Q. I enjoy reading your advice even though I may not agree with everything you say. At one time, I was an acknowledged "clothes horse." I sold clothes in a nice men's store in Chicago and became an adviser and critic for dressing well. Much has changed since then.
What you only alluded to with your recent column concerning wearing hats indoors is heavily affected by local customs and culture.
When we moved to rural Arkansas, at the first funeral I attended here, I was the only person wearing a tie. Even the deceased, a well-known man, was wearing overalls and a flannel shirt. That was who he was in life. And, really, a dress suit would not have represented him well in death.
You need to get out more. All of America is not in high-end ballrooms and big city offices. In rural America, most men wear a hat, including caps, almost constantly, for several reasons: to keep their hair down, to keep the sun out of their eyes, and to protect their skin from sun exposure.
Taking the hat off creates two problems. One, the hair is usually messy underneath. And, what does one do with the hat when it is off?
Whether a cowboy style or baseball cap, a hat frequently becomes part of the persona of the man wearing it. Most men do remove their hats for church, funerals and other such occasions.
Keeping the hat on in restaurants is the norm and is looked upon as strange only by tourists from the "nawth." The practice is nothing to be scorned. I would estimate it is the style and custom for 80 percent of the geographic area of the United States.
With a tip 'o the cap to ye.
A. Thank you for your email, "Rifleman1776," and your thoughtful argument.
You are right that I favor the more traditional approach to dressing. And as I alluded to, but to a lesser extent, I agree that times are changing, and norms are different in different areas.
However, I would also insist that what is considered appropriate in nearly all parts of the country is somewhere between our opinions. Wouldn't you agree that just because many people act a certain way, it is not necessarily what should be done?
Hat-wearing is still considered inappropriate indoors at upscale or even midscale restaurants anywhere in the country -- basically, anywhere you would take off your raincoat. The exception might be cowboy hats in cowboy country. But the idea of a cap with a jacket and tie, or with linen napkins, or in a theater, is still considered not quite right unless there is a religious or health reason.
These last reasons are why fewer people will speak up to complain (no one wants to make someone who is undergoing chemotherapy any more uncomfortable). Still, I would be remiss if I implied to young professionals that their bosses would have no problem with their wearing a cap while dining or when taking clients to a show.
In fact, as much as my old-fashioned values are shocked by what people wear to Broadway theater these days, wearing a hat in such settings is still not only considered inappropriate, but rude, blocking the view of others. Just this last week I saw the wonderful Broadway musical Something Rotten. It satirizes and riffs on theater from Shakespeare to today. In keeping with the changing times and the irreverence and fun/comfort of the show's clever content, the audience ranged from the most elegantly dressed to jeans and T-shirts -- but no hats.
Yes, this was the "Nawth," but the knowledgeable audience included as many tourists as locals, and everyone understood what was appropriate.
By the same token, I will take you at your word that in a small-town local eatery, where comfort is king, hats may be commonplace. That said, I believe issues of one's mussed hair or where to set a hat not pat on one's pate are just excuses.
Nothing has changed in terms of hairstyles or coat racks to make it any harder today for a person to put his hat with his raincoat when entering an office or eatery, and/or run a comb through his hair while washing up before eating.
I do find myself wishing that people would dress up more. They rarely show respect for even special occasions, judging by their choice of clothes. The traditionalist in me finds this disappointing.
I'm not going to change the world, but I do wonder: Does it bother those of you who care about clothes, who wish to look good, who wish to look kempt, that you are fast becoming "the few," rather than "the many"?
Send men's fashion queries to Male Call:
Lois.Fenton@prodigy.net
High Profile on 05/01/2016