An Elevator Etiquette Debate

“Is a woman less a woman in these days of business efficiency than in the old times, when her chief duty was to sit on a cushion and ‘sew a seam’ or be a mere toy for some man?” he asked. In other words, is the feminine invasion of the business world causing men to lose the proper amount of respect for women? — What the well-dressed men of the 1920’s were wearing. – Image source, Pinterest

How Men “Should Act?”

Should men remove their when women enter an elevator?

The editorial writer started it…

Several days ago he wrote and published a few hundred pointed words under the heading - “Hats Off, Gentlemen.”

Forty-eight hours had scarcely passed before a number of letters were received from men and women who had read what he had written.

In one of these letters a woman stated very plainly what she thought of men who failed to remove their hats when she entered an elevator,

ASKS MANDATORY LAW

She finished with a knock-out punch in these somewhat determined words: “And if something isn't done about it soon I intend asking the city council to pass an ordinance compelling men to show the proper amount of respect to women under all conditions.”

For her sake “something” is going to be done.

It has been decided that an unofficial referendum shall be conducted by one who shall be known as the “Elevator Etiquette Editor,” so that this small but important question of the doffing of a hat is now open for discussion in a free-for-all fashion.

When the editorial writer spoke in a proving manner in his “Hats Off” article he called attention to another question conjunctively interesting.

WOMEN AND WORK

“Is a woman less a woman in these days of business efficiency than in the old times, when her chief duty was to sit on a cushion and ‘sew a seam’ or be a mere toy for some man?” he asked.

In other words, is the feminine invasion of the business world causing men to lose the proper amount of respect for women?

Thousands upon thousands of men and women travel in the elevators of the city daily. As the “Elevator Etiquette Editor” was told, each should have something to say on the question of the removal of hats. Some indifferent persons may say that it is a small thing after all, but as the polished Earl of Chesterfield remarked, “It is the small things that count.”

ELEVATORS SOMETHING ELSE 

It might be added, however, in a sense of fairness, that skyscrapers and elevators were unknown in the days when Chesterfield swaggered in the English court, spending his idle moments in addressing letters of advice to his son.

Then, too, there arises this question: Providing men should remove their hats when women enter an elevator should the women acknowledge in any way the mark of respect that is paid them?

There are any number of interesting angles to the proposition if one devotes a little thought to it.

The editorial writer started it and the “Elevator Etiquette Editor” is ready to finish it, so sharpen up the old pencil, oil up the trusty type-writer and get busy.

Address your letters to “The Elevator Etiquette Editor” of The Evening Herald, 1920

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

Hat Etiquette of 1940

Custom has changed the etiquette of tipping your hat to every lady you chance to meet. This is impractical, as you would soon wear your hat out. Nevertheless, the hat should be tipped when you meet a lady of your acquaintance, and should be taken off when in the theater, lobby of a hotel, church or an elevator.

Why must the men take off their hats?

And wave them shoulder-high, while the women smugly keep theirs on, when the flag is passing by? Why, in these days of “equal rights,” should this fact be always true? Men's hats come off when they meet the girls, why don't girls doff theirs, too?!?

The reason is that hats may be hats, but etiquette still differentiates between the customs of men and women. In other words, it is never necessary for women to tip their hats, while it is often the rule for a gentleman. 

The controversy arises as to whether the hat should be raised when a patriotic song, ether than the national anthem, is played. No, it is not necessary. The hat should be lifted only when the flag is passing or when “The Star-Spangled Banner” is played.

Custom has changed the etiquette of tipping your hat to every lady you chance to meet. This is impractical, as you would soon wear your hat out. Nevertheless, the hat should be tipped when you meet a lady of your acquaintance, and should be taken off when in the theater, lobby of a hotel, church or an elevator.

When you tip your hat to a lady, it need not be taken completely off, merely raised slightly. When the flag goes by the hat should be taken off and held over the heart. Of course, in public buildings, as the theater, it is a matter of convenience to take it off and hold it in your hand.

