Wearing a hat at the office

[ShoreRoadLady]

Personally, I'd find it a little odd to walk into a building and see one of the employees behind a desk/counter wearing a hat. It would look almost as if they had just come in, or were ready to go out again, instead of being settled and ready to help me.

But then, I prefer the old-fashioned hat etiquette rules to the modern ones, and in today's society not many people will notice or care. So ultimately it's your call. At least it sounds like people like your hat.

 

[Aerol]

No hat,

no way.

 

[Miss 1929]

Take off the lid

For women, it is different, dress codes require/allow certain types of hats to be worn on certain occasions. Pill box types can be worn indoors, wide brimmed hats, basically not.

Actually....not at work. I've been reading up on these things...
Women who worked were expected to remove their hat before sitting down at the desk, and kept them off while at work in the building, whether in public spaces like the lobby or not.
The one exception seems to be the buyers in major stores, as to be hatless would mean they would be mistaken for saleswomen by the customers, so they would keep their hats on while out on the sales floor.
You also do not wear a hat inside your own home, unless it is a very, very formal daytime event that you are hostessing, like a wedding or a formal tea party. And even then, it's a bit odd and pretentious.

Back to the dilemma at hand, I find that a lot of gentlemen who develop the dress of the Golden Era assume that the outfit isn't complete without the hat, and so they do violate the rules by wearing it at inappropriate times. In a suit and tie, you are still miles above the population in sartorial splendor, so you can safely leave off the hat and still be spiffy.
The people who may be complimenting you on the hat (indoors) probably do not know any better, but you do...
I only accept hats on men indoors if truly they are traveling through the public spaces (not sitting and working in them), or part of a uniform. There really aren't any other ways to keep it on in an office environment.
And I beg to differ that you have an ugly mug!

 

[jdbenson]

Off

I look at it this way...Hats were originally thought of as outer-wear, the same as an overcoat. So ettiquite says if it's not proper to walk around your office wearing your winter coat, then it's not proper to wear the hat, either.

 

[Chuck Bobuck]

I'm 54 years old and I remember when hat ettiquette was followed. Men, for the most part, removed their hats indoors. If you will be assisting people aged 45 and over, they may wonder what's wrong with this picture. People older than myself may be even more in tune with hat ettiquette. So I would say lid off but, keep in mind, I'm no expert in this matter and this is my gut feeling only. I'm sure, in a few years, young men will be wearing their underwear over their pants anyway. Maybe we can address the issue again at that time from a different perspective.

 

[HungaryTom]

Was it the rule to wear hats at the office in the Golden Era?

I don't think so.

There is a buch of theatre pieces where you see the character entering the room taking the lid off and either putting it on the hat stand, holds it with the coat (uncertain scenes) or hands it over to the butler...
There are the other scenes (bars, jazz clubs, bohéme scenery) where the bartenders, players, artists, etc. have their hats on, but that is not an office.

Office is about hirerarchies, its is about licking upwards and kicking downwards - colleagues mobbing each other and so on. I never saw really cool and creative offices, just rules and regulations. It is simply a workplace.

I had remarks even when I came to my workplace in hat where people are tolerant and tolerate each others 'other-ness'.

I never leave my hat on during work.

Tom

 

[LaMedicine]

Actually....not at work. I've been reading up on these things...
Women who worked were expected to remove their hat before sitting down

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear. I didn't mean at work, I meant at social functions, which is why I said dress codes for certain occasions--meaning social functions. Hats at work, both for men and women, as far as I know (as far as I have been taught, that is, I grew up in the '50-'60s) are considered faux pas, unless they are part of a uniform. For men, even at social functions, indoors, basically, you took off your hat. Of course, that was then.
If the majority of people feel it fine to wear hats at work, then go with the times. However, there probably will be people who will be wondering, but too polite to say so, or not sure what to say because they aren't sure how present day etiquette has evolved.

 

[Feraud]

I would remove the hat at an indoor desk job.

Where did all the hatcheck girls go?

Gone and gladly forgotten. The days of being nickle and dimed over your hat are gone.

 

[dhermann1]

My instincts and upbringing all unanimously tell me "Doff it while indoors". But this a new age, and yadda yadda. . . . You decide for yourself.

 

[Bourbon Guy]

Mr. Bobuck has the right idea. Perhaps you could wear your underwear on your head. I doubt your office has a rule about that.

 

[Paisley]

I don't think a fedora looks right indoors unless it's worn by a professional musician at a gig. Maybe it's my military background.

Additionally, anyone who is from the South may find it odd as well. Genteel Southerners--and even some not-so-genteel ones--pride themselves on good manners, which includes men removing their hats indoors.

 

[dhermann1]

Mr. Bobuck has the right idea. Perhaps you could wear your underwear on your head. I doubt your office has a rule about that.

Ooooooohhhh, harsh. But I still have to come down on the side of ixnay.
BTW, SP, I think Slim Portly is one of the cooler screen names I've seen.

