Gentlemen - Do You Remove Your Hat

Old cowboy here, always take my hat off when entering a room. Courtesy growing up and demanded in the military. I wear baseball caps now and I do not take it off when I go into Home Depot or walmart but still a courtesy everywhere else. It gets me just a little to see the young men wear theirs eating at a restaurant.
 

When in uniform, we never removed our hat when indoors. However, we seldom have reason to wear our hats. Anytime that I wore mine, the chin strap went under the bottom lip.
 
There's nothing like a well chosen hat to accent a good look.

That said, when in informal settings, I may keep my hat on if it is a smaller hat. I would never wear a big cowboy sized hat at dinner or in a formal setting. However, if the dessert is really good, I might try to hide an extra serving in the big hat. But, than can get messy if one forgets.

One problem might be that many places don't have a place for a man to hang his hat.
 
horseless carriage said:
For hat etiquette, you only have to watch an episode of the British detective program, set in WW2, called Foyle's War.
Hats removed indoors, hats doffed to a lady, hats removed if a hearse with a coffin should pass by. In Christian churches hats are always removed, other faiths do it their way, it's customary for men to cover their head in a synagogue. That's why you see men wearing the kippah. (skullcap.) Here's a conundrum, when dining outside, say on the cafe's patio, should a man still remove his hat?
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I'm with Lara, leave your hat on.

Those wearing hats would be the first I'd gravitate towards, because you know how I feel about hats... so classy.
 
I usually only wear a hat when I'm engaged in mortal combat with snow removal, so this isn't much of an issue to me. Teachers are still pretty insistent on getting elementary kids to remove their ball caps upon entering a building, and good for them! Some hats are "statement" hats, and here is the bible on the subject. It's usually best not to ask a Viking to remove his hat, lest he remove your head...

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Fyrefox said:
I usually only wear a hat when I'm engaged in mortal combat with snow removal, so this isn't much of an issue to me. Teachers are still pretty insistent on getting elementary kids to remove their ball caps upon entering a building, and good for them! Some hats are "statement" hats, and here is the bible on the subject. It's usually best not to ask a Viking to remove his hat, lest he remove your head...

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Interesting about the vikings. The popular picture of a viking with a winged or horned helmet is actually just a myth. The vikings wore helmets but there are no archeological finds or evidence that support the horn and wings theory. Towards the end of the nineteenth century horned and winged helmets started to appear in paintings depicting the viking period. Popularity spread when Carl Doepler designed the costumes for Wagner's opera Niebelungen. He studied paintings and drawings for inspiration and incorporated them in his costumes and the rest as they say is history - or is it?
 
Aunt Marg said:
So lovely to see you with a clean, freshly shaved face. Nothing is more sexy and manly to me.
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Would you believe, I wore a beard for the best part of forty years, trimmed and tidy mind. In my early twenties, whilst attending an insurance medical with my doctor, I asked her if the mole on my face could be removed. She hinted that removal can cause hormone problems, adding a suggestion to grow a beard, so I did. However when I reached an age where the beard resembled Santa, I chose the mole and shaved the beard. Vain or what?
 
Here in Colorado/the west, about the only time that I wear a hat is for sun protection while camping... Yes, I do remove it when indoors... even in a vehicle (its just easier).
I believe the custom of tipping ones hat to a lady has largely disappeared though.

For snow removal/winter cold protection, I wear a wool stocking cap while outdoors, only.
When younger I found that a beard offered quite a bit of cold protection for my lower face... in recent times I usually do not shave until after the snow is removed (seems to help, a little).

Enjoy!
 
horseless carriage said:
Would you believe, I wore a beard for the best part of forty years, trimmed and tidy mind. In my early twenties, whilst attending an insurance medical with my doctor, I asked her if the mole on my face could be removed. She hinted that removal can cause hormone problems, adding a suggestion to grow a beard, so I did. However when I reached an age where the beard resembled Santa, I chose the mole and shaved the beard. Vain or what?
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You look way more classy and dapper clean-shaven.
 
horseless carriage said:
What a flatterer! How's the nicotine abstinence going? Here is my hirsute chin, what do you reckon, more hair than little Rosie?
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A wonderful picture of you, Horseless.

I'm partial to the clean shaven look, but you definitely looked handsome with a beard, but not half as handsome compared to now.

There's just something about a man dressed up formally who takes the time to shave and take care of his skin that exudes a sense of cleanliness, freshness. In my eyes it's a more finished look... more polished and standout.

