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Dear NPR, You do realise that there's a world outside the United States, right? And that in Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, all the other culturally s

Dear NPR, You do realise that there's a world outside the United States, right? And that in Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, all the other culturally similar countries, they also stopped wearing hats sometime in the 1950s and 60s? That public transport remains the main way for (say) Londoners to get to work, and yet that the hat slowly vanished from the heads of Londoners over roughly the same period that it vanished from the heads of Los Angelinos?

pbhjpbhj 14y ago
Those in English speaking countries outside the USA often consume media offerings from inside the USA. It's not beyond reason that other countries would follow the lead of USA in fashion; probably really it would be the lead of costume designers in US films. The thrall of fashion appears to overrule common sense so the use of public transport, in London say, wouldn't necessarily over rule the fashionistas deciding that "hair is the new hat" or whatever. That said, the point should at least have been addressed.
timr 14y ago
Dear NPR, I know this is just one of your employees' blogs, and I know it very likely doesn't represent the official stance of National Public Radio on hat-wearing, globalism or international politics. I also happen to agree with the parent that this theory is a bit of a stretch, but hey...that's life. That said, I'd like to thank you for writing anything about this subject at all, because without you folks, I'm reasonably sure I wouldn't be thinking about hat-wearing on a sunny Saturday afternoon. So, nutty or not, thanks for providing some mind-expanding reading material. I'll try not to extrapolate this light bit of reading into a narrative about your awareness of the world at large.
hej 14y ago
But cars did also become widely used in those other countries during that time. I don't think that blaming presidents makes sense (and that part was a joke, anyway), but cars as an explanation for the decline of hats seems intriguing. As you noted, in some places in the west, commuting by public transport remained widely used (though I would argue that even many of those people frequently had to use cars), but here I would simply add fashion to the cars and turn it in a two-step process: cars made the use of hats decline, that decline became visible (either through interpersonal relationships or the media) and through that became fashion. It's an intriguing idea, certainly, but obviously without any empirical validation (that's just how it is, that doesn't mean it's not allowed or fun to speculate about).
ticks 14y ago
One thing I notice about public transport - especially the London Underground and double decker buses in general - is my head often touches (or is very near) the top without wearing a hat. So, I am not sure how the story holds up. Unless previous generations were substantially shorter? I think it has more to do with class in the UK. With each generation, the class division has faded, and to a degree, hats were one way of advertising your class. Even today, baseball caps are seen as part of the uniform of the "underclass" (that is, when they aren't worn by sports people).
- Retric 14y ago
  People on average have been getting taller for a long time. The general assumption is better nutrition and fewer diseases = taller populations. A lot of old clothing looks tiny by today's standards.
vacri 14y ago
Hats are starting to come back into fashion in Australia, though nothing like in the article's photos. Hats were seen as old-fashioned, but over the past couple of decades, they've become much more common with schoolkids to protect from the sun. It's pretty common to pass a primary school at lunchtime and see every kid wearing the school cap. My guess is that with more kids growing up used to hats, there's less of a block to wearing them as an adult. edit: on further thought, hats also used to be seen as something to wear with suits, and as people wore less in the way of suit-like clothing, hats went too. In more recent times, hats are used more and more with other kinds of clothing - if you see someone wearing a fedora in Australia, it's much more likely they're young and wearing casual clothing than someone in business wearing a suit.
- noduerme 14y ago
  You know those signs on the road in Australia that say, "Tired? Tired driving Kills!" --or something like that? You know that law in Queensland where you can't smoke 25 feet from a starbucks? Or the one in WA where if you get two tickets for screeching your tires, they steal your car and crush it? Or the one where you have to spend 30 minutes strapping on a helmet and pads to climb a ladder and fix a roof tile? Yeah, you guys are really free thinkers. And your kids look great covered in cancer-causing toxic waste wearing stupid ass straw hats.
  - Auguste 14y ago
    -1. What's the problem with safety laws, and what do they have to do with free thinking? It's hard to drive when you're tired. Not everybody in Australia appreciates cigarette smoke. Most people here don't like hooning, but "they" won't "steal" your car for it. It might, however, be confiscated. I don't know of the law at home, but workplace health and safety is taken very seriously here. Not wearing safety gear can get you and your employer in quite a bit of trouble. Try to be a little more constructive instead of mocking Australians. Edit: The smoking law really is fantastic by the way, when people obey it. As a kid, I remember having to walk through 20 metres of cigarette smoke to get into a shopping centre. It was putrid. I don't mind people smoking, but the smoke buildup outside shops wasn't good.
hyperbovine 14y ago
The N stands for "national".

