Why Did Men Stop Wearing Hats?

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It’s no secret that we at the Gentleman’s Gazette are big on hats, but they are less commonly seen today than at the beginning 19th century, for instance. So, what happened, what changed, and why did men stop wearing hats? We’ve got the answers!

When looking at old photographs or watching old movies, you’ve probably heard people comment on the copious amount of hats worn in them. When discussing previous eras, you’ve probably heard the often overused phrase that “a man wouldn’t leave the house without a hat on.” Phrased another way, it’s all about the hats.

Why is this? Well, it’s one of the clearest visual signifiers that differentiates the so-called “good old days” from today, at least within the context of the lineage of classic menswear. Of course, men today are still wearing suits daily, even if they are becoming less common, but the hat is increasingly rarely worn.

Raphael in a summer ensemble with a Panama hat.
Raphael in a summer ensemble with a Panama hat.

In fact, to turn that overused phrase on its head, most men today leave the house without ever even thinking of putting on a hat.

In the summer months, of course, you may see a baseball cap or two to shield the wearer’s eyes from the sun, at least when it’s worn in the traditional orientation. Or you may see various types of woolly hats in the winter just to keep the wearer’s head warm, but these more utilitarian types of hats aren’t necessarily what we’re referring to here.

Raphael wearing a linen shirt, black baseball cap, and aviators.
Baseball caps will shield your eyes from sunlight–when worn the right way around, that is!

Rather, we’re discussing hats of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as the fedora, trilby, homburg, pork pie, straw boater, flat cap, or even the top hat. These were the classic types of headwear that would adorn any man’s head when he was out and about for business or leisure.

History of Hats: From Prehistoric Times to the 20th Century

To get to the answers, we’ll have to dive into history. Hats have been around since before historical records even began. In fact, the oldest surviving example of prehistoric clothing that we’ve found includes a hat. Specifically, it’s one made of bearskin worn by Ötzi the Iceman. He was discovered in the Alps in 1991, an estimated 5,000 years or so after his death.

Hat made of bearskin
Hat made of bearskin [Image Credit: bbc.com]

Like Ötzi himself, the hat was encased in ice, and once we thawed it out, we found that it was made of various pieces of bearskin that were sewn together. It even had leather thongs or straps that were likely used to hold the hat to the wearer’s head. However, these must not have worked too well because Ötzi had clearly lost his hat a little while before he died.

The first thing that humans naturally shield from the elements or falling objects is the head. It makes complete sense then that prehistoric peoples from all over the world are shown to have made hats at some point. In fact, they may even be the oldest known type of garment made by humans. So, as to the question of when hats began, we can’t really say for certain.

Prehistoric hats made by humans
Prehistoric hats made by humans [Image Credit: (L-R) Witness2Fashion, USAToday.com]

Cultures from all over the world and throughout history have made hats from all different kinds of materials, including plants, leather, fur, wool, felt, and today, even things like plastic.

In addition to protection, which we also mentioned before, hats have been worn for various reasons, including fashion, showing association, or even showing social status or class. For an iconic example of this, we can look to the late 19th and early 20th century with the clear distinction between the upper classes who wore top hats and the lower classes who wore flat caps.

The flat cap is often associated with the working class
The flat cap is often associated with the working class [Image Credit: thesun.co.uk]

To dive further into some of the various reasons we just mentioned, we can go back a bit further in history. For example, in the Middle Ages, you can see hats like the coif, which were worn for protection, or the chaperon worn for fashion. In the 1600s, the cavaliers famously wore large brimmed hats with big feathers to show allegiance to the king.

In the 1700s, we saw the tricorn hat, which today is commonly associated with pirates, but in that day was actually quite fashionable. The flat brim of previous styles was now pinned up to the crown of the hat, and the large feather was replaced by a bow, perhaps for ease of use when drawing a sword with a sweeping motion.

