Were hats an ''upper middle class'' thing?

[FedoraFan112390]

From looking at pix, at least in the late 40s, 50s (and especially in the early 60s), it seems that hats (at least fedoras) were worn by ''upper middle class'' men, or businessmen, or those who wanted to appear wealthy or upperclass. I don't mean to use a derogatory term but it seems they were more a ''WASP'' trend at least in the late 40s-early 60s than a mainstream thing. I've just noticed that a lot of unprofessional men, for example blue collar guys didn't tend to wear hats, at least where I lived.

To use a few examples from my family--My great grandfather and his son, my great uncle, as well as his son-in-law, my great uncle, were all businessmen and owned their own businesses, successful, upper middle class men. All wore fedoras, homburgs and summer hats as well as suits, at least during the 40s-early 50s. However contrast that with my grandfather, who was a blue collar man, middle class to lower middle class---a grocer first and later a security guard. He seldom wore suits except to formal events, usually wore a dress shirt or polo shirt and slacks and never, ever wore a fedora--even in the mid 40s when they were huge. The only photograph of him in a hat of any kind was for his army hat and later for a Taxi Driver license in 1950 or so and he's wearing a newsboy cap in that photo, probably in jest given newsboy caps were a stereotype of taxi drivers at the time.

 

[MD_SPencer]

My Grandfather was as working class as you can be. He NEVER left the house with out a hat on his head and it was always a fedora. He got a new every year on his birthday and at Christmas.

 

[Widebrim]

Well, I'll give you my father's example...He wasn't Anglo-Saxon (although he was of European parents), and he was never white-collar (although he eventually became "middle class"), yet he wore fedoras regularly from the late-30s until the early-50s. What I can also say about your theory is this: If you look at photographs of men from the late-50s/early-60s (not theatrical films), it is true that you rarely see any young males wearing hats, but rather some middle-aged and senior men. These latter individuals, I believe, were simply continuing what they had started in their youth, and had reached that age in which they were not so "fashion" conscious. Since many of them, thanks to a combination of the G.I. Bill and the generally upward post-WWII economy, had moved into upper-middle class positions, then it is understandable why so many "upper-middle class" men were wearing hats during said time period. Does that make sense?:eusa_doh:

 

[Matt Deckard]

I agree, it's a youth thing. The post war crowd just didn't like hats. The older folks that ran big businesses tend to be the ones represented in the movies as those that tried to keep together the standard of wearing hats. And corporation's needs to uphold the old standards even led to workplaces having employees not wearing hats come in through the back door.

Age, not income or status determined who did and did not wear hats in the 50s and 60s.

 

[1961MJS]

Hi

My Dad's Grandmother came over on the boat (still have the packing crate in the garage) about 1880. Dad became a high school math teacher in 1948. He got his Bachelor's in 1941 and his master's in Math Education (I think) in 1948 at Western Illinois University. Dad wore a gray stingy brim. Professional therefore a hat wearer.

His stepfather was a fireman on the Wabash Railroad, and Grandpa Mike always wore a cap, not a baseball cap, or a railroad cap, but a kind of dressy baseball cap shaped thing. Not a professional, therefore not a hat wearer?

My Mom's Dad was a coal miner, union representative for the UMW, and eventually county judge in Kentucky. I have pictures of Harv wearing a fedora, it appears to be brown, but it's a black and white photo. Since Harv wore Dickey's Khaki work shirt and pants practically everywhere, everyday, I bet it was brown. County judge is a professional, therefore a hat wearer?

It seems to work in my family. Funny thing, Grandpa Mike was a lot poorer than Harv, but that was because Harv NEVER spent money.

Later

 

[FedoraFan112390]

My Italian Great Grandfather (1883-1956) wore straw or panama sort of hats. He was an immigrant and successful businessman who was involved in the ''junk'' business and owned numerous properties. He was not a military man.
My Irish Great Grandfather (1888-1964) wore fedoras, newsboy caps in the 1930s and 1940s and stingy brim fedoras or homburgs in the early 60s. He owned several businesses including some bars and had a steady supply of coal during the 30s and 40s which he gave neighbors. He was not a military man.

My Italian grandfather (mom's dad) (1920-1975) was a grocer and later a security guard amongst other things. He was a veteran of WWII and never wore a hat. He wore slacks and a polo/dress shirt and later in life wore shorts and white t-shirts (He wore white t-shirts as normal wear as early as the late 40s)

His brother John (1910-1978) was a successful businessman with his own business and several properties. Throughout the 30s and 40s he wore fedoras, suits, etc. He dressed more casually in later life; In the 70s he wore very 70s clothes and I don't know if he wore hats any longer. He was not in WWII at all. Never wore shorts.

His brother Francis (1913-1975) was a steamfitter and a member of one of the unions, served in WWII and never wore hats and wore shorts and polo shirts and slacks.

My paternal grandfather (1929-) worked for the Park's Dept., and served in the Army during the Korean War. He always wore T-Shirts and Jeans or slacks, even in the '60s; very rarely would wear a dress shirt. He never ever wore a hat.

My step-grandfather (1917-1998) worked as a longshoremen in his youth and then did odd jobs later in life and worked as a handyman of sorts. He always wore some kind of hat, such as a ball cap, or a fedora, or a floppy fedora-ish hat well into the 1990s. He never dressed in anything more casual than a dress shirt and long slacks, even in summertime, and never, ever was seen in shorts or a t-shirt. He never served in the Army.

 

[JimWagner]

It varied in my family with no particular regard to how my grandparents, my parent's generation, or my own generation earned their livings.