Nicotine abstinence is still on track, but, boy, have I had my moments. I'm 3 weeks into this now and am happy to say that today is one of my better days. ☀️
 
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Stick with it Marg, you may not know it but you are quitting a lot more than tobacco. The big tobacco corporations don't want anyone to quit, so they spray the tobacco prior to it being used in cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco. That spray contains as many as twenty addictive chemicals. No wonder it's tough giving up. When you can finally say that you have cracked it because you have lost the craving I will take my hat off to you, but until then.

You see these grey baggy trousers, when they were cut out from the paper pattern, my wife realised that there might just be enough fabric to make a matching waistcoat/vest. What a lovely job she made of it too.
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horseless carriage said:
Stick with it Marg, you may not know it but you are quitting a lot more than tobacco. The big tobacco corporations don't want anyone to quit, so they spray the tobacco prior to it being used in cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco. That spray contains as many as twenty addictive chemicals. No wonder it's tough giving up. When you can finally say that you have cracked it because you have lost the craving I will take my hat off to you, but until then.

You see these grey baggy trousers, when they were cut out from the paper pattern, my wife realised that there might just be enough fabric to make a matching waistcoat/vest. What a lovely job she made of it too.
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Awww... thank you so kindly for your thoughtful and supportive words, Horseless. You just made my day!

I'm going to try so hard.

Posh to the max! Your wife really knows her stuff, and you wear everything so very well.

There's something debonair about a man that wears dress shoes in shades of rich sable brown, tobacco, brownish/burgundy, or light tan/brown. It's the difference between a man looking ordinary and blending in with the crowd when wearing black dress shoes, or being a standout specimen... eye-candy for women, and the envy of other men when he branches out and wears something different.

The walking cane is the finishing touch for a most perfect ensemble.

I always check out peoples shoes.
 
I'm gonna stop lifting my hat to ladies, stop winking, stop smiling, stop opening doors for them, stop offering them one of my Smarties, stop walking in the road allowing them the safety of the pavement (sidewalk), stop allowing them to have my taxi while I walk home getting soaked by the rain, phew....what a relief, I just woke up from a dream where it was considered sexual harrassment to do the above for ladies. :)
 
timoc said:
I'm gonna stop lifting my hat to ladies, stop winking, stop smiling, stop opening doors for them, stop offering them one of my Smarties, stop walking in the road allowing them the safety of the pavement (sidewalk), stop allowing them to have my taxi while I walk home getting soaked by the rain, phew....what a relief, I just woke up from a dream where it was considered sexual harassment to do the above for ladies. :)
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When I saw a lady, laden with baggage, struggling to open a door, I stepped forward and opened it for her. "Allow me!" I said "Just because I'm female I'm not useless," she retorted. "when I was a small boy," I replied, adding, "my mother told me that many people would enter my life and go again just as quickly, I would have but a fraction of a second to make an impact."

The woman stared at me for what seemed like minutes, but was probably no longer than ten seconds. Finally she said: "Wise woman, your mother," and with that she was gone. I had to smile though, my mother died young, somebody else that I know had lost their mother young. She had comforted me and told my that my mother would be with me always and then she told to simply speak to her. Ordinarily I would have clammed up after that verbal onslaught but I guess my mother wasn't having her son spoken to like that without retaliation. As I smiled my thoughts were: "Thanks Mum."
 
When I was growing up I always heard that men should remove their hats indoors so it has stuck with me. I always considered a hat as outerwear so really can't see why they would be worn indoors. People do as they please now, though.
 
The hat etiquette that I grew up with:
During the national anthem, you should take your hat off. If you fail to do this, be prepared for a dirty look or a sharp word from someone standing nearby who has more sense and more respect for their country.
When you enter any establishment, especially a restaurant, you should immediately remove your hat. You should leave it off until you exit the establishment. This applies to churches, residences, and courthouses as well. When you approach the receptionist or security guard at an office or hotel, remove your hat.

When you say hello to someone on the street, if they are a woman, you may want to tip your hat to them or simply touch the brim as you say hello. If you stop to talk with a woman on the street, remove your hat for the duration of the conversation. When you are sitting at a restaurant table, do not put your hat on the table. Put it in a chair, on your knee, or ask the server if there’s a place it can be kept during your meal.

We live in a much more casual world than decades past, and just as the style has relaxed over the years, so have the rules around proper hat etiquette. Old fashioned it might be, but just as other rules of etiquette still apply, like not interrupting the speaker, or not calling someone by their first name until you know them well enough, so too does hat etiquette, at least it does in my book.
 


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