Tricorn hats with flat brims from 1700s
Tricorn hats with flat brims from 1700s [Image Credit: (L-R) Wikipedia.com, artic.edu]

The closely related bicorn hat was a common feature of military uniforms from the 1790s to the early 1900s. In the late 1700s, beaver felt top hats were invented, and by the 1800s, they were all the rage, and through the 1800s, most of our favorite modern hat styles were born.

The bowler hat came along in the mid-1800s, and the 1880s gave us both the fedora, although it wouldn’t become a men’s hat until the 1920s, and the German hunting hat known as the Homburg. The Homburg wouldn’t hit the world stage until the 1890s, however when King Edward VII wore one on his return from a hunting trip to Germany.

Homburg - The classic Evening Hat for a Tuxedo - note it does not have the pinch of a Lords Hat.
Homburg – The classic Evening Hat for a Tuxedo – note it does not have the pinch of a Lords Hat.

So, by the turn of the 20th century, there were many different hat options available to men. The fedora cemented itself as a predominant option, replacing the top hat, homburg, and bowler to some extent. However, these styles were continually worn as well.

The fedora’s popularity was also cemented due to its frequent appearances in movies where stars like Cary Grant and Humphrey Bogart wore it. In the 1950s, musicians like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin continued to make it popular. Finally, in the 1960s, the closely related trilby hat took over as the most popular hat style for men.

To sum all of this up then, hats have been with us in one form or another basically since forever. So, after the 1960s, what happened?

Humphrey Bogart's most famous look combined the trench coat and the fedora in Casablanca
Humphrey Bogart’s most famous look combined the trench coat and the fedora in Casablanca [Image Credit: Hollywoodreporter.com]

As we mentioned in our guide on how to wear a hat with style and confidence, the decline in hat-wearing is often attributed to President John F. Kennedy going hatless at his inauguration in 1961. But, in fact, this isn’t true, and further, JFK actually revived the tradition of wearing a top hat to one’s inauguration, which had been dormant for a short time.

So, in other words, no. One man 60 years ago is not solely responsible for the modern man usually leaving his house bare-headed. In fact, there are many socio-cultural reasons why the tradition of hat-wearing declined.

JFK on his inauguration day--note the top hat in his hand
JFK on his inauguration day–note the top hat in his hand [Image Credit: millercenter.org]

As we also mentioned in that previous guide, one such reason may have been that men returning from the World Wars were sick of wearing helmets or uniform headgear, but this may not be a principal reason either. More significantly then, we think we’ve got four main reasons why hat-wearing declined.

Why Did Men Stop Wearing Hats? 1. Climate Control

One of the biggest reasons for the loss of hat-wearing is likely that we now have better control over our indoor climate than we used to. This is also why men can now go in and out of doors, sometimes wearing fewer than two layers of clothing, and why things like gloves and scarves aren’t as popular as they used to be.

Kyle wearing his navy overcoat with gold buttons from Banana Republic. (Gloves and scarf from Fort Belvedere.
Kyle wearing his navy overcoat with gold buttons from Banana Republic. (Gloves from Fort Belvedere)

Let’s say it’s a cold winter’s day; leaving your heated office for 20 seconds to get into your heated car, which you’ll drive home, and then leave for another 10 seconds to enter your heated house means that you probably aren’t going to bother with copious layers like a heavy overcoat, scarf, gloves, and hat. Most men are dressing more or less for room temperature all the time. 

2. Changing Notions of Social Class

Our second reason, which we touched on before, is notions of social class. Before the World Wars, social class was an incredibly important aspect of Western society, and people were absolutely expected to know their place. But, after the horrors of war brought every social class just a bit closer, we began to focus more on the individual rather than on the class in which they resided.