This bit of etiquette may seem very elementary to collegiates, but due to the fact hats are seldom worn on the campus, it is a good idea to check up on what to do when you do wear a hat.

Ladies need never remove their hats in public places, but it is a good idea to let the people in the show behind you see some of the picture instead of your New York creation.

So if you wear a reproduction of the leaning tower of Pisa or a similar style, remember we are all behind you! – Sally’s Social Slants in the Oak Leaf, 1940

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

1920’s “Elevator Etiquette Editor”

Discussion of the question was suggested by a woman who signed herself  “Fighting Feminist.” She endorsed what the editorial writer had to say and declared that men, in the business world, were losing the proper amount of respect for women.” – Above, Fighting Feminist, Rose Mc Gowan, styled as 1920’s era actress, Clara Bow.

Hats on in L.A. Elevators Wins 136 to 19

Votes for Hats On 136  
Votes for Hats Off 19  
Votes for Compromise 46 

There is the final tally in the discussion of whether men should remove their hats when women enter an elevator. Two hundred and one letters were received by the “Elevator Etiquette Editor” with the following interesting results: The advocates of the rule that the hats should not come off number 136, approximately 7 times as many as those in favor of the hats oft rule. 

46 for Compromise 

Forty-six favored a compromise, that the hats should come off in hotel and apartment house elevators and remain on in elevators in all other buildings. Only 19 were for the straight out-and-out proposition of the removal of hats on all elevator. More letters were received from men than from women. One hundred and twenty-two men wrote, while only 59 letters were received from women. Twenty-seven signed anonymously without sex distinction. Of the 122 letters by the men only eight expressed the opinion that hats should be removed under all conditions. Eleven women were for the hats off rule. The majority for a compromise were sent in by the women. 

Public Conveyance 

Almost all of those who advocated that the hats should stay on declared that an elevator is a public conveyance, the same as a street car. With the elevator classified as a public conveyance, they asserted, there is no logical reason for the doffing of the headpieces. Those who were for a compromise held that there is a vast difference between a business elevator and an elevator in a hotel or apartment house. They claimed that when one enters a hotel or apartment house elevator, he should conduct himself exactly as if he were in a private home, thus making the removal of hats imperative. Discussion of the question of elevator etiquette was suggested by a woman who signed herself  “Fighting Feminist,” after she had read an editorial urging the men to remove their hats. She endorsed what the editorial writer had to say and declared that men, in the business world, were losing the proper amount of respect for women. 

Don’t Care 

The business women who wrote to the “Elevator Etiquette Editor” took a somewhat unexpected view of the question. Most all of them either stated plainly or intimated strongly that they “didn’t care a whoop” whether the men took off their hats to them in the elevator or not. “Let them do as they please—they will anyway,” was the way one girl put it. Several of the women and a number of the men declared that it was impolite for a man to remove his hat to a woman in an elevator. They argued that a man should never salute a woman whom he does not know. While the result of the discussion conducted by the “Elevator Etiquette Editor” does not set an arbitrary rule it may, at least, be considered as an expression of public opinion. – Los Angeles Herald, 1920

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

More Hat Etiquette

Like her predecessors before her, Melania Trump wore a black veil to meet Pope Francis. “Per Vatican protocol, women who have an audience with the Pope are required to wear long sleeves, formal black clothing and a veil to cover the head.” –Spokeswoman for the First Lady, Stephanie Grisham

Hats are removed for the National Anthem, passing of the flag of the United States, for funeral processions, outdoor weddings and at dedications. Removed hats are held in the hand/s in such a way, that only the outside of the hat and never the lining, is visible.

In many places of worship, head coverings are required. Hats or head scarves are required for both men and women in Muslim mosques. Wearing a Sikh dastaar, or turban, is mandatory for all Amritdhari (initiated) Sikh men and women in Sikh temples.

