Watch "Ken Burns: Prohibition" to see some incredible hats

[RBH]

Well that is President Wilson. I'm sure it was a "staged" shot.

Hey Karl.. I believe you mean Herbert Hoover... and I am not so sure it was staged.

 

[univibe88]

Hey Karl.. I believe you mean Herbert Hoover... and I am not so sure it was staged.

Yes, I do mean Hoover.

 

[univibe88]

Maybe even then, people were taking their cues on how to wear a hat from movie stars?

I'm sure that the movie stars influenced fashion then. FWIW, here is a candid shot of some real life Boston detectives in the late 20s/early 30s. These hats look pulled down pretty low. And they look like some pretty hard, no nonsense guys!

 

[Stanley Doble]

Isn't it interesting that the downtrodden people in the soup kitchen line are still dressed better than the majority of people walking in pretty much any downtown today.

You should keep in mind that most of those guys were only 2 or 3 years away from good jobs. In the twenties employment was high, in the early thirties millions were out of work who had never been unemployed in their lives.

They were standing in line at a soup kitchen or relief hall, wearing the same clothes they owned when they were working in an office. They couldn't afford to buy new ones in any case.

There are examples of guys digging ditches in tuxedos. They still had a tux from the good old days, and they never expected to need it again. So they wore it for rough dirty work to save their other suits, which they knew they could not afford to replace.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Hoover does look awfully well dressed for fishing. It might be a staged shot, but guys did wear suits to go camping.

Look up some old pictures of Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone and Thomas Edison camping. All wearing suits and ties. They are old suits or tweeds, but suits and ties all the same.

 

[Dan Allen]

Isn't it interesting that the downtrodden people in the soup kitchen line are still dressed better than the majority of people walking in pretty much any downtown today.

Perhaps they had lost everything but their pride and self esteem, which may be more than some have today--how else can you explain all the people running around the stores dressed in what is essentially pajamas. Where did that "style" come from?

 

[John in Covina]

There was a lot of really great images in that documentary. It was a hoot to watch.