Tech magnates Bill Gates and Steve Jobs dressed like any one of us.
Tech magnates like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are increasingly likely to dress like any one of us. [Image Credit: (R) Forbes.com]

As a result, the practice of wearing clothing, particularly hats, to signify yourself as part of a distinct group has become largely extinct. These days, even the very wealthy are more likely to show off how much money they have by how fast their car is or how expensive their watch is. Or you could take a look at figures like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, who generally dress just like the rest of us.

3. Prevalence of Highways & Motorcars

Perhaps the biggest of all of these reasons is the increasing prevalence of highway systems and automobiles over the 20th and 21st centuries. So the next time you’re on a train in the subway or on a bus or tram, look up and consider how much headroom you have above you.

Sven Raphael wearing Fort Belvedere Driving Gloves and a green polo shirt.
Sven Raphael wearing Fort Belvedere Driving Gloves in a Ferrari F430.

Depending on your height, when you’re standing up, you’ll have anywhere between two and three feet of space between the top of your head and the ceiling of the car.

Back when these were the main types of mass transport, tall hats like stovepipes could be worn comfortably, as they wouldn’t even come close to touching the ceiling. The same can be said for horse-drawn carriages, which also often offered plenty of headroom. 

Early automobiles had open roofs, tall canvases, and taller roof heights to accommodate hats.
Early automobiles had open roofs, tall canvases, and taller roof heights to accommodate hats. [Image Credit: theconversation.com]

Meanwhile, though, look up at the ceiling in your own car. How much headroom do you have there? The answer is probably not much, perhaps even for a relatively soft or short hat style. Simply put, modern cars aren’t built to accommodate the hat styles of old.

Early automobiles did somewhat accommodate these hat styles either by having open roofs, tall canvases that could be pulled back and opened up or just having taller roof heights in general. Even as early as the 1920s, though, roofs on automobiles got lower.

A vintage automobile with a removable canvas top
A vintage automobile with a removable canvas top [Image Credit: barret-jackson.com]

Remember that the most primitive reason for wearing a hat is to protect your head from the elements or falling objects, but when you’re in an enclosed car, you don’t need that kind of head protection.

Curiously, special cars with taller roofs were made to accommodate the wearing of top hats. But, these were ultimately historical curiosities that could only be afforded by the very wealthy. So, for everyone else, the invention of motor cars made taller hat styles mostly impractical.

Preston showing the brim of a black bowler hat with a black band.
The bowler is a stiff hat, and may be deformed by a low car roof.

Furthermore, stiffer hat styles like the bowler or Homburg could also be crushed or misshapen by lower ceilings, whereas the fedora and trilby are naturally crushable and can be packed and stored more easily.

Also, as time developed and softer felt hats like the fedora and trilby became more popular, car roofs lowered even further until there was barely any space left at all. For a comparison, consider a car from the 1950s and compare it against a model from the early 1900s. You’ll see that there’s a drastic difference in the height of the roof.

A car from the 1950s had less headroom than a model from the early 1900s.
A car from the 1950s had less headroom than a model from the early 1900s. [Image Credit: (L-R) groovyhistory.com, mad4wheels.com]

And around this same time, we also saw the federal-aid highway act of 1956 signed by President Dwight Eisenhower, which saw the construction of a 41,000-mile national system of interstate and defense highways. The construction of safe and convenient highways that crossed the entire country underscored the reality that, by this time, cars had become a way of life.

So, with the advent of highways, there were even more cars and car travel occurring, and fewer people were traveling by train, subway, bus, or tram. So, this got us into a cycle where roofs were low enough that hat-wearing became less prevalent, and because hats were less commonly worn, roof heights could get even lower.

blue car with little space for headwear
This muscle car has very little clearance for headwear in the cabin. [Image Credit: supercars.net]

So, with the advent of highways, there were even more cars and car travel occurring, and fewer people were traveling by train, subway, bus, or tram. This got us into a cycle where roofs were low enough that hat-wearing became less prevalent, and because hats were less commonly worn, roof heights could get even lower.

This gets us up to today, where many modern cars have very little room for headwear, and this, to a large extent, puts the nail in the coffin of hat-wearing as a popular cultural element.

4. The Internet (and Meme Culture)

In the last decade and a half or so, hats like the fedora and trilby have gained an increasingly negative reputation thanks to internet memes from websites like 4chan, Reddit, and Tumblr.

Indeed, for some younger members of our audience, when we mention fedoras, they might first think of the infamous “tips fedora” meme. Because there are now thousands of these easily spreadable memes all over the internet, the fedora, in recent years, took on a decidedly less-than-cool reputation.

A fedora meme on the internet
A fedora meme on the internet [Image Credit: sbnation.com]

We’ll set aside for a moment the fact that this is actually a trilby hat depicted in most of these memes and sold in retail stores over the last few decades, but that’s a minor quibble. You can’t trust everything you read on the internet!

Memes like these were used to maliciously bring down people on the internet who were accused of being “try hards” or “white knights.” So, now rather than being associated with stylish figures like Humphrey Bogart or Frank Sinatra, younger generations see the fedora and trilby as being more closely associated with awkward “keyboard warriors” or “neckbeards.”

Raphael wearing a paletot overcoat with black velvet collar, light gray fedora with black band, and burgundy scarf
Raphael stylishly wearing a light gray fedora with a paletot overcoat with black velvet collar, and a burgundy scarf from Fort Belvedere

Even though we’d like to improve the average man’s online behavior a bit if we can, we’d also like to rehab the reputation of these classic hat styles.

A Note on Baseball Caps and Their History

Today, we rarely see most men wearing hats except for the very casual baseball cap. While some menswear enthusiasts would have the knee-jerk reaction of calling the baseball cap ugly or immature, the fact of the matter is that it does have a rich history and, in fact, is older than some of the other traditional styles that we’ve highlighted before.

Baseball caps in the 1840s
Baseball caps in the 1840s [Image Credit: nytimes.com]

The earliest records of baseball caps date all the way back to the 1840s, though they were worn almost exclusively for playing baseball and for keeping the sun out of the player’s eyes. They didn’t enter the realm of civilian wear until the early 20th century, when baseball fans began wearing them to the stadium to support their favorite team.

Around the 1970s, they were worn by Hollywood actors and celebrities in even more varied social situations, and by the 1980s, they were fully mainstream, at least in America. Then, in the 1990s, hip-hop artists and television shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air popularized the snapback style of the baseball cap.

Hip-hop artists wearing baseball caps
Hip-hop artists wearing baseball caps [Image Credit: (L-R) bet.com, billboard.com]

One factor for the popularity of this hat style is that it is truly the everyman’s hat and that it has no inherent class distinction even in its origin, so anyone can wear it.

Conclusion: Where Hats Stand Today

In conclusion, there are many socio-cultural, technological, and economic reasons why modern men often skip wearing a hat. From social class to automobiles to central heating to internet message boards, hats have had a rough go of it over the last 50 years or so. 

Raphael and Preston wearing bowler hats.
Raphael and Preston wearing bowler hats.
Blue Cornflower Boutonniere Buttonhole Flower Silk Fort Belvedere

Fort Belvedere

Blue Cornflower Boutonniere Buttonhole Flower Silk Fort Belvedere

Double Sided Wool Silk Scarf in Brown, Burgundy, Red, Blue Paisley with Geometric Pattern by Fort Belvedere on white background

Fort Belvedere

Double Sided Wool Silk Scarf in Brown, Burgundy, Red, Blue Paisley with Geometric Pattern

Double Sided Wool Silk Scarf in Navy, Grey, Blue Paisley & Diamond Pattern

Fort Belvedere

Double Sided Wool Silk Scarf in Navy, Grey, Blue Paisley & Diamond Pattern

Fortunately, though, there are still some social events where hats are required, like at Royal Ascot, for example, or as part of military or other dress uniforms, and even today, you will occasionally see some celebrities sporting hats as part of their overall image.

