When is a hat acceptible?

Definitely on vacation. Other times, some can pull it off (AlanC consistently does), others, looks a little affected.

Whew, that rolls me past post number 666

From men.style.com. I especially like the last line.

April 11, 2005"”Long a favorite of aging golf pros and tropical grifters the world over, the Panama hat (generally from Ecuador, actually) has been showing up on some rather hipper heads of late. Modified versions appeared on a few runways (Prada's included), East Village menswear boutique Odin has nearly sold out of its fedora-style Y-3 number, and the J.J. Hat Center, New York's prime Panama purveyor, reports that it has recently nattified the likes of Mos Def and Matthew Broderick. The icing on the cake came when one of our far-flung correspondents spotted artist and legendary dandy Francesco Clemente accessorizing his plaid shirt and Air Force Ones with a classic, optimo-style straw hat during a Caribbean jaunt. According to Mark Williamson, the store manager at J.J. Hat Center, guys in their 20s and 30s "who are self confident and have a sense of what suits them" are snapping them up. So what are you waiting for? Just be sure to balance the look properly. Take a page from Clemente's book and dress it down. Best leave the double-breasted blazer and madras pants to the 19th-hole crowd.

Originally Posted by Shraka

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I know it's not traditionally polite, but I think it's okay to wear your hat indoors sometimes.

I was once asked to take my sun hat off inside, which was perfectly reasonable... except they didn't give me anywhere to put it, so I had to sit with it on my lap during lunch.

If you're establishment is sophisticated enough to ask patrons to take off their hats indoors, it's sophisticated enough to have a hat rack at the door.

The whole idea of wearing a hat indoors being "impolite" is, in my opinion, ludicrous. Some people actually seem to get offended, and my question to them would be "why?" I'd be curious to know if they had an actual reason, or if it was just because some outdated social convention told them they should be offended.

According to what I've read, it started with churches. There's an obscure passage in the Bible (I'm not going to bother to look it up) that says men shouldn't cover their heads when they pray while women should. A few very conservative Western Christian churches still follow this, but most don't. This carried over to homes, though the sources I've consulted aren't sure why. In more recent times, when hats with brims were more common, hats often were dirty (men usually only had one) or wet, so wearing it around someone's home meant the possibility of tracking in extra dirt or water. I can understand this. But nowadays, this usually isn't the case. Most of the older men in my family wear or have worn hats (mostly trilbys), and I've never seen a dirty hat. We ride in cars, carry umbrellas, etc. If one of you did happen to go to someone's home with a dirty hat, I'd think you'd have the good sense to remove it at the door. But what about the perfectly clean hat? Why is it somehow "offensive" to wear it indoors? This is what happens when people blindly follow traditions without thinking.

Originally Posted by Connemara

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I wear a silk top hat to the grocery store and auto shop.

to the grocery of course that is correct, but to the auto shop? tisk tisk.
everyone knows the auto shop requires a homburg.

Originally Posted by Teacher

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The whole idea of wearing a hat indoors being "impolite" is, in my opinion, ludicrous. Some people actually seem to get offended, and my question to them would be "why?" I'd be curious to know if they had an actual reason, or if it was just because some outdated social convention told them they should be offended.

According to what I've read, it started with churches. There's an obscure passage in the Bible (I'm not going to bother to look it up) that says men shouldn't cover their heads when they pray while women should. A few very conservative Western Christian churches still follow this, but most don't. This carried over to homes, though the sources I've consulted aren't sure why. In more recent times, when hats with brims were more common, hats often were dirty (men usually only had one) or wet, so wearing it around someone's home meant the possibility of tracking in extra dirt or water. I can understand this. But nowadays, this usually isn't the case. Most of the older men in my family wear or have worn hats (mostly trilbys), and I've never seen a dirty hat. We ride in cars, carry umbrellas, etc. If one of you did happen to go to someone's home with a dirty hat, I'd think you'd have the good sense to remove it at the door. But what about the perfectly clean hat? Why is it somehow "offensive" to wear it indoors? This is what happens when people blindly follow traditions without thinking.

i think its a very nice custom. it shows respect to your host be it a home or a business. it says you accept the protection of his home/roof.

The whole idea of wearing a hat indoors being "impolite" is, in my opinion, ludicrous. Some people actually seem to get offended, and my question to them would be "why?" I'd be curious to know if they had an actual reason, or if it was just because some outdated social convention told them they should be offended.

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People that think like this don't understand why we get mad at people who do not remove their hats during the playing of the national anthem. It is a matter of respect and you may think that it is some outdated chivalrous tradition but others feel it is a part of being a gentleman.

Originally Posted by yo!

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People that think like this don't understand why we get mad at people who do not remove their hats during the playing of the national anthem. It is a matter of respect and you may think that it is some outdated chivalrous tradition but others feel it is a part of being a gentleman.

But my entire point, though, is there is no reason for it, no practical effect at all. The only reason people can seem to muster is "just because." If I track mud into your house, you're probably going to be at least a little annoyed, which is perfectly understandable. That's why in my part of the country it is a general custom to remove shoes before going into someone's home. But if you get annoyed with me "just because" (i.e. there is no actual reason you can think of that you're annoyed, it's "just because"), then I'm just not going to think you a terribly reasonable person.

