Why did men quit wearing hats ???

[Topper]

Exactly , in olden days, had you done this , you would "caught your death" literally.

Without this need to wrap up in clothes and hats. They have gradually lost their place as a "need" to wear. Hats are now moreso a "fashion" item to a large number of people.

The recent rush to buy trilbys after a pop-star has worn them and even (gut-wretching pause) the classic bowler has seen a re-vamp through certain celebrities who would have the old guard turning in their graves. lol

Nowday people in developed countries know that they will only be outside for a short period fo time, hence the need not to have hats or umbrellas ( Both signs of a true gentleman!)

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

It seem to me that when closed cars and other covered forms of transport, buses, trolleys and the like became common, men still wore hats but they lasted longer, so they didn't buy as many. People (and their hats) were less exposed to the weather.

 

[scotrace]

.

I think that skin cancer cases on the face and neck have increased along with the lack of hat wearing.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

I think that skin cancer cases on the face and neck have increased along with the lack of hat wearing.

My doctor tells me every summer, "If you're going out in the sun, wear a wide brim hat." Wise words indeed.

 

[Andykev]

It is not due to Kennedy, but his time.

The death of hat wearing has been covered here in detail. The HATLESS JACK book is excellent, and written from the perspective of a man in the hat industry.

In summary, the reasons are varied, but these are some reasons:

Men coming back from WWII who had to wear hats, choose to discard them.

Car roof lines lowered from the cars of the 30's and 40's. The sleek looks of the cars from the 60's were inconvenient for hat wearers.

Improvements in heating and air conditioning systems in buildings, both private and public, have lent a degree of "lightening" of clothing in general. Clothes were heavier back then, for purpose. Now clothes are cheaply made and are light weight. Try wearing a heavy coat in your office, you get the idea. Hats fell into this.

Cars, and the move to the suburbs. Fewer people out walking and taking the bus/train..subway. Oh, we are a LOT fatter today as a society because if it.

The "peace and freedom" and "counter culture" of the 60's. I never saw a flower child in a fedora.

The "sexual revolution", it was not "cool" to wear a stogy old Fedora like the old guys. Think "James Bond".

Of course, the Beatles, and subsequent rock and roll.

I am sure there are many more reasons....

But I for one, ALWAYS wear my hat, EVERY DAY. I don't want to go cold, and the skin cancer is a big concern for me.

 

[Earp]

I don't know if it's just my area of the state of Michigan or what, but I seem to notice more men wearing Fedora type hats the last few years. Cowboy hats were often seen for some time around here but yesterday when I went to my local bookstore (wearing my hat) I saw two other gentlemen wearing fedoras also. (One looked to be about 35 years old and the other in his mid 40's.) Then again, do you think certain venues or places are more apt to attract folks who wear fedoras? I see lots of them at traditional music festivals and jamborees. Are book readers more apt to be hat wearers? I bet there's something to this. Anyone know if this has ever been polled or studied?

 

[Leading Edge]

I don't know if it's just my area of the state of Michigan or what, but I seem to notice more men wearing Fedora type hats the last few years. Cowboy hats were often seen for some time around here but yesterday when I went to my local bookstore (wearing my hat) I saw two other gentlemen wearing fedoras also. (One looked to be about 35 years old and the other in his mid 40's.) Then again, do you think certain venues or places are more apt to attract folks who wear fedoras? I see lots of them at traditional music festivals and jamborees. Are book readers more apt to be hat wearers? I bet there's something to this. Anyone know if this has ever been polled or studied?

I agree.
I am an avid book reader. My only annual activity, the source of almost my entire social circle is the Philadelphia Folk Festival.
I have seen more fedoras and other true hats as well as true (not baseball:rage: ) caps lately in the places my homes away from home (read book stores) and hats have always been common among "folkies".
Once upon a time before I lucked into Fedora Lounge, I thought it was just another one of my idiosyncracies. Now, I rather agree with Topper: people who no longer respect or feel challenged by the elements jettison what I consider to be survival essentials, i.e. proper shoes and socks, well tailored trousers and a good belt, a good protective (at least a three season) coat, gloves, and a good hat.

BTW: Thanks Scotrace for adding yet another book to my "got to read" list which seems to be lengthening at a much greater rate since I started hanging out in the Lounge

 

[Jovan]

The "sexual revolution", it was not "cool" to wear a stogy old Fedora like the old guys. Think "James Bond".