So, perhaps hats will rise again and become popular at some point in the future. We can’t say for certain, but if they do, they will likely become popular again because of fashion rather than function.

Preston wearing a brown coat, scarf and hat
Preston wearing a brown coat, Fort Belvedere scarf and hat

If you’ve read our post on whether or not the suit is dying, you’ll remember that we made a similar argument there, and, indeed, the suit is already undergoing this transition. In the meantime, the classic menswear enthusiasts among us will continue to keep the proud tradition of hat-wearing alive.

Outfit Rundown

I’m wearing a light and summery outfit that’s topped off by a hat. It’s a Panama straw hat in the traditional off-white color.

Preston wearing a light and summery outfit thats topped off by a hat.
Preston wearing a light and summery outfit that’s topped off by a hat.
Two-Tone Knit Tie in Brown and Beige Changeant Silk - Fort Belvedere

Fort Belvedere

Two-Tone Knit Tie in Brown and Beige Changeant Silk – Fort Belvedere

Soft Light Brown Cotton Flannel Pocket Square with handrolled light gray X-stitch edges - Fort Belvedere

Fort Belvedere

Soft Light Brown Cotton Flannel Pocket Square with handrolled light gray X-stitch edges – Fort Belvedere

White Spray Rose Boutonniere Buttonhole Flower Fort Belvedere

Fort Belvedere

White Spray Rose Boutonniere Buttonhole Flower Fort Belvedere

Eagle Claw Cufflinks with Tiger's Eye Balls - 925 Sterling Silver Gold Plated - Fort Belvedere

Fort Belvedere

Eagle Claw Cufflinks with Tiger's Eye Balls – 925 Sterling Silver Gold Plated – Fort Belvedere

Navy Blue & Royal Blue Two Tone Solid Oxford Socks Fil d'Ecosse Cotton - Fort Belvedere

Fort Belvedere

Navy Blue & Royal Blue Two Tone Solid Oxford Socks Fil d'Ecosse Cotton – Fort Belvedere

Although, instead of having the more typically seen black hat band, this one has a medium brown band. It softens the overall look of the hat a bit and also makes it more easily paired with other wardrobe elements as I’m taking advantage of here. Two immediately apparent examples would be my two-tone knit tie in changeant silk of brown and beige and my pocket square in light brown cotton flannel with a hand-rolled x-stitch in light gray.

My ivory spray rose boutonniere provides a bit of off-white color and visual interest, and harmonizes well with my similarly off-white shirt, into the cuffs of which I’ve got inserted our gold-plated sterling silver eagle claw cufflinks with tiger’s eye as the stone for a brown color feel. My blue double-breasted jacket from Hawes & Curtis is relatively lightweight and mostly unlined, and features a subtle check pattern that’s good for summer. My plain trousers are in a khaki or stone color.

And my tobacco brown suede loafers from Scarosso keep up the casual feel of the outfit, and also contribute to the brown color tones. Finally, my two-tone socks in light blue and royal blue tie in with the colors in my jacket and make the entire outfit harmonious from top to bottom. And, of course, you can find all of the Fort Belvedere accessories I’m wearing in the Fort Belvedere shop.

Do you believe our case for the decline of hat-wearing? Do you still wear hats today? Let us know in the comments!

Reader Comments

    1. @ Hans…

      Lol !!…now that dates us!

      (…three guys looking good in hats: Dino; Frank; Bingo…)

  1. Because of the Slobocracy movement where anything goes and very few people take the time to put any thought into their clothes. Accessorising with hats and considering whether or not they’re appropriate to the situation or event would be like asking one to climb Mt Everest nowadays (cue eye rolling)

    1. Do you have a trademark on “Slobocracy” ?
      I like that.

      (replied to wrong comment.)

      1. MLS LOL. I heard someone else use it in a comment to another article on GG and thought it was a good one some I’ve appropriated it. It’s either that or the Anything Goes movement – both work fairly well to describe the prevalent culture on apathy towards appearance.

