Newspaper Poll on Hat Etiquette

What the well dressed men of the 1920’s were wearing. – Image source, Pinterest

‘Hats On’ Signs Appear in L. A. Elevators

Signs stating that it is unnecessary for men to remove their hats when women enter the car appeared today in several elevators in downtown office buildings. They were posted as the result of the discussion of elevator etiquette which was conducted in The Evening Herald.

In the discussion of the question, 136 voted that hats should stay on, 19 that they should come off and 46 for a compromise. The compromise was that the hats should be removed in hotel and apartment house elevators and kept on in business block lifts.

One hundred and twenty-two men wrote letters to the “Elevator Etiquette Editor” and 59 were received from women. Twenty-seven signed anonymously without sex distinction. Those who voted for the hats on rule held that an elevator is a public conveyance, the same as a street car. — Los Angeles Herald, July 1920

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia © Etiquette Encyclopedia

Courtesy on the Street

On the street a man always walks on the side nearest the curb, whether he is with one woman or several. 

Before discussing the “technique” of how to behave when you are out in the world here are a few simple principles upon which right conduct in public places is founded. One should always be courteous and appreciative of courtesy. An unobtrusive manner and a gracious “Thank you” or “I am sorry”smooth off many rough edges.

On the street a man always walks on the side nearest the curb, whether he is with one woman or several. A man raises his hat whenever he meets a woman he knows, whether he stops to speak to her or merely passes. He also raises it when he is with another man who bows to a woman acquaintance, and when he is with a woman who speaks to someone she knows whether it happens to be an acquaintance of his own or not. He raises it when he has performed a courtesy for some woman whether or not he knows her, such as assisting her should she stumble on a step, or picking up something she has let fall... and he always lifts his hat when leaving a woman he has accompanied. 

When speaking to a woman of his own age a man usually replaces his hat immediately but with an older woman he waits until she suggests that he do so. A man never “takes” a woman's arm when walking on the street in town, though he may “offer” his arm if she is elderly or in need of assistance, or if there is a crowd.– From Etiquette: The Well Bred Way of Doing Things, By Edna Borden Lowe, 1939

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Manners: The Spice of Life

We put on our best shoes when our friends call or when we call upon our friends. In Japan, a woman takes off her shoes at the threshold and makes her call in her stocking feet upon her hostess, who is similarly attired.

Variety as It Is Seen In the Customs of Various Countries

One of the most enjoyable things in travel is to notice how etiquette varies from land to land. In America, when a steamer leaves, the men shake hands and the women kiss each other and sometimes cry. In France and Italy, especially the women weep, while the men kiss and hug each other almost as vigorously as if they were in a wrestling match. 

An American woman shakes hands with a man of her acquaintance, while in Spain she always gives her hand to be kissed. It makes the same sensation in Madrid for a man to seize a woman’s hand and shake it as it does in New York for a foreigner to seize a New York woman’s hand and kiss it.

In America, it is rare for wine or beer to be seen on the table at a woman’s luncheon or dinner party. In Europe, not to have these would be considered the height of discourtesy. Among the western nations, to offer a visitor a cup of tea, is to invite him to prolong his visit. Among the eastern nations, it is the conventional intimation that it is time for him or her to go. 

An American man removes his hat while talking to a woman, while the “cad” keeps it carefully perched upon his ear. In China, a native man would sooner lose his head than be seen without his hat on when in company, while the ruffian takes it off as a mark of disrespect.

We put on our best shoes when our friends call or when we call upon our friends. In Japan, a woman takes off her shoes at the threshold and makes her call in her stocking feet upon her hostess, who is similarly attired. — San Jose Herald, 1895

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia