12 ms·
Fashion sure has changed a lot over the years. Used to be unthinkable for a man (or even a woman) to venture outside without a hat on. Even if you look at TV s
by Synaesthesia 5y ago
Fashion sure has changed a lot over the years. Used to be unthinkable for a man (or even a woman) to venture outside without a hat on.
Even if you look at TV shows from the early 90's, you will see fashions that will never be worn today, women's dress was definitely more modest and conservative.
- sureglymop 5y agoWhen I was in the army recently there was a rule that was weird to me. Always have your hat on outside but as soon as you get inside take it off. I've definitely been yelled at because of forgetting to take off my hat or put it on, all in all pretty weird.
- otabdeveloper4 5y agoThis isn't a "weird rule", it's just the standard for male politeness that was universal for the last 4000 years. (Give or take; essentially since hats were invented.)
- praptak 5y agoJust because something has existed for 4000 years doesn't make it not weird :)
- ClumsyPilot 5y agoIts still as weired rule - think about it, why is hat the only garment that is 'rude'. Noone would get offended at yoy wearing a fur coat indoors, youd just look stupid
- GuB-42 5y agoI understand why someone can be offended if you are wearing a coat indoors, especially if you are invited. It signals that you are uncomfortable, that you intend to leave soon, essentially that you don't enjoy being here with me. I remember some people being quite insistent that I should take my coat/jacket off, they say something like "make yourself comfortable" but I understand it more as a polite way of saying "take off your coat, you asshole". I guess the same can be said of hats.
- JohnFen 5y ago> It signals that you are uncomfortable, that you intend to leave soon, essentially that you don't enjoy being here with me. Interesting. Never in a million years would I have taken that meaning from it. I would just think that the person is cold.
- pests 5y agoEven if they are cold - they are your guest, why is it so cold and why haven't you turned the heat up? I think was the implication.
- Archelaos 5y agoI think the difference is when people deliberately violate a rule they at least should have known vs. just showing that they are an outsider by not seeming to know it. Of course, there are all kinds of variations and cases in between. Fashion is, among other things, a communication code and a signal of conformism or dissent. Besides, the rules about wearing a hat inside can be quite complex: women have to wear a had while men have to take it off (traditional church service in Europe); high ranking men wearing their hats, while lower ranking men have to take them off; petitioners removing their hat in front of the benefactor ...
- w_t_payne 5y agoThere are all sorts of strange and inconsistent rules that we (as a species) make up all the time. The number and arbitrariness of these rules helps keep other people in our society on their toes and uncomfortable, anxious and vulnerable to criticism and as a result, easy to manipulate and control.
- denton-scratch 5y agoIt's not that hats are "rude". A hat signifies status. Consider the top hat - it signifies wealth. Or the general's hat - think of Wellington and Napoleon. They signify authority. It's inappropriate to walk into someone's parlour as a guest, while disporting the mark of your superiority. Baring your head signifies humility. It's just polite.
- JohnFen 5y ago> A hat signifies status. In the past, maybe. I don't think it does so much now (at least in my part of the US). If it signifies anything besides aesthetics, it's signifying that the person is part of some defined group. Status doesn't enter into it. > while disporting the mark of your superiority. So, keeping your "low status" hat on would be OK? (I'm assuming that there is such a thing -- that some hats are "high status" implies that there exists the opposite).
- denton-scratch 5y ago> So, keeping your "low status" hat on would be OK? Baring your head is the sign of humility. It doesn't matter which hat you have to doff. In the UK, a "low status" hat would have been be a flat-hat, or flat cap. It used to be a worker's hat; it was also worn by countrymen - farmers, country landowners, gamekeepers and the like - but not in town. Nowadays I often see expensive tweed flat-hats on the heads of fashionable, well-to-do townies. To me, that look is poncey.
- YawningAngel 5y agoGiven that it's not the standard now, it's a "weird rule".
- CRConrad 5y agoWho says it's not the standard? Just because the uncultured don't know it doesn't mean it isn't.
- helsinkiandrew 5y agoAgreed, I was born in the UK in 68, I've rarely worn a hat (baseball cap if its sunny) - but always take it off when going indoors. No gentleman should wear a hat inside.
- eertami 5y ago>No gentleman should wear a hat inside. Maybe if this were the 70s, but this is 2021 and wearing a hat indoors is perfectly normal/acceptable.
- denton-scratch 5y agoI consider it rude and coarse.
- SAI_Peregrinus 5y agoLast 4000 years in which society? Romans mostly didn't wear hats. Jewish men have worn the kippah (small hat) essentially all the time for much of that period. Especially indoors, in a synagogue. It's a symbol of respect for God. The "take the hat off indoors but always wear it outdoors" certainly hasn't been universal in western Europe for the last 4000 years.
- sokoloff 5y agoWhen carrying arms indoors, cover (hat) also stays on.
- belugacat 5y agoIn many countries, wearing a hat indoors is still perceived as very rude - even more so while eating at a table. Guess how you can tell the American tourists :)
- JohnClark1337 5y agoEven in many areas of the United States it was taught to take off your hat indoors, at least it was when I was younger.
- mpol 5y agoInstead of calling it weird, we could also ask what might have been the reason for this. Cliche rules and etiquette often have a function, even though we might have forgotten what that function was. We don't put shoes on the table, it is considered impolite. The reasoning is simple, shoes can be dirty and you don't want them on the table where you might be eating some time later. If hats were only worn outside, maybe they were dirty too? I do like the idea that people wore hats because you could expect to have poo flying out of windows and it would fit this context too.
- dugmartin 5y agoIt is weird the things that are ingrained in you. I went to public school in the US in the 70s/80s. You NEVER wore your hat inside a school building. It just wasn't done. Now whenever I happen to pickup my high school age children and see kids wearing hats in school I'm actually shocked at how "rude" they are being. It is silly.
- readingnews 5y agoIt is not weird. The armed forces all do it, as they are preparing you to never forget to put on your helmet in wartime when you go outside.
- tcmart14 5y agoInterestingly. During my time in the navy, wearing a cover anywhere inside the skin of the ship was acceptable except for the mess decks. The reason for no wearing of covers in the mess decks was a sign of respect for the dead since mess decks on ships often server as a back up area for medical.
- kergonath 5y agoThe general rule was: hat on in public spaces, hat off in private spaces.
- denton-scratch 5y agoThat's just good manners; you bare your head to show respect, as you cross the threshold. You don't wear a hat in someone's home (or the House Of God, for that matter). And if you want to show respect to someone, you raise your hat (or just tip the brim, if all you're willing to do is go through the motions). I find that raising my hat tends to cause startled looks. But I still do it.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- kace91 5y agoHats used to be protection. Either actual protection in old times (helmets) or protection of your identity as some can cover you. In old times, at least in Europe, discovering yourself was therefore a sign of respect, as it meant voluntarily leaving your guard down in front of someone. In some Royal courts, that is actually how the king made you a noble, by just saying "you may cover yourself" - only the highest of social ranks was allowed to keep their hat on in front of royalty. Here in Spain we learn about it because those tropes appear a lot in classic theatre: a person choosing to remain covered in a church is seen as blasfemy, not discovering your cape and hat while passing near a stranger at night is a sign that you are a criminal, etc.