How to answer the Hat Question!

The Problem: Recently I was posed with a question and I have been mulling the answer in my head. In my mind there is no correct answer but its the demonstration of the thinking process that improves the quality of the answer. Don't bullshit, the asker knows what the answer is and is waiting to see how you arrive at the answer.

Question: Think of a photo of a group of men in the 1930's 1940's and even 1950's. They are all wearing hats. Imagine a group of men in the 1960's. They are not wearing hats. Why?

My Answer: When I think of a hat, I first think of its origins. I feel the religious connotations of wearing a headdress is to show modesty and respect. In fact, it is the next best thing to prostrating to show the top of your head. This way, the respect is accorded when the hat is removed, say indoors or when greeting another person. In the Victorian times, only beggars did not wear hats. So social class was attributed to the wearing of hats. And I am not mistaken height of the hat and elaborate designs also denoted standing among the high classes.

The next thing that pops into my head is the timeline, 30's 40's and 50's. What happened during this time? Simple, Industrial revolution and the Great Depression for a start. As James Laver is credited for, he noted that the sea of hats reminded him of the black smoking chimney stacks themselves. As Desmond Morris noted in his book Peoplewatching, during the Great Depression, women started wearing longer skirts, to cover their ankles even though economically short skirts were cost-effective. It is not very surprising when you think of it, we tend to withdraw when upset, and this translated to longer clothing styles. Modesty comes with the package of withdrawal.

Next, I think what changed in 1960's that made people abandon the hat wearing tradition. To my mind I think it was the culmination of more jobs, the start of the American dream. The time where estranged Europeans made their way to the new world where you could make a good living. The promise of a new life, the evolution of corporate jobs got people of different classes working in the same offices, Gone were the days of distinction. I can also attribute this change to the advertisements of hair styling products, which would be destroyed by the wearing of hats. What about the influence of famous personalities with infamous hairstyles, I'm thinking Elvis Presley and James Dean.

So there you go, the reason. The wearing of hats nowadays seem to be following James Lavers' Law, a fashion becomes described as quaint only 50 years after the fashion has passed, so today fedoras and other hats are popular.

Quod erat Demonstrandum.