Not too long ago it would not only be very unusual for a lady or gentleman to leave the house without a hat, it would also be considered quite uncouth. Sadly, the art of hat wearing has been lost to time and so the etiquette that was once common knowledge has been lost too.
Ladies are aware that hats are part of the dress code at the races or a wedding, but its hard for us now to know when we should be removing hats or leaving them on; the rules for gentlemen can be even more difficult. I will sum up some of the rules here to help the avid hat wearer avoid a faux pas.
Lets start with the chaps:
A lot of the rules around men’s hats and the removal thereof revolve around public and private spaces, so in a public lobby or tube station you can leave it on but when in someone’s home it needs to be removed. There are some exceptions to this, for example if you are in a lift and it is all men you can leave them on, but if a lady enters the hat should be removed.
Hats should always be removed while being introduced, indoors or out. In religious buildings it varies but in a Christian church, men should remove the hat. If on a brief visit to someone’s home, you would be permitted to keep hold of your hat, but otherwise it would have been given to a servant or hung up with the coat.
Men would never wear hats at mealtimes, though in some lower class diners this was permitted, and hats could be worn in bars and cabaret halls as the gentleman would need his hands free for his drink and pipe. This was not the same in theatres as the hat would disrupt the view of others, so it was removed and kept in the cloakroom.
Of course for men there is also the etiquette of when to doff or tip one’s hat. Generally between gentlemen an inclination of the head, a gesture of the hand, or a mere touching of the hat is sufficient; but in bowing to a lady the hat must be lifted from the head and it should stay off whilst any conversation is carried out.
When removing a hat in public for any reason, if the hat is to be held in the hand the inside of the hat should be directed toward the body and not showing.
Any man speaking in public, whether indoors or out, should remove his hat so the public can see his eyes; to leave the hat on was thought untrustworthy.
Photo by Fashion Loves Photos
For the ladies it is a little simpler, as the hat is considered part of her outfit; quite often the hair would have been done around the hat and it was not polite to fuss with this in public.
Ladies you can leave those lovely hats on in someone’s home, at luncheons, weddings, garden parties and in church, though if the luncheon is at your own home you do not need to wear a hat at all.
It was not considered impolite to wear a hat at a movie or any indoor performance, though if your hat was restricting someone’s view it should be removed out of politeness. In fact the only time you need take the hat of is while indoors at the workplace.
There is also a rule that states a lady would not wear a brimmed hat or indeed need to wear a hat at all after 5pm. This is generally thought to be because she would not need the shade given by the brim after sunset. The only other question for ladies is what side to wear one’s hat. Traditionally, if the hat tilted at one side, it sat on the right side of the head; this is also often where the trimming would go too, though I have yet to find a reason for this.