My maternal grandfather mostly always wore a fedora type hat and was a machinist. But he also had some long billed fishing hats. My father was a railroad executive and never wore a hat. One of his brothers was a railroad carpenter and usually wore a ball cap, but was likely as not to wear a fedora to church. The other brother ran his own business and typically wore a homburg or fedora. In my generation some of us men wear fredoras and some wear ball caps and some wear no caps at all. Most of us who wear hats wear whatever we feel like wearing at any given time with no real consistency. No correlation particularly with what our professions are.

My guess is that we are fairly typical.

 

[1961MJS]

...He never dressed in anything more casual than a dress shirt and long slacks, even in summertime, and never, ever was seen in shorts or a t-shirt.

Hi again, the whole shorts / t-shirt is in some ways a more sure sign of formality. I'm not sure either grandfather even knew shorts for men existed. Neither ever wore a t-shirt. My gunsmith who died at 78 in March 2009 also never wore a t-shirt, t-shirts are underwear and aren't to be worn in public.

Later

 

[leo]

...Age, not income or status determined who did and did not wear hats in the 50s and 60s.

Correctamundo. Those of us who were kids during that time saw it first hand. Both my blue-collar grandfathers would always wear their fedoras outside, even when simply puttering around the yard. But my father never wore a hat then. That seemed to be the pattern with most of the adults I met, whether it was at a family reunion or going into town with my dad.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

My paternal Great-Grandpa (1902-1996) dressed rather formally until the day he passed away. He never left the house without a hat, and almost always wore a tie as well.

My paternal Grandpa (1930-) always wears a hat when out of the house. He also always wears a nice, collared shirt, at the very least a polo.

My maternal Grandfather (1942-) has never been a hat wearer, but always wears nice dress clothes.

My father (1959-) is a very casual guy, jeans, cowboy boots at best, usually a wife-beater or a shirt with the sleeves ripped off.

 

[Shangas]

My father never wore anything more formal than a jacket, trousers, black shoes and tie (if he had to). Although he did recently start wearing a trilby...which caused me to go out and buy one as well.

This is just my belief, but I think the wearing of hats may have had something to do with the technology at the time. Quite apart from them being fashionable and stylish and comfy, people probably wore hats to keep the sun off in summer, keep the heat in during winter (especially if where you lived/worked didn't have any sort of central heating) and since cars were a bit boxier back in the 30s, 40s and 50s than they are now, with all their sleek "aerodynamic designs", it was easier to wear a hat in the car and drive. But as cars changed, wearing a hat became inconvenient, so they stopped doing it. Improved central heating or air-conditioning meant that you didn't need to wear a hat to keep warm/cool anymore.

Another suggestion might be the hairstyles of the day. The wet, glossy look, accentuated by stuff like Brylcreem and Brilliantine and lord knows what else...probably worked best if it was held in-place with a hat, to prevent it from being blown around in the wind. Once you were in a car or safely in doors, you could take off your hat and your neatly combed and Brilliantined hair would still keep its shape and shine.

Again, these are just theories of mine. They might very well fall flat in practical terms, but it's what I reckon.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I think more people would wear hats today, if they were more comfortable with being an individual. I know I would more often if I didn't feel so out of place.

My father loves old fedoras and derby's and 1920s and 30s fashions, as do I. But just wouldn't be comfortable trying to make it happen nowadays (I would be more apt to than he would.)

 

[Richard Warren]

I think not.

 

[BanjoMerlin]

Both my grandfathers (salesmen) wore hats whenever they were out but there is only one photograph of each and neither has the hat on in the photo. Polite men didn't wear (non-uniform) hats indoors and the photos were made indoors.

My dad (salesman) wore a hat in the 50's and 60's (before that as well I'm told) but now he wears a ballcap in the summer sun and a warm hat in the winter cold.

I've always worn a hat whenever it is not inconvenient.

Baldness runs in my family...

 

[elvisroe]

Working Class Cap

My English grandfather was from a middle-class background but after the war settled into a very working class life in Australia and was heavily involved with the trade-unions.

While his father always wore a derby, tweeds and spats he himself adopted a flatcap as a badge of working-class pride. Being from England's North it was his opinion that a "hat" was more of a professional symbol.

I think more generally here in Australia anyone who spent time in the sun tended to wear a broader-brimmed hat no matter what their occupation. Photos of Aussie crowds from the 20's -40's show a sea of Fedoras on folks of all shape, size and manner of dress.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

My grandpa, an avid hat wearer always, was up for the weekend fishing at our cabin and I saw something I had never seen before. He was wearing a ball cap! I was shocked, I've never seen him wear anything other than a fedora or an outback hat.

 

[John in Covina]

I think that as many men were in the military WWII and Korea. As military they were "forced" to wear hats or helmets as part of the uniform and rebeled later with the idea that "I never have to wear anything on my head again if I don't want to!"

 

[Yeps]

Neither my grandfather (who was a WWII vet) nor my great-grandfather (on the Italian side) ever wore hats.

My grandmother said that when she was growing up in the Italian part of Baltimore, the only people who wore hats and suits were the kind of people you tried to avoid getting involved with.

Edit: I assume that my great grandfather wore some kind of hat when he was working on the railroad (he worked up from water boy to foreman) but my grandmother said she never saw him wear a hat.

 

[Blackthorn]

Not upper or middle

This is a picture of my dad and his brother. They were farmers in Texas during the depression. They had scrimped and saved, no doubt, to buy these clothes and those fedoras:

 

[mayserwegener]

Blackthorn, Great photo! :eusa_clap