Hats!

[nachoman]

As you may know, I am modeling roughly 1917-1920. In looking though period photographs, I notice nearly all of the men are wearing hats, and all of the women are wearing hats. That means, when placing figures on my layout, they all should be wearing a hat, right? Has anyone done historical etiquette research who could enlighten us when wearing a hat in public became less commonplace in the USA?

The small details... Has anyone ever added a hat to a LPB that didn't come molded with one?

[Charlie B]

Hats were pretty commonplace until the 1960's. My dad was one of the few people that never wore a hat in the 50's, but my grandfathers wouldn't leave the house without one. Men dressed with suits and ties in your era, even some laborers. I think it was just proper to try to look as good as possible.
I wear ball caps, and I turn them around when I'm welding and have the hood on. I try real hard to keep the pants around my waist too which with my fat belly suspenders are a requirement.
I would imagine you could make hats for your people using a small dowel and drill. Straw boaters were very popular in the teens and twenties.
Here is a picture of my grandfather taken in 1919.
Charlie

[RobertInOntario]

Good observation. I agree with all the points above and would agree that men probably stopped wearing them on a regular/every day basis in the 1960s. They definitely wore them through the 1950s -- just have a look at old movies and TV shows and that will pretty much give you an idea.

On a slightly different topic, it used to bother my Dad when he saw train engineers (either on modern diesels or on preserved steam engines) wearing baseball caps or not wearing hats at all. He said that they should be wearing the traditional striped engineers' hats and not look like the Maytag man! But I think those hats were a product of the steam era and they were practical back then.

Cheers,
Rob

[RobertInOntario]

One other slightly-related comment ... I'm a fan of British railways and I've seen pics of British steam engine crews wearing formal shirts & ties under their coats or workers' outfits, kind of like this:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.antiques.tv/movies/999/series_images/steamIcon.jpg">http://www.antiques.tv/movies/999/serie ... amIcon.jpg</a><!-- m -->

They would (and still do on preserved railways) wear dark drivers' caps and a workers' outfit (I forget the correct term! ) similar to what an auto mechanic might wear today.

Just a few related tidbits!

Rob

[sgtcarl1]

Fashion history 101.0:
The demise of gentlemen wearing hats occurred about the time JFK became a public immage. Whereas Eisenhower almost always wore a hat when outdoors, JFK never wore a hat. So...it became fashionable for men to not wear hats. And speaking of men wearing suits and ties, my father and mother would always "dress up" even when just going to visit a friend, or even just go to the movies.

[nachoman]

Fashion history 101.0:
The demise of gentlemen wearing hats occurred about the time JFK became a public immage. Whereas Eisenhower almost always wore a hat when outdoors, JFK never wore a hat. So...it became fashionable for men to not wear hats. And speaking of men wearing suits and ties, my father and mother would always "dress up" even when just going to visit a friend, or even just go to the movies.

Very good observation. Is that timeline true for europe as well? I am also curious as to why hats in the first place. I can think of a few possibilities: No indoor plumbing and infrequent scalp hygiene; sun/glare protection pre-sunglasses. But was going out without a hat considered taboo, or was it just considered foolish?

[Sumpter250]

But was going out without a hat considered taboo, or was it just considered foolish?

I can't remember!
I think wearing a hat was simply considered "the proper thing to do". I do remember wearing a hat, whenever I wore a suit, and I do remember my father wearing a hat most of the time, at least into the early sixties.

Hat brims can be "punched out" with a leather punch, check your local craft/fabric stores for the punch sets.
I've also used the punches on up to .040" styrene, to make numbers of disks for several modeling applications.
.005" styrene can be used for brims. It would take a bit of practice, but a hot soldering iron could be used to "form" the brims. (or maybe that's "deform")

[sgtcarl1]

I can't say much about the time hats went out of mode, for Europe, even though I was living there from winter '60 to summer '63!! I don't recall very many men wearing hats while I was there, though. Hats were worn to keep sun off (bald) heads and as eye shades. They also served as other things, depending upon where you lived. You could flirt with a lady just by the way you tipped your hat to her. In the "wild west," it was what you could use to drink water out of. I also remember a time when if your didn't take your hat off in a bar, it meant you were willing to buy everyone in the place a drink!! And you never kept your hat on in an elevator!!

[tomustang]

Fashion history 101.0:
The demise of gentlemen wearing hats occurred about the time JFK became a public immage. Whereas Eisenhower almost always wore a hat when outdoors, JFK never wore a hat. So...it became fashionable for men to not wear hats. And speaking of men wearing suits and ties, my father and mother would always "dress up" even when just going to visit a friend, or even just go to the movies.

Very good observation. Is that timeline true for europe as well? I am also curious as to why hats in the first place. I can think of a few possibilities: No indoor plumbing and infrequent scalp hygiene; sun/glare protection pre-sunglasses. But was going out without a hat considered taboo, or was it just considered foolish?

It is a tool. It's a hand powered fan, sunblocker, head cooler or head warmer, your worth without telling anyone, it can also be a bag.

I wouldn't doubt hats were first made for protection, just like something to protect your feet. They probably started off as a rag to cover the head and evolved into something with a brim to cover sunlight.

[BR60103]

I remember hearing that if you worked at IBM, you wore a hat. (that would be early 70s). It was rare enough by then to be commented on. One man I worked for at that time had been rather slow passing his actuarial exams and decided he should put some effort into it when he looked at the coat rack in an exam room and realized that his was the only hat there.
I never wore one of those hats; anything I had was practical -- to keep warm or to keep the sun off.
Remember the old catalog pictures where the men would be modelling in jacket and tie and often the boys as well?

[RobertInOntario]

Fashion history 101.0:
The demise of gentlemen wearing hats occurred about the time JFK became a public immage. Whereas Eisenhower almost always wore a hat when outdoors, JFK never wore a hat. So...it became fashionable for men to not wear hats. And speaking of men wearing suits and ties, my father and mother would always "dress up" even when just going to visit a friend, or even just go to the movies.

... And my wife's grandparents in England would also "dress up" for meals. Good manners and proper dress were important!

Rob

[Ralph]

I've always liked photos and newsreel footage of people watching Major League Baseball games in the 20's and 30's. The stadium is full of men in suits and hats!
Ralph

[Herc Driver]

I guess I'm crazy or overly nostalgic, but I wish hats would make a comeback. Everyone is wearing baseball caps nowadays, but the fedora could be as easily worn today as it was forty years ago. Trouble is...where do you find a good hat store? Not too many exist anymore.

[eightyeightfan1]

This is an interesting and informative thread.

Hats off...to you guys.






Sorry...It was there...I had to use it.

[RobertInOntario]

I guess I'm crazy or overly nostalgic, but I wish hats would make a comeback. Everyone is wearing baseball caps nowadays, but the fedora could be as easily worn today as it was forty years ago. Trouble is...where do you find a good hat store? Not too many exist anymore.

I wouldn't be surprised if they did -- at least I think hats have made somewhat of a comeback. You see a few folks, especially young people, wearing them.