Posted on 05/13/2012 7:42:53 PM PDT by Eyes Unclouded
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So what happened? Why did guys stop wearing headgear in midcentury America?
The turning point, most people say, was John F. Kennedy's inauguration. Before Kennedy, all presidents wore top hats on their first day at work. Kennedy brought one, but hardly ever put it on. Fashionistas say Kennedy, one of our most charismatic presidents, made hats un-happen. And, chronologically speaking, after JFK, guys everywhere, even balding ones like astronaut John Glenn, went topless.
But I am the son of a hat designer. And my father, Allen S. Krulwich, had a different explanation. The president who de-hatted America, he thought, was Dwight Eisenhower.
Here's my dad's logic.
In the 1950s and this was one of Ike's grand accomplishments he built a vast highway system across America. Interstates went up everywhere. Cities extended roads, turnpikes, highways, and suburbs appeared around every major city. People, instead of taking a bus, a tram, a train to work, could hop into their new Chevy or Ford and drive.
Before Eisenhower, many more people used public transportation. After Eisenhower, they used a car. That, my father thinks, created the critical Head-To-Roof Difference.
A person of average height standing in a bus, tram or subway car has, roughly, three feet between the top of his head and the roof.
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
Unless you already know it's perverted and disgusting, in which case you turn to other media.
Oh I know; I get those catalogs-I would really love to WEAR them!
If I wore any of those hats to church in rural Conn.,people wouldn’t even sit near me....Even in Raleigh NC where I go to visit every Easter and of course we go to church, the only hats are worn by cute litte toddlers.I was so disappointed.
So, when I turn 65ish, I think I’m going to become a crazy old lady just so I can wear hats; already got the cats,already own a Buick and since I developed nerve damage in my feet, I’ve acquired quite a collection of ugly flat shoes from WalMart.
Halfway there!
:)
I saw a picture taken in a First Baptist Church in Romania, probably Bucharest. It was a surprisingly large church. As I looked at it something stood out. Every female over maybe 15 years old was wearing some kind of head covering. Sometimes it was a hat and sometimes just a small covering probably made for the purpose.
When I was growing up, the Catholic Church required women and girls (after First Communion I think) to wear a head covering while in Church.
We used to have lace coverings that were either round, like a doilie (?sp) or a veil in different lengths. They were either white or black, sometimes ecru, but I adored wearing it. I felt so grown up and so much a part of the Church. It’s hard to explain. I felt special I guess..
But I do remember,it seemed like overnite hats etc. were no longer required.
As a kid it was so confusing; we were told it was a sin not to cover your head one week-(and I remember seeing lady every now and then with a Kleenex on her head! It was a serious matter-at least I thought so.)
Then Poof! Not a sin anymore....and then you could suddenly eat meat on Fridays, ....then you could have meat on Wednesdays during Lent.One change after another!
It was soooo confusing growing up Catholic during that time.
And I cried when my mom wouldn’t buy me a new veil...they used to tear because of the Bob-B-pin used to hold it on, but my mom said they weren’t necessary anymore so I wasn’t getting one.
I never got used to not wearing it; maybe that’s why I’m so drawn to hats!
(sorry for the babbling, it just brought back a lot of memories!)
You mean you don't already? Half the money and All the ... lol
My 15 year old loves hats and very rarely goes out without one. He has baseball style caps. Trilbies. A Fedora. And an English style cap.
Ya, everyone quit wearing hats...lol
Lol. Haven’t logged in ages. Way to keep this thread alive!
it is the evolution of catholicism in action
110 responses so far (as of this writing) and no one has mentioned the hats worn by country and western singers?
Well, .....
I have a gray felt stetson and a white (stained) straw stetson. I’ve about quit wearing them but put them on when I go to Walmart.
The old ladies just get out of the way, allowing me unobstructed free passage
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