Men are required to cover their heads in Jewish synagogues, but only married women wear hats or scarves representing a display of her increased modesty towards those other than the woman’s husband.

The small, round head covering or skullcap worn by men is called a “kippah” which means, “dome” or “cupola.” The Yiddish word for the cap is “yarmulke.” The wearing of the yarmulke is a reminder of humility before God, a mark of respect in a Jewish congregation, and a sign of recognition of something greater above oneself, which is why many male Jews wear a head covering whenever they are awake, with the exceptions of bathing and swimming.

It is acceptable for women to wear hats in Christian churches, (it was once required, but the custom has all but disappeared in many parts of the US) but is considered disrespectful for men to wear them.

A woman may leave her hat on indoors or during the playing of  the National Anthem, unless it is considered unisex like a baseball cap. If wearing such a unisex cap, a woman should follow the same guidelines as for men.

        

 From “Ask Andy About Clothes” and other online sites

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

Retro Etiquette of the Sexes

 When a man is careless or thoughtless, it is all the more evident. Begin as a boy to observe all the small, sweet courtesies of life.

Social Etiquette:

The Differing Courtesies That Marked Good Breeding in Man and in Woman, from 1891

 "Are girls as well bred as boys?" Yes— and no! says Marion Harland in answering this question in The Weekly. Their training lies along different lines. One thing must always be considered —namely, that a woman's part is in many points of etiquette, passive. It is the man who takes the initiative, and who is made such a prominent figure that all eyes are drawn to him. Have you ever noticed it? Man proposes, woman accepts. Man stands, woman remains seated. Man lifts his hat, woman merely bows. Man acts as escort, woman as the escorted. So when a man is careless or thoughtless, it is all the more evident. For this reason, begin as a boy to observe all the small, sweet courtesies of life.


I often wish there were any one point in which a woman could show her genuine ladyhood as a man displays his gentlehood by the management of his hat—raising it entirely from the head on meeting a woman, lifting it when the lady with whom he is walking bows to an acquaintance, or, when his man companion greets a friend, baring his head on meeting, parting from or kissing mother, sister or wife. These, with other points, such as rising when a woman enters the room and remaining standing until she is seated, giving her the precedence in passing in or out of a door and picking up the handkerchief or glove she lets fall—are sure indices of the gentleman, or by their absence, mark the boor.

But our girl should not think that she can afford to overlook the acts of tactful courtesy which are her duty, as well as her brother's. Her temptation is often to exercise a patronizing toleration toward her elders, aud while she is not actually disrespectful, she still has the air of a very superior young being, holding converse with a person who has the advantage merely in the accident of years. Another of our girl's mistakes is that of imagining that brusqueness and pertness are wit. There is no other error more common with girls from fifteen to eighteen, and they generally choose a boy as the butt of their sarcastic remarks—and, to their shame, be it said, they frequently select a lad who is too courteous to retort in kind. — From "The Weekly" as reported in the Los Angeles Herald, 1891

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

Men's Fashion Etiquette

The top garment of formal occasions, the Inverness Cape, is easily donned or doffed, being loose fitting and graceful in hang.

When to Wear Them

The White Lawn Cravat—Always upon occasions when the swallowtail is worn.

The High Silk Hat—Always with the double breasted frock coat and swallowtail. It is apropos also with the frock cut away coat.

Gloves—At all times en promenade, especially when walking. The glove is also to be informally worn on every clear, cool day in the year.

The Inverness Cape—At night over the dress suit. The top garment of formal occasions, it is easily donned or doffed, being loose fitting and graceful in hang.

The Full Dress Coat—From 6 p. m.—being the earliest dinner hour—just so long into the next day as the festivities continue. It is the impregnable and inexorable garment of fashionable times.

The Cane —Not during business hours nor with evening dress. In point of etiquette, the cane is essentially an adjunct of outdoor exercise, and can have no application with the more formal functions of social life. —Clothier and Furnisher, 1892

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