James Bond wore a hat; I believe a black or dark brown trilby (?). At least, in the novels and the early movies. Unfortunately you rarely see him with it on his head, besides the helicopter vs. sniper rifle sequence in FRWL and regularly in the opening gun barrel sequence. Even then, that wasn't Sean Connery, it was someone doubling as him.

Regardless, those movies and Indiana Jones made an impression on me. I only own an inexpensive brown fedora as of now, but it springs back to shape and resists water well. I think it was a decent buy, and attractive.

 

[MattJH]

My only annual activity, the source of almost my entire social circle is the Philadelphia Folk Festival.

I've never been, but I have many friends that go every single year. I used to be a huge, huge, huge Dan Bern fan who is apparently notoriously known for being banned from the folk festival after a shenanigan or two. Anyway, I hear it's a great time. Just wanted to comment on it!

 

[Stoney]

Sorry, I disagree..

with the experts who wrote the books. Recorded History is full of facts that have more basis on opinion and perspective than on the truth. When taking any sort of measurement you have to consider the environmental variables which affect your measurements. Did the authors move across the US and take a census of hat wearing over the entire history of the 20th century?
I seriously doubt that they did. Without solid scientificly collected evidence upon what are they basing their positions?

IMHO Hat wearing has never stopped but has declined significantly to the point that it is now rare to see men wearing hats.

Having lived back in the sixties I can say with certainty, in central Iowa where I actually observed it happening, that a higher percentage of men wearing fedoras continued well into the sixites. Although over half of the male poulation did not wear hats you would see quite a few fedoras as you walked down any city street and local stores carried a wide selection of fedoras. It wasn't until the late sixtes that it became less common to see a man wearing a hat. Again this is when you saw more men, not just Hippies but your average Joe as well, in Iowa with longer hair. By the early seventies hat wearing by men was far less common with the exception being ball caps on the farmers, kids and those who were de-tasseling corn to make a little exta money during the summer. It also became less common to see a large selection of fedoras for sale in local stores at that time. People still wear hats, especially in the summer when they plan to be outdoors, it's just less common than it used to be.

Of course this may be due entirely to the location since the culture in Iowa tends to adopt social changes more slowly than the majority of the US which is a good example of an environmental variable that most book authors would not take into consideration.

I'll agree with Topper, and others, that factors such as air conditioning, central heating and less time spent afoot all contibuted to the decline in hat wearing and that today hats are worn primarily for fashion rather than for utility.

Is my opinion correct? Again my opinon based on my own observations which I tend to trust much more than the written word of so called experts. I'm sure others with different life experiences will disagree and thats OK by me.

 

[Aaron Hats]

Sometimes I think that I think that, but then I wonder if it's all in my head and that I'm just noticing them now because I never did before, being that I'm fairly new to fedoras. Kind of like when I purchased my Subaru Forester and suddenly noticed them all over the road, when before that I was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee and noticed them all over the road, etc.

Bad analogy, but I think I illustrated what I mean.

This is the analogy I use when somebody walks into the store and says "It's too bad people don't wear hats anymore.". You don't see it if you're not looking for it.

I think that skin cancer cases on the face and neck have increased along with the lack of hat wearing.

In my opinion, this will be the single biggest factor in the popularity of hats in the next 10 years. Today you have companies like Tilley Endurables, Physician Endorsed and Sunday Afternoons that make their hats with tested and certified UV protection.

You may not have 95% of the population wearing hats today but the general public has never had a greater variety of headwear to choose from than they do today.

Aaron

 

[Prairie Shade]

Many Reasons

As a baby boomer - It was viewed as something that identified you as a member of the "older" generation. Now that I'm there or beyond, I have come to a point in my life when I do what I feel is right, and wear what I want to wear. Lets just say, there are more reasons to wear hats, than not to wear hats. As a matter of fact Aaron, I'm going to be breaking out that Sunday Afternoon straw I bought from you last fall. When the temps get out of teens again!! I'll never catch up to Scotrace with only 250+ posts, I'm trying, I'm trying

 

[ValleyBoy]

Hello all. I must say that my generation is as naked as any these days. If not for baseball caps, virtually none from my age bracket would wear hats. Even in our rural setting, cowboy hats have become more scarce. I once commented to someone about their lack of cover and was told that hats drew too much attention. Yet dyed hair, black nails, loud cars and poor clothing don't? :eusa_doh:

 

[Pat_H]

Well here is my theory....... ( 2 reasons)


1) Heated cars and trains. In olden days people walked more, as if they used transport cars e.t.c - they were not the all-coms you have today. If you went in a Train it would be a cold not heated carriage. So people still wore hats. Also the journeys were of often longer ( as slower transport) so you would hat to wrap up warmer- else get a cold, abe become ill.