I'm not a blind follower of tradition just for the sake of tradition. Traditions evolve...they always have and always will. There are reasons for this. Some traditions stick around when they have to apparent purpose, but those are usually fun traditions. Most people don't get upset if you don't kiss a person who is under the mistletoe, so there's no harm in such a tradition.

I don't wear hats, except for a woven hat when I'm hiking or a stocking cap in the winter. I dont' wear these indoors because it's impractical and because they may well be dusty and/or wet; because of this, I have no personal stake in this. Still, I'm not so much of an impractical busybody that I get worked up over whether someone has a hat inside.

Originally Posted by AlanC

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If it's raining you want beaver felt.

Good rabbit felt stands up pretty well even to some pretty heavy rain--not as well as beaver, I'm sure, but I don't own any beaver felt hats--too pricey for a po' boy like me!

Originally Posted by Teacher

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But my entire point, though, is there is no reason for it, no practical effect at all. The only reason people can seem to muster is "just because." If I track mud into your house, you're probably going to be at least a little annoyed, which is perfectly understandable. That's why in my part of the country it is a general custom to remove shoes before going into someone's home. But if you get annoyed with me "just because" (i.e. there is no actual reason you can think of that you're annoyed, it's "just because"), then I'm just not going to think you a terribly reasonable person.

I'm not a blind follower of tradition just for the sake of tradition. Traditions evolve...they always have and always will. There are reasons for this. Some traditions stick around when they have to apparent purpose, but those are usually fun traditions. Most people don't get upset if you don't kiss a person who is under the mistletoe, so there's no harm in such a tradition.

I don't wear hats, except for a woven hat when I'm hiking or a stocking cap in the winter. I dont' wear these indoors because it's impractical and because they may well be dusty and/or wet; because of this, I have no personal stake in this. Still, I'm not so much of an impractical busybody that I get worked up over whether someone has a hat inside.

yes i am practical also and yes there is no important reason to do so.
but i think its a polite gesture.

When I am playing poker

Originally Posted by Shraka

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I know it's not traditionally polite, but I think it's okay to wear your hat indoors sometimes.

I was once asked to take my sun hat off inside, which was perfectly reasonable... except they didn't give me anywhere to put it, so I had to sit with it on my lap during lunch.

If you're establishment is sophisticated enough to ask patrons to take off their hats indoors, it's sophisticated enough to have a hat rack at the door.
This is why, up until very recently, I pretty much wore only crushable hats, which I could/can stow in my messenger bag while I eat (or whatever). And I'm not sure how the experiment with non-crushables is going to work out, even though those hats are Panamas and one (with a fabric sweatband) can, in theory, be rolled up. I'd be interested to know how others handle the stowage problem.

Originally Posted by JLibourel

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Good rabbit felt stands up pretty well even to some pretty heavy rain--not as well as beaver, I'm sure, but I don't own any beaver felt hats--too pricey for a po' boy like me!

That's because you're giving all your money to Chan and AE.

A hat is an acceptable article of clothing for any and all occasions. Just mind hat etiquette and it's all good.

Teacher, I pretty much agree, but I'm not going to debate the logic with someone who asks me to take me hat off in their home or establishment. I might think it's a silly rule but if it distresses people then so be it. Arguments of that nature tend to go nowhere as they have no basis for their concern other than 'this is the right way', and as such I can't really convince them that they're being silly (even though it should be obvious when you get down to 'just 'cuz'). And lots of people do lots of things 'just because'. If I took the time to argue with every single one I came across about the stupid stuff they were doing, I'd have no time left to do anything else!

However! I'm not going to be uncomfortable balancing my hat on my lap while trying to eat just because someone thinks it's impolite to wear one indoors. I think it's very impolite to ask someone to remove their hat, and not give them somewhere to store it! I'm certainly not going to stop wearing hats, as I'm very fair, and live in Australia. Skin cancer is a real concern for me.

I think next time I'm asked to remove my hat, I'll hand it to the wait staff to deal with.

Originally Posted by Shraka

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Teacher, I pretty much agree, but I'm not going to debate the logic with someone who asks me to take me hat off in their home or establishment. I might think it's a silly rule but if it distresses people then so be it. Arguments of that nature tend to go nowhere as they have no basis for their concern other than 'this is the right way', and as such I can't really convince them that they're being silly (even though it should be obvious when you get down to 'just 'cuz'). And lots of people do lots of things 'just because'. If I took the time to argue with every single one I came across about the stupid stuff they were doing, I'd have no time left to do anything else!


Yes, I agree with this. I'm not saying people should argue with those requests; I'm just saying the requests themselves are silly. People talk frequently about "polite" society, but where I'm from, being polite involves not making unreasonable requests, or at least:

However! I'm not going to be uncomfortable balancing my hat on my lap while trying to eat just because someone thinks it's impolite to wear one indoors. I think it's very impolite to ask someone to remove their hat, and not give them somewhere to store it! I'm certainly not going to stop wearing hats, as I'm very fair, and live in Australia. Skin cancer is a real concern for me.

I think next time I'm asked to remove my hat, I'll hand it to the wait staff to deal with.

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...when one does make such a request, one should be polite enough to make accomodations. You are absolutely correct. Asking a person to do something like remove items from their person without offering adequate protection and convenience is a far more egregious act than wearing a clean, stylish hat in the first place.