 

[Rhabryn]

Just do what feel right.

Honestly, You've addressed all the concerns I mentioned earlier...
For what it's worth, I'll give you a green light on wearing the hat

As a ettiquite point - you wont wear the hat.

But as a practical matter.. it sounds like you just need to do what you want to do. It sounds as if you enjoy the hat, as do your clients, then more power to you.

You requested info re: ettiquite, and while you're getting it here... don't let it be the only thing you listen to.

Help bring hats back! and when theyre "back" we can worry about the ettiquite rules.

 

[Paisley]

Until hats do come back, they're sartorially quirky. A government office isn't really the place to make a splash, and as we've seen here, fedoras worn indoors doesn't sit well with everyone. Customers who are put off by it probably won't say anything, though.

ETA: All those bad dressers we sometimes complain about are just doing what feels right.

 

[Slim Portly]

Help bring hats back! and when theyre "back" we can worry about the ettiquite rules.

Bravo! Excellent points by all, and this one in particular. Yes indeed, I did ask for assistance with etiquette, and just as obviously I also wanted opinions and suggestions outside of strict guidelines and rules. And here I find them in abundance.

Regarding concern over the feelings of the elderly (one of the few things in life that I actually do care about), you might be amused to discover that my older guests are particularly happy to see an old-style hat on a well-dressed public servant, regardless of what Madame Post may have said about the particulars of the given environment.

I think that, for now, I have found a workable compromise that may please most of the people most of the time. I shall find or create a sort of mobile hat hook, the type of which I have seen illustrated here in another thread. I'll wear my hat into the office and to my chair, where I will install my hook upon an appropriate surface well within eyesight of myself and my guests. When I have a need to walk away from my workspace, be it to seek assistance from those better educated than myself or to check my gig line in the hall mirror I shall don my chapeau (keeping in mind the old rule about corridors at the workplace being "public areas"). In addition, should I need to assist a guest for any length of time in our lobby, I'll wear the hat to greet them and then doff it to stay and assist them.

I think that these habits should strike a comfortable balance between those in the know and those who are a bit more flexible.

And I must note again, while I sympathize with those of you who share both my military background and my almost innate abhorrence to break the rules so successfully indoctrinated, the civilian world has never been as cut-and-dry about "no covers in covered areas." Would that the rest of the world were as simple as the military mindset, our lives would be so much less complicated... but at what cost?

To those of you who mentioned an appreciation for my name, I thank you for your kind words. To those of you who find my mug less than offensive, I thank you for your charity.

 

[David V]

You're inside. You're not momentarily planning to leave the building. You're there to serve the public. I think etiquette and common practice are pretty clear on the point you take it off when indoors. Would you leave your overcoat on all day?

And just because there are people running around with baseball caps on doesn't make it right. But the call's entirely yours. If you get heat from supervisors and/or the public coming to the office, you're the one who has to dea with it.

+1.

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh but I feel your treating your hat as a costume accesory rather than a piece of outer wear. I wear a fedora to work every day. it comes off in the elevator and goes back on as I leave head to the door.

 

[Slim Portly]

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh but I feel your treating your hat as a costume accesory rather than a piece of outer wear.

Guilty. And yet I did ask for help, did I not? The first step to recovery is admitting that one has a problem, isn't that what all of the fashionable self-help gurus say?

 

[Chuck Bobuck]

...

I think that, for now, I have found a workable compromise that may please most of the people most of the time. I shall find or create a sort of mobile hat hook, the type of which I have seen illustrated here in another thread. I'll wear my hat into the office and to my chair, where I will install my hook upon an appropriate surface well within eyesight of myself and my guests.
...

Perhaps you could wear your hat and as each of your clientele is seated, you could ask if they mind you wearing the hat. If so, then hang it on the hook. You could keep track of the outcome as an experiment and report back. Either way, please report back at some point and let us know how it's going, hat or not.

Or would that be like having 2 jobs? Working for a govt. agency and us?

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

+1.

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh but I feel your treating your hat as a costume accesory rather than a piece of outer wear. I wear a fedora to work every day. it comes off in the elevator and goes back on as I leave head to the door.

I have to say, wanting to wear your fedora all the time doesn't mean you're treating it as a costume. I have plenty of items that aren't unusual, like purses, or shoes, that I like to show off as much as possible. It doesn't mean I don't truly appreciate the nature of the thing.

Little condescending. lol

 

[Mrs. Merl]

Sorry - I can tell you want to wear your hat as much as possible (which is great), but I say off with the hat. I also agree that times are diffferent, allowing for different behaviors - but in my mind it would be too odd if I walked in to a fellow sporting a hat in any business setting. I think that dismissing the ettiquette that went along with the hat during the period when it was worn seems somewhat odd as well. It seems that the ettiquette served a purpose and that it should be observed in conjunction with the choice to wear a hat. Just my musings, but I really cannot wrap my mind around the wearing of a hat in such a setting (by the way I do not fall into either the older or the military categories - just a regular lady from a regular office job.)