  2. Very nice article, thank you!
    One thought that I have always had regarding headwear for both men and woman. I guess that one of the reasons that a lot of both men and woman wore headwear 50-60 years ago and backwards. Back then, most people didn’t shower/bath regularly and didn’t have access to easy ways of washing clothes. Suits and waistcoats covered a potentially dirty or damaged shirt (shirt being underwear). As the same time hat and headwear was used to cover dirty and maybe unkept hair.
    I don’t know, if it is true, but I guess it could be a part of the explanation.

    1. Agreed. I too believe it’s mainly a grooming issue with hair. This is the very reason John Kennedy would not wear a hat. He did not set the No Hat Wearing trend into motion. Dry and groomed hair did.

  3. When I was growing up, when you saw someone wearing a baseball cap sideways you thought the person was retarded. Today when I see guys wearing it like that I think of clowns. Same goes with guys who wears the hat backwards – clowns.

  4. Perhaps the male fashion of using elaborate hairdos that started in the 1950’s musical scene (remember Elvis) and went on to the 1980s (consider Metallica) may also account for the hat’s demise: these men wanted very much to flaunt their hairstyle.

    1. Very good point and probably right on. The previous reply about men not being so clean in those days seems to be daft to me

  5. Hats are very difficult. A flat cap in the country is fine and these days is classless, as is a hunting cap. People would now stare at a bowler or top hat, except for the latter perhaps at a very smart wedding. You might just be able to get away with a trilby or fedora but I think the assumption would be that you were bald or perhaps a bit over-dressed. They also blow off in high winds, which reduces any cool element. I don’t recall the very elegantly dressed Peter Gunn in the eponymous 1950s TV detective show ever wearing a hat although his rather poorly-suited chum Lt Jacobi usually had a rather battered looking one. Perhaps an exception might be made for the Panama, frequently seen worn in the UK by elderly gents at cricket matches. Why anyone would wear a baseball cap sideways or backwards is a mystery. The one thing I would say about hats is that you should buy the best that you can afford. Nothing looks worse than a cheap hat.

  6. Great article. The ceasing to wear hats seemed to happen almost overnight in the UK. I would pinpoint around 1960. They just appeared to be “old fashioned” and unnecessary. Another strange “fashion” in the UK also disappeared with the hats. The holding of mens raincoat (when not required) over the arm plus far fewer men carry umbrellas now.

  7. I think that longer hair-styles and the demise of slicked down if longer hair starting in the mid ’60s had a lot to do with it. It’s hard to “rock” hat hair, the unfortunate result of longer, free hair and the confines of a hat. I don’t think lower roofed cars were as much the reason as the result of people stopping wearing hats. The automakers, pressed on gas mileage, needed the lower more aerodynamic roof lines but could only do so once people stopped demanding the head-room hats require.

  8. If you look at pictures of baseball games from the 1950s you will see men in the stands wearing ties. I have a picture of my father taking me to the 1964 Worlds Fair. He was wearing a suit. The country is not what it used to be.

  9. I worked for Price Waterhouse in the early 1960s and when i started in 1963 we were required to wear hats. Within about 2 years we were no longer required to wear hats and i was told it was because President Kennedy seldom wore a hat. I worked out of Stamford, CT, about 10 miles from Norwalk, CT which was the hat-making center of the US but the “Hat rule” applied to the audit staff nation-wide.

    1. As in wear hats inside the office? I thought in Western countries it was deemed bad manners – downright disrespectful even – to wear hats indoors.

      1. The rule is that a gentleman may wear his hat in his own home but removes it respectfully when in another gentleman’s.