pbhjpbhj 14y ago

Those in English speaking countries outside the USA often consume media offerings from inside the USA. It's not beyond reason that other countries would follow the lead of USA in fashion; probably really it would be the lead of costume designers in US films. The thrall of fashion appears to overrule common sense so the use of public transport, in London say, wouldn't necessarily over rule the fashionistas deciding that "hair is the new hat" or whatever. That said, the point should at least have been addressed.

timr 14y ago

Dear NPR, I know this is just one of your employees' blogs, and I know it very likely doesn't represent the official stance of National Public Radio on hat-wearing, globalism or international politics. I also happen to agree with the parent that this theory is a bit of a stretch, but hey...that's life. That said, I'd like to thank you for writing anything about this subject at all, because without you folks, I'm reasonably sure I wouldn't be thinking about hat-wearing on a sunny Saturday afternoon. So, nutty or not, thanks for providing some mind-expanding reading material. I'll try not to extrapolate this light bit of reading into a narrative about your awareness of the world at large.

hej 14y ago

But cars did also become widely used in those other countries during that time. I don't think that blaming presidents makes sense (and that part was a joke, anyway), but cars as an explanation for the decline of hats seems intriguing. As you noted, in some places in the west, commuting by public transport remained widely used (though I would argue that even many of those people frequently had to use cars), but here I would simply add fashion to the cars and turn it in a two-step process: cars made the use of hats decline, that decline became visible (either through interpersonal relationships or the media) and through that became fashion. It's an intriguing idea, certainly, but obviously without any empirical validation (that's just how it is, that doesn't mean it's not allowed or fun to speculate about).

ticks 14y ago

One thing I notice about public transport - especially the London Underground and double decker buses in general - is my head often touches (or is very near) the top without wearing a hat. So, I am not sure how the story holds up. Unless previous generations were substantially shorter? I think it has more to do with class in the UK. With each generation, the class division has faded, and to a degree, hats were one way of advertising your class. Even today, baseball caps are seen as part of the uniform of the "underclass" (that is, when they aren't worn by sports people).

Retric 14y ago
People on average have been getting taller for a long time. The general assumption is better nutrition and fewer diseases = taller populations. A lot of old clothing looks tiny by today's standards.

vacri 14y ago

Hats are starting to come back into fashion in Australia, though nothing like in the article's photos. Hats were seen as old-fashioned, but over the past couple of decades, they've become much more common with schoolkids to protect from the sun. It's pretty common to pass a primary school at lunchtime and see every kid wearing the school cap. My guess is that with more kids growing up used to hats, there's less of a block to wearing them as an adult. edit: on further thought, hats also used to be seen as something to wear with suits, and as people wore less in the way of suit-like clothing, hats went too. In more recent times, hats are used more and more with other kinds of clothing - if you see someone wearing a fedora in Australia, it's much more likely they're young and wearing casual clothing than someone in business wearing a suit.

noduerme 14y ago
You know those signs on the road in Australia that say, "Tired? Tired driving Kills!" --or something like that? You know that law in Queensland where you can't smoke 25 feet from a starbucks? Or the one in WA where if you get two tickets for screeching your tires, they steal your car and crush it? Or the one where you have to spend 30 minutes strapping on a helmet and pads to climb a ladder and fix a roof tile? Yeah, you guys are really free thinkers. And your kids look great covered in cancer-causing toxic waste wearing stupid ass straw hats.
- Auguste 14y ago
  -1. What's the problem with safety laws, and what do they have to do with free thinking? It's hard to drive when you're tired. Not everybody in Australia appreciates cigarette smoke. Most people here don't like hooning, but "they" won't "steal" your car for it. It might, however, be confiscated. I don't know of the law at home, but workplace health and safety is taken very seriously here. Not wearing safety gear can get you and your employer in quite a bit of trouble. Try to be a little more constructive instead of mocking Australians. Edit: The smoking law really is fantastic by the way, when people obey it. As a kid, I remember having to walk through 20 metres of cigarette smoke to get into a shopping centre. It was putrid. I don't mind people smoking, but the smoke buildup outside shops wasn't good.

hyperbovine 14y ago

The N stands for "national".