For decades now, people have wondered whatever happened to dress hats for men.
There are some theories concerning how President John F. Kennedy did not wear them and that somehow signaled to American culture that the hat for men is out. That was 65 years ago and the hat never recovered.
This story attributes too much cultural power to one man. I’ve never believed it.
The real killer of the dress hat was simply technology and economic advance.
We physically go from the house or apartment, to the garage, to the car, to the parking spot, to the office or whatever. There is no real reason for the hat on a regular basis. They are fine for the summer at the park and the fedora can be wonderful for a brisk fall walk. It’s great for the game outdoors. But that’s about it. It’s certainly not everyday.
Air conditioning and heating in large public spaces made it pointless.
Men who buy hats and are not in the habit of keeping up with them frequently lose them. I had a favorite rabbit-hair crushable fedora that I once left at the movie theater. I was devastated, and then angry so I ended up buying a new one. It pained me so much. After I lost the second one, I gave up.
We just are not used to carrying around a hat. Why not wear them as a way to keep from losing them? The general rule is that men should not wear hats in offices and domestic spaces at all, though they are permissible in lobbies and elevators.
This rule should be enforced. Anyone in charge of a venue who sees a man in a domestic space or seated where others are should simply walk up and say: “I’m so sorry that someone did not offer to take care of your hat. May I do that for you now?”
If that man protests, you simply have to tell the truth: Dress hats for men are not permitted indoors except in transitory settings like lobbies or aisles at malls. They must be removed once a person arrives to sit or stand in a stationary spot with others. Hats for men are not to be worn in theaters, homes, restaurants, or any such space.
I know it seems awkward, but that’s where we are.
Hilarious!
Please keep reading because there are interesting and extremely relevant exceptions, of which the MAGA hat might be one.
Before we get to this, however, keep in mind that none of this applies to women. A woman of any age can wear any hat she wants of any size or style anywhere, including all indoor and outdoor venues, fine restaurants, dinner tables in any home, or any church. They can be tiny, huge, stiff, floppy, or anything else. That’s just the way it is.
Boys and girls should be taught this at a young age so they can grow up properly with the right understanding of the rules.
The dress hat for men came of age in a different time when men were outdoors far more often in large cities, on carriages, walking here and there in work settings, and so on.
It’s obvious how this happened over time. Consider for example the top hat. It was a favorite of 19th century gentlemen. A few years ago, while preparing for a white-tie event, I briefly considered getting a top hat. But then I realized that there would be no time to wear it. One cannot wear it in the Uber and you are dropped off at the venue and then you can have it on for about 30 seconds but then you have to take it off and keep up with it the rest of the evening.
This makes no sense.
On the other hand, if you have an hour-long ride in a carriage, a top hat would be fantastic.
This is how our technology affects the practical import of hats.
Speaking of which, did you know that the drivers’ hat long predates driving? Yep, it is a working-class hat of English origins that became fashionable in U.S. culture after the automobile replaced the carriage.
There are other specific occasions when some hats are appropriate and others are not. I was attending an outdoor tennis match and planned to wear my boater, also called a skipper (they became fashionable in the 1920s United States in homage to Venice).
Fortunately I looked it up ahead of time to discover that there is only one hat appropriate for outdoor tennis: the panama. I’m grateful I checked because every second man there was wearing a panama and none were wearing boaters.
At the Kentucky Derby it would be another matter.
Now to the great exceptions. The Cowboy hat can be worn indoors in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona. Maybe that is also true in Wyoming, I’m not sure. This exception is a carve-out for a specific cultural milieu.
The reality of this exception illustrates how etiquette can eventually come around to deferring to prevailing practices based on cultural, regional, or time-and-place bound exceptions.
Given this precedent, I’m prepared to say that MAGA hats need to be listed as another exception to the general rule on hats on men indoors. Maybe it can go too far and I would not want a man with a MAGA hat sitting at my table for dinner. In fact, I might even ask him to remove it. That said, I do think it is time for a bit more tolerance concerning this hat in indoor settings.
I saw this having come from the AmericaFest conference in Phoenix, Arizona that had some 20,000 attendees. Probably a third of the men, and many of the women too, were wearing MAGA and MAHA hats in a variety of colors.
It was all incredibly overwhelming. At some point, you just realize: this is the reality in the present times and nothing can change it. This is a moment without precedent in modern history. The MAGA/MAHA hat is a matter of identity, a proclamation of independence and freedom. It is a protest against despotism. I’m merely explaining here, not being partisan. That is what it is.
So, yes, let’s just add just one more line to the long and complex history of hat etiquette: men can wear a MAGA hat indoors in the years 2024–25. I’m not saying anything about 2026. At some point, I suspect, this temporary exception should be repealed. And with the Cowboy hat, it still cannot be worn at weddings, funerals, during prayer or the National Anthem.
I suspect that most MAGA hat wearers know that.
History presents us often with a cascade of ironies. Many people have regretted the passing of the male hat. Who would have thought it would come back as a mass cultural phenomenon in precisely this way? Remarkable.
