he spots the flat, driving-style/newsboy caps worn by the athletes.

Dad: "We use to call those things depression caps."
Me: "What do you mean?"
Dad: "That's what men wore because they couldn't afford a decent hat."

Dad was a teen during the depression, wore a garrison cap in the Army just after WWII, and rarely wears a hat today. Even my youngest son wears a brimmed hat more than his grandfather does.

Bill

 

[Stan]

Hi,

My WWII vet dad would never wear a hat other than a straw hat when working outdoors. He'd rarely wear a suit other than to weddings and funerals, either.

He always said that he'd had enough of suits and hats in the Army!

Anyway, I can see where this would have likely been a trend. Most WWII vets were not 'regular' servicemen, so I can see where they might have an attitude about having had enough 'got to do this and that' to last a lifetime.

I can also see where the regular servicemen would feel exactly the opposite, and feel like they'd left something behind when not wearing a cover after they had retired.....

I can also see where the changing technology in cars would have been a factor.

When driving a horse powered vehicle, you're out in the open even if the rest of the thing is enclosed (van, carriage, station wagon, etc). You have to work the reins and talk to the horses, so at *best* you might have a rudimentary roof over your head, but the sides and front would still have to be open to the weather.

A hat was first and foremost weather protection.

Early automobiles were little different, being made from the horse-drawn vehicles by adding an engine. As time went on they became enclosed, and so I can see where some folks would then doff their hats when inside a car. And this *before* the Depression.

Once the Depression hit, then I can see where hats would slide downward on the list of things to buy with what little money one might happen to have.

So, we have lots of reasons for the decline in hat wearing long before we ever get to JFK....

Later!

Stan

 

[DerMann]

There's a song sung by Harry Champion dating back to the early teens (as early as 1910).

For those of you not familiar with Mr. Champion (anyone?), he was a very famous British music hall performer.

I don't have access to the song, and I haven't listened to it in a long time (nor do I have the complete lyrics), so I'm doing this from memory.

The song starts out:

"GINGER, YOU'RE BARMY!!!

I'm always into fashion, I'm a noted chap for that,
but lately I've been walking about the street without a hat.
To do without a cady might save you half a quid,
but <gap in memory>

I go, you know, strolling round the town,whip my little cane about.
Girls all say, 'Look, Ginger's on the measure!"
Crack me in the ribs and shout:

'Don't walk about without your cady on,
GINGER YOU'RE BARMY!
Get your hair cut,' they all begin to cry,
'with nothing on your napper oh you are a pie,'
'pies must have a little bit of crust.
why don't you join the army?
If you want to be a don,
you'd want to best put something on,
Ginger, you're barmy!'"

The song goes on, but that's the only verse (and chorus) that I can specifically remember. He goes on how he was chased and jailed for not wearing a hat, and how the mayor of London mistook him for a dog (once again for not wearing a hat).

I'm not quite sure what to think of the song. I'd like to think it is straightforward and indicates that hatlessness (at least in Britain) was uncommon and looked down upon in the time period. I've seen a few people say that Ginger is a derogatory term for homosexuals, too, but I think it's inapplicable.