Posted on 09/17/2024 3:27:34 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Image of Yonge Street crowd celebrating the end of the Boer War in 1900, with the majority of people in the image wearing hats. Credits: William James / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain Headwear has been an essential fashion item for almost as long as it has existed, but people these days are not wearing hats as often as they used to in times past.
Since ancient Egypt and ancient Greece, people have worn headwear. Men and women commonly used headwear, and pharaohs wore their iconic Nemes striped headcloth to communicate their status. In the Middle Ages, there were laws requiring everyone to wear hats.
Later, top and bowler hats were used for centuries in English society, where they distinguished men and women of status. In the US, bowler hats were the most used form of headwear, and hats, in general, were commonplace.
For centuries, one would be hard-pressed to find anyone who left their home without headwear. However, as the ’60s and ’70s rolled around, hats became less and less common. So, how did hats fall from popular fashion to an item people could do without so quickly?
The disappearance of hat wearing
Rumors circulate about the disappearance of the hat from modern fashion. The most prominent of these relates to President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy was always bare-headed, and with his extreme popularity, it is believed that his lack of a hat may have come to represent modern fashion.
Grecian Delight supports Greece
With the rise of a generation known for rebelling against traditional norms in the ’60s and ’70s, it makes sense why caps would be ousted from fashion.
The implications of transportation modes on hat usage However, the most likely reason for the lack of a hat is the rise of vehicles and public transportation. Thanks to advancements in transportation technology, society has rapidly transformed to the point where it is hard to conceptualize how fast the change has taken hold in how the world works today.
In a few decades, man’s primary mode of transportation went from horses and trains to cars, buses, and subway systems. Humanity’s exposure to the elements significantly decreased with the advent of these vehicles. Suddenly, a hat became cumbersome, making one duck when leaving an automobile or a bus. It often got knocked off and became uncomfortable for the user.
Just because hats have disappeared from popular fashion doesn’t mean they are not still utilized. Headwear these days is more focused on protection from the sun, like easily stored baseball caps, arguably one of the more popular forms of headwear. In terms of the top hats of old, they still find their place at British weddings and horse races.
Military personnel worldwide still wear headwear. However, the form of headdress has changed significantly throughout the centuries. Earlier, they would wear large bearskin caps and other more extravagant forms of headwear.
With the arrival of guns, military headwear has changed to more practical hard helmets and berets that can easily be stored when soldiers need to switch to their helmets.
While hats aren’t as popular these days as before, they still find their use in the modern world. However, there will always be those who wish for the old days when hats could be found on every head on the street.
Same reason they stopped wearing suits.
Because Lids is charging $50 for a baseball cap. No thanks.
John Denver’s Hologram sings:
“Sunshine
On My Bald Spot
Makes Me Happy!”
The Army made me wear a hat and I always hated hats ,LOL
Because JFK did not wear a hat to his 1960 inauguration. Men stopped wearing hats over night.
My head fries like an egg in the sun, so it’s kind of required for me.
Because it messes up your hair and makes you look stupid. That’s easy! Next question.
P.J. O’Rourke —
‘A hat should be taken off when greeting a lady, and left off the rest of your life. Nothing looks more stupid than a hat.’
Who gives a rats ass. I have 50 golf caps in my collection. I always have a cap on. Looks better than my thin. What’s left, hair.
Ball caps are still pretty popular.
Brain cooling?
I have terrible “Bed Head”, so a baseball cap is a must.
Less beaver chasing?
Not bald at all, but I live in the desert southwest.
It’s a cowboy hat, hard hat if I’m on a location, or a boonie hat (for the yard or fishing/hunting). Because the Sun is a wee bit intense here.
And then you have hat hair, and so keep wearing the hat later.
And then the question is “do you keep wearing the hat indoors”? There’s a split opinion on this one now.
I almost always wear a hat when I am outside my home or car.
MAGA hat to protect my head from the Sun and pass off lib’s. I also wear a warm hat in cold weather and I wear a Fedora to look classy at Wedding and other formal occasions.
I always wear a hat now. Since the surgeon took a cancerous hunk out of my face, just under my eye, I wear a hat during the day - Doc said it was a good idea. A straw Stetson during Summer and a felt one for Winter.
Do Bass Pro hats count? 😉
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