Should men still obey cap and hat "rules"?

Yesterday I spoke to a 90-year-old lady, and she spoke a lot about some of the discrimination she had endured when her eyesight and hearing weakened.
She said that she doesn't like tattoos and piercings, except for earrings.
But strangely, what really got her a bit heated was the fact that so many men no longer remove their hats or caps indoors!

Is there a difference between a formal hat and a cap?
A few years back most bars still had "no headgear for men" rules.

I wonder where this comes from?
I'd say each to their own, although in a really posh place I would observe the hat rule.

From what more I heard however it now seems that youngsters come into court with hats, and they must be asked to remove them! I mean isn't that just a bit much?

i was always taught to remove headwear before coming into a house or home.

a sign of respect.

its only takes a second.


however with some of the messed up hair men wear these days, i can see why they wouldnt want to take off a hat!

reply to post by halfoldman

Times change.
What was once common then, is unheard of now.
That being said, I think hats inside are fine.
Thumbs up if you like to wear hats!

Yeah, especially when my hair starts to grow after shaving it quite short, and you can't do anything with it, then I like to wear a hat.

If I didn't style my hair I don't want to show it!
At first one still thinks of removing it in some places, but now I think how silly.

I was taught to remove my hat when entering someone's house, dining or a business meeting. I still do that.

As to why, the only thing I found was this:

Why remove your hat?

I spent some time last weekend in Santa Barabara with my Wife and her family. During one of our car rides my mother-in-law asked if anyone knew why men are supposed to take their hats off in buildings. No one knew. We discussed different places to search, and even discussed mens hat etiquette for awhile, but the conversation ended with us all acknowledging that we didn't know how this practice evolved. I spent some time searching this afternoon, and found several web sites that discussed hat etiquette, but very few that actually discussed the evolution of this practice. I did find one site, however, that offered this explanation:

The hat is removed as a sign of respect; this gesture dates back to the ancient times. The actual point of origin is not exactly known, but the earliest stories date back to the days of chivalry. The knights would remove there helmet in the presence of the king to show that he trusted the king not to kill him and that he felt safe in his presence from any enemy. In the church, as well, a helmet would be removed as the knight felt protected in church. It is also said a knight was always bareheaded in the presence of a lady. This is believed to be the origin for a man raising the hat from his head on the street as he addressed a woman. Today, even with a baseball cap, a man should remove it if his final destination is in the presence of women. Since then, the removal of garments of clothing in different cultures through time has been a gesture of respect in the presence of a king. This has evolved down to the removal of hats, coats, gloves, shoes, etc. to show respect for the host.

That kind of makes sense to me. I know a lot of obscure traditions come from Medieval times. The military salute, for instance, is a holdover from when knights would raise their visor to identify themselves.

reply to post by N3k9Ni

Since then, the removal of garments of clothing in different cultures through time has been a gesture of respect in the presence of a king. This has evolved down to the removal of hats, coats, gloves, shoes, etc. to show respect for the host.

I think it is more respectful to not leave any of your crap in my house. If everyone is taking off 'garments' when they come over, then there will inevitably be some that are left behind, that I do not want.

Originally posted by BrokenCircles
reply to post by N3k9Ni

 

Since then, the removal of garments of clothing in different cultures through time has been a gesture of respect in the presence of a king. This has evolved down to the removal of hats, coats, gloves, shoes, etc. to show respect for the host.

I think it is more respectful to not leave any of your crap in my house. If everyone is taking off 'garments' when they come over, then there will inevitably be some that are left behind, that I do not want.

It could be a good thing.
Open up an eBay store and resell. lol

I read somewhere once that it came from the Industrial Revolution, and cities were so polluted with soot, that all men wore hats to keep their hair and heads clean.
Upon entering an enclosed space, the hats were removed by working men, and only delivery boys carrying objects were excused from the "no-hat indoors" rule.
Not sure if it's true, but one often still sees black-and-white films where men remove their hats, and their faces are dirty, but their hair is clean.

My shaved head must don a beanie, and cheap petrol station sunnies, so I don't get mistaken for a hippie. If I take the beanie off indoors, I scare little kids. The back of my head looks like a featherless ducks bum, so I keep mine on out of respect for others!

Plus the beard gets funny looks with a bald head above it.

reply to post by halfoldman


This reminds me of the old 1940's style dude who'd enter a building with his hat on, and the PRESS ticket sticking out of the rim. They never took theirs off..



One of those!

i wear fedora's, flat Driver/golf style caps and i LOVE my bowler hat to the point it is tattooed on my back.

However unless im at a party, say for new year, halloween, leaving do etc i will always remove my cap or hat indoors, just what i always do. i was taught it was a sign of respect!