With modern way of life, we have shorter journeys, travel in, and work in heated environments, thus we no longer have the need to wrap up very warmly unless it is cold (when it is snowing 90% of people wioll probably be wearing some form of headwear).


Hence the demise of the need of "headwear" to keep us warm.

Another thing I've noticed progressing is the total lack of protection from the elements. I work in NYC and regularly see business men in the cold and the rain without an overcoat, hat, or umbrella. And its not like they are getting out of a cab and walking twenty feet into a building, they are walking long distances like this, some are in suits and some are casual. It was not like this twenty years ago, perhaps it has to do with the move to business casual.

Exactly , in olden days, had you done this , you would "caught your death" literally.

Without this need to wrap up in clothes and hats. They have gradually lost their place as a "need" to wear. Hats are now more so a "fashion" item to a large number of people.

Quite right.

This change didn’t occur in a vacuum either, although the demise of serious hats (from which I’d exclude baseball caps) came about during a period of time in which increased indoor work, and decreased outdoor work, caused an overall decline in general knowledge about how to dress so the elements do not eventually harm you. People who worked outdoors, and in some occupations this is still true, tend to wear clothing that is more protective in general. Cowhands are a good example, as even now, in most regions, they wear long sleeve shirts even in the middle of summer, as well as a broad brim hat.

Coming from a rural background, I’ve always tended towards that and was shocked while a geology student by how little clothing students would wear in an outdoor setting. T-shirts and shorts are comfortable and cool, but not exactly the smartest gear if you are continually outdoors. Now, of course, this has spread to cool weather as well, as I’ll frequently see young people wearing shorts, and no coat, on their hikes from the house to the school bus.

Even for those who lived in cities, it was once the case that people spent a lot more time in the elements. Henry Fairlie’s old article in The New Republic entitled The Cow’s Revenge details that industrial workers from the turn of the last century walked an average of seven miles to get to work. Most people do not walk that now in a week, I’d guess. And even jobs in office buildings, prior to 1930 or so, where subject to the deficiencies in heating systems, etc., at the time.

It’s interesting in this context that baseball caps began to rise in popularity in the 40s. The first example of that might be the use of the caps by the Navy for some thing in World War Two. As they’re a cap that can easily be worn indoors, I’d guess that explains why.

I think that skin cancer cases on the face and neck have increased along with the lack of hat wearing.

Quite right also.

Indeed, in this area the Farm Bureau makes an annual effort to get farmers (not ranchers, but farmers) to wear broad brim hats. In the popular imagination, farmers wear straw hats, but in reality, a lot of them wear ball caps. They’re easy to wear, but they protect very little.

 

[HDRnR]

I think there is a general disdain for having to carry anything extra, that goes from hats, overcoats..etc...to even briefcases now. On a side note I occaisionally see the same group of union workers on my way to work and there is one that wears a tophat everyday which I think is cool.

 

[Martinis at 8]

Resurrect the draft. That'll get 'em wearing hats again.

M8

 

[akaBruno]

Just talked to me 91 year old mum about it.

Dad couldn't afford a hat after they got married. They were dirt poor during the Great Depression.

Some things other than hats took priority.

BRUNO

btw, when he did wear a hat. He liked it cocked to one side.

 

[Pat_H]

Resurrect the draft. That'll get 'em wearing hats again.

M8

Well, caps anyway.

It probably shows my mindset, but I don't think the Army has had a really good looking piece of headgear since the campaign hat.

 

[deanglen]

Well, caps anyway.

It probably shows my mindset, but I don't think the Army has had a really good looking piece of headgear since the campaign hat.

Agreed.

dean

 

[dhermann1]

All of the above

I agree with everybody. Plus: have you tried wearing a fedora in a car with a head rest? Very irksome! The hat has to go in the back seat!