Guys, if you insist on wearing some kind of hat, or the now ubiquitous backwards baseball cap (and who would have thought in the early 90s that the trend would still be with us twenty years on?), it's time to relearn basic hat etiquette. Ok?
At the very least, remove your hat or cap when you come indoors, and when you sit down to the table for a snack or meal. Only crass rubes and bumpkins on the back of turnip trucks eat with their hats on (and their elbows on the table), and sadly the observant individual will notice quite a few in restaurants of all kinds, from Taco Bell to the (now, sadly defunct) Tavern on the Green in Manhattan. What happened? Surely our mothers raised us better than that.
Remember, part of our personal style, our presentation, what we communicate to the world about who we are, and the kind of upbringing we've had, has to do with basic courtesies like these. Let's make every effort to practice them in all settings, not because we must, but because we want to. It makes us nicer company for others, and it's one part of classic style that needs to be reintegrated into our daily habits. And you know what? It's not hard, takes no time at all, and others will appreciate it. Even if they say nothing. Honest.
Although we are allowed to wear hats while in public spaces indoors (e.g., hotel lobby), and while seated at the counter in a diner. I think these rules came about as a practical matter: where are you supposed to put your hat when there is nowhere to put it and your hands are full?
ReplyDeleteOther than that, yes, hats off indoors, and especially in church.