Mad Hatters

I found a fascinating article in the Wall Street Journal the other day that I thought I'd share. It discusses the confusion of the young about proper hat-wearing etiquette now that hats are making a comeback. "Hats" as in fedoras (you know, Indiana Jones) and the like, not baseball caps, which never left. Since hats have been out of style for over a generation, kids don't know how to wear them because they have no one to teach them. Add to that the fact that many are wearing hats to be trendy and so are unwilling to take them off and diminish they're style and you have the makings of a bit of a mess. Said one of the men interviewed: "I said 'I'm not wearing a baseball cap or a ski hat, I'm wearing an $80 fedora!" Well, if it's $80 it's a cheap fedora, but you still get the point.

While I find the social commentary about information and being lost between generations and strange disappearance of hats (which I've seen chalked up to car seats with high backs, low car roofs, dirty hippies and their long hair, and JFK) interesting, I read the article because I'm a fan of hats, fedoras in particular. Places like CC and Davenport aren't exactly on the bleeding edge of style (I'm sure that comes as a shock), so I can't really wear one without looking like an eccentric weirdo (This would be a good time to chime in, "Look like!?!"), but it warms my heart to see men starting to bring hats back. I have to admit to sharing some of the confusion about etiquette and protocol. If you've only worn a baseball cap, which you can wear nearly anywhere, and you only take it off during the national anthem, how do you know how to treat a real hat? Anyway, I'm not looking for a return to suit, tie, and fedoras for work as I would quite literally die of heat stroke, but I would like to see the trend of greater acceptance of real hats continue.