I read somewhere that way back in the day, It was a tradition to remove helmets worn during wars, to show that there was no anomostity. Kind of like a stand down. To show to others that you were not still in combat and not a threat.

reply to post by GonzoSinister

I like the Guy Ritchie cap, and that's also called a "golf hat", but maybe that's a broad term.
It's quite classy these days, but the shape seems similar to the proletarian caps in older pictures.
I find it much more elegant than the ubiquitous American baseball cap.
That seems to have become symbolic of a new casual class mobility.
It can be elegant to a degree, but that I would remove in more indoor places.
What amuses me is when people wear it back-to-front.

I take off my hat when being introduced to someone of the opposite sex, as well as when I am in a venue where the National Anthem is being sung. If I am eating dinner at someone's home while a Lady is present, I will take off my hat, and the same goes for a more formal restaurant. If I am at a chicken shack type eating establishment or diner, etc, I will sometimes keep my hat on. It all depends on the situation. Common sense goes a long way and usually rules the day...

reply to post by Inconceivable

I take off my hat when being introduced to someone of the opposite sex......,
...the National Anthem...

Common sense goes a long way and usually rules the day.

In what way does common sense relate to abiding by an illogical rule?

reply to post by halfoldman


i rarley wear a "Cap" only the guy ritchie/golf/(or as we say in scotland) bunnet, my day to life means its either a bowler hat or bunnet, was talking the other day about how i may have a fetish for hats lol!

anyway there is a level of class about a good hat, hence the reason i barley wear the baseball style cap, rather boring and unless your in the sun alot/hunting they seem immature

I'm all for being respectful to others, but I balk at meaningless tradition, which removing the hat is, to me. If someone wants to wear their Panama in my house, I have no problem whatsoever.

It's interesting, the older woman in the OP didn't like piercings, EXCEPT for the ear. It's just a matter of what a person is used to. She's used to pierced ears because people have been doing it for enough years for it to become commonplace to her. So, in her view, it's OK to pierce a hole in your body as long as you do it in the ear lobe and nowhere else. Kinda funny, IMO.

I guess most guys would choose to obey the hat rule.
I would agree within limits.
But there are still establishments that will ask you to remove your hat, or evict you off the premises.
Now then it becomes a different matter, when facing a snooty barman, and you included an elegant hat as a part of your outfit.
An acquaintance of mine took this to the press a few years back, and claimed it was gender discrimination on the basis of gender.
At one point he even claimed he was Jewish and couldn't remove his hat for the Friday Sabbath (which wasn't totally incorrect).
It seems a bit better here now, and the overbearing bouncers that checked your shoes and so forth are gone.
I guess the hard economic times means you can't turn away customers over nonsense.

However, the last time I went to a fancy club, the birthday boy was wearing expensive sandals with his jeans (the look of the season), but they would not let him in with sandals, until we payed a R100 bribe to facilitate the evening for everyone.

For some reason male dress is much more regulated than female dress, and they can wear open heels, and whatever headgear.

Originally posted by halfoldman
I guess most guys would choose to obey the hat rule.
I would agree within limits.
But there are still establishments that will ask you to remove your hat, or evict you off the premises.
Now then it becomes a different matter, when facing a snooty barman, and you included an elegant hat as a part of your outfit.
An acquaintance of mine took this to the press a few years back, and claimed it was gender discrimination on the basis of gender.
At one point he even claimed he was Jewish and couldn't remove his hat for the Friday Sabbath (which wasn't totally incorrect).
It seems a bit better here now, and the overbearing bouncers that checked your shoes and so forth are gone.
I guess the hard economic times means you can't turn away customers over nonsense.

However, the last time I went to a fancy club, the birthday boy was wearing expensive sandals with his jeans (the look of the season), but they would not let him in with sandals, until we payed a R100 bribe to facilitate the evening for everyone.

For some reason male dress is much more regulated than female dress, and they can wear open heels, and whatever headgear.

Yup i agree there is definetley Gender Discrimination these days when it comes to clothes...

Also the argument for clubs/cinema's/bowling etc. is so camera's and security can identify you! i can up against this recently wearing a bowler hat to odly enough the bowling (hadnt actually thought about the comedy in that at the time its just my hat) anyway the guy at the door (yes there are bouncers on the door here) sai... sorry sir i cant let you wear that hat so we can identify you on security cammera...i lost the argument that kinda went... really? i am a not so thin long haired tattooed bearded man and the only person with 100 miles wearing a brown bowler hat with my cockatiels feathers in it.. how could you not identify me if i were to do somthing wrong... facepalm

reply to post by GonzoSinister

Yeah, or like a barman telling my acquaintance aged 60 that he must take off his hat, because people hide knives and drugs under their caps!
I think a degree of discretion and common sense should be used.

We hear so much of the plight of other groups to wear excessive outfits (like veils and burkas), but dress discrimination occurs every day against ordinary men, and these are simply customs, and not functional laws at all.
It's actually so stupid.