  10. I were a hat all the time when outside, which is a lot. I am in the land and cattle business so I wear a western hat and I have several very good custom made hats. I only wear a ball cap when hunting and I wear it with the bill in front…correctly. I believe men have forgotten how great a hat can be for keeping the sun off your ears and face, keeping you warm in the winter, and just looking good in general. I really appreciate that you gents at Gent’s Gazette have brought this up again. Whether a western hat or a fedora or whatever…a hat (not a ballcap) should be considered by every gentleman.

  11. I still wear Panama hats and Homburgs but age lets me get away with it. I must agree on the car comment though. I have to be very careful getting into and out of any car.

  12. The biggest reason you should wear a hat nowadays is climate change! You need to protect your head from the sun, skin concern is a big concern. I myself wear panamas in summer and wax hats with broad brim in colder wetter months. No matter where you go, men always want to try your hat on!! They would not ask to try your coat on, but a hat, yes. No only that you get “Whaddya think? “ or “you look great I that!”. But purchase one? No. Wear a baseball cap with hardly no protection and very bad hat hair!

  13. My understanding is Ötzi was murdered so the straps probably worked well, just not not under duress. Too bad, pretty cool guy who was the vector for trade between Italy and locations north of the Alps. He was a somebody who wore a hat.

    It’s 92 and sunny outside right now, I have a nice looking Panama and it would be completely functional if I were to walk up to the grocery store ten minutes away. You will get noticed, of course, but as for that have gotten compliments partly I think for being your own man as well as the style. You don’t want to look affected, but there’s certainly room in this world for working out how to own the look.

    1. I love my Panama in the summer, my felt fedora in cooler and rainier weather, and my flat cap when it’s cold and windy. I’ll take a hat over an umbrella any day of the week. Given that I’m almost always the best-dressed gent in the room, tossing a proper hat on isn’t that big of a stretch. As some other folks have pointed out, age helps. I’ve got enough gray (or is that white) in my beard that I can get away with quite a few things that 20-somethings can’t pull off without looking costume-y.

    2. “You will get noticed, of course, but as for that have gotten compliments.”

      This. I wear a hat for protection from the sun (one bout of (not too serious) skin cancer was enough for me!), but you’d be amazed at the compliments you get, even from total strangers, wearing a well-fitted hat. I attended an outdoor wedding pop-up on the High Line in Manhattan (our modern promenade) a few summers ago wearing a straw boater (Brooks Brothers, 1981) with my blazer and flannels, and received a number of compliments from total strangers passing by. It’s all about having the confidence to carry it off and not caring what the slobocracy (I shall be using that term from now on as well) thinks in their benighted minds.

  14. Quick minor correction; most cars have 2-3 inches, not feet, above the top of the head. But that noted, the 1960s featured the first generation of young men who had come of age on a diet that featured meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables on a regular basis–and thus the cars of the 1960s through the 1980s tended to have insufficient headroom for a lot of guys like myself who were a few inches taller than their fathers.

    So along with climate control, diet has a lot to do with why we don’t wear hats much.

  15. Many aristocrats stopped wearing hats during the French Revolution. Of course, they stopped wearing heads too.

  16. Let’s face it, hats of one kind or another have always been worn – for sports like golf, for inclement weather especially in colder or hot/sunny weather, utilitarian purposes like a hard hat, and just for the fun of it.
    It’s the demise of the hat as a traditional/prep fashion statement that is what’s been minimized or gone by the wayside.
    While my father and grandfather may have given up hats as a fashion statement by the 1960s, they continued to wear a hat when golfing, gardening in the yard, relaxing by the pool, riding their English racing style bikes for exercise, and more. To this day, so do I.

  17. One can plot an increased incidence of skin cancer, (mostly on the ears) in farms and ranch hands, when seed companies started handing out ball caps instead of the older full brimmed straw hats. I’ve taken this lesson to heart and wear full brimmed western hats or fedoras. It’s become a bit of a trade mark for me now, and have had lots of fun with it. Next hat? A Homburg!

