Hats

I recently watched a series on television about an historical event from the end of the nineteenth century.  A man rushed out of his place of business onto a busy street.  I was struck by the fact that he alone was hatless.  

In the summer of 1967 I started working as an accountant at Ernst & Ernst in Detroit, Michigan.  Among their rigid rules of conduct was the requirement to wear a hat (fedora) while travelling to and from work.  There were many hat stores where I could choose which I wanted to wear.

Today, the fedora has all but disappeared.  If a man wears a hat, as do I, it is a baseball type cap.  What happened?  Here are some answers.

We now have more control over our climate.  We don't have to wear a hat to keep warm.

After World War II, the distinction of social classes became less important.  The practice of wearing a type of hat to identify your social class became extinct.

With the advent of the automobile, headroom in vehicles changed drastically.  Modern cars are not built to accommodate the old fashioned hat styles.

President John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) frequently appeared in public without a hat.  He set a new standard for modern, youthful elegance.