  18. I have often heard the popularity of Foster Grant and their sunglasses contributed to the decline in hats. Never see sunglasses worn with hats in the old days.

  19. Another informative and entertaining article. I grew up in the Hat City of America. The old buildings where Stetson and Mallory once produced fine beaver felt hats have been repurposed, the river where mercury and other toxic by-products of the hat industry were dumped is now clean and great for kayaking, and the local beaver population which was decimated has returned and is thriving. There are no more mad hatters, and the negative aspects of that industry are gone for good. That’s all great. I do miss the Steson outlet store, though.

    On the other hand, maybe it’s a holdover from time in the Navy – when uniform regs required a “cover” to always be worn outside, I think hats are an integral part of any gentleman’s wardrobe. Maybe not and longer for the practical purposes cited in the article or in the comments, but just because they finish a look, they complete an aesthetic and they’re just really, superbly, stylishly – cool.

  20. Yes, I wear a hat every day, either a Trilby or Fedora. I own over 50 hats and have been a man of many hats.

  21. Gentlemen,
    Thanks for yet another excellent video. As always, your videos are super-informative, well-produced, and beautifully illustrated. Keep e’m coming!

    I write to mention another reason for the decline of hats. That is the belief among many of my age (currently 68) that wearing a hat contributed to BALDNESS. We saw our fathers and grandfathers wearing hats on their bald heads. Friends who served in the Armed Forces often said their baldness got started because they “had to wear a ****ing hat.” Occupational groups such as police and others who wore uniforms frequently were also bald. This did not appeal to men who were young in the 1960s and 70s. Some medically-trained personnel also held this view.

    But: is it true? I flipped through internet sites on the subject, and many of the medical ones said that there is no causality between hat-wearing and baldness. I did find one that contended that hat-wearing could accelerate (though not cause) baldness. Whether that may change minds now is for each of us to decide. However, in the glory days of “HAIR !” (the 1970 musical) we didn’t want to find out.

    But nevertheless, “Hats off!” to GG for another excellent and informative video.

  22. While I have just a few hats, all have special meaning to me. I rarely, if ever, wear a baseball cap. My main reason for deciding not to wear a hat is that when I get to my destination, I rarely have anywhere to place it since I refuse to wear it indoors.

  23. Cuz obviously most people now wear hoodies from fashion brands. Protects better from the sun and also more stylish than a hat that would get people questioning if you’re cosplaying.

  24. We used to dress to get on an airliner, even travelling for pleasure. In the 80’s I suddenly realized grown men were dressing like kindergarteners when flying. As a Merchant seaman, even in the mid-90’s (while changing crew) the company required officers to wear suits(with tie), and at least sport coat and slacks for the AB, OS and QMED ratings. When you got off the ship you felt pride in yourself. I continued that practice after most companies lifted the requirement – and it paid off when I got bumped up to 1st class, thanks to my fine Stafford blue blazer.

  25. In my opinion, one major contributor to men not wearing hats is because of safety equipment. Trades men always wore hats but, when they had to start wearing hard hats, most did not have their own vehicle for transportation and for those who did, found changing hats bothersome, so they started wearing hats that were more changeable, such as the baseball caps. And second, the advent of the head rest made it difficult for hats with brims to be worn in cars. Many sales people and business men still wore brimmed hats for a while after trades people had stopped, but the need to be more like the people they wanted to sell to or do business with meant they too started to stop wearing hats.

    Chick

  26. I’ve always been a fan of hats. When I attended school in the 60’s caps were mandatory and we all hated them. But later especially after I watched a football match in the open during pooring rain I went and bought a country cap to keep in my pocket. I couldn’t understand why men stopped wearing hats in the 50s/60s. I always assumed it was because of the fashionable teddy boy quiff haircut. A cap or hat would ruin it. I still keep a cap in my pocket for those wet days. But beware – not all hats are waterproof. Some will get soaked and become soggy. But my trusty cap bought in a bargain clothing shop does the job well.

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