Rules Given for Hat Etiquette

With dressmaker ensembles bonnets, halo hats, cavalier, or any soft shapes are suitable.      

A prominent type designer gives a group of rules for hat etiquette, which should prove helpful to the autumn hat purchaser. For sportswear, the fedora or Breton sailor are advocated. Tailored street wear requires the pillbox, or the sailor type hat.

With dressmaker ensembles bonnets, halo hats, cavalier, or any soft shapes are suitable. Small or tall hats in the same styles suitable for dressmaker clothes are to be worn with fur coats.— By a Designer The Vanguard, 1940

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

Emily Post on Hats

The general rule is if you wear an afternoon dress (meaning a dress not suitable for general wear on the street) in the evening, then you should go without a hat, but if you are wearing a street dress, then you should wear a hat.– Emily Post on CBS Radio

Shall I Wear a Hat With Afternoon Dress?

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Dear Mrs. Post: We seldom wear formal clothes in our simple community, which fact I contend is no reason why the ladies here may not go to evening parties wearing afternoon dresses and no hats. Don’t you agree with me? There are several new residents who have been turning up on such occasions with hats on. 

Answer: The general rule is if you wear an afternoon dress (meaning a dress not suitable for general wear on the street) in the evening, then you should go without a hat, but if you are wearing a street dress, then you should wear a hat. But whether the hats you describe are bad form or not, depends entirely upon their type. In other words, if they are an indoor type of hat, they are quite as suitable to wear with afternoon dresses as to go without. In fact, they are decidedly a fashion of the moment. 

Seek Local Custom 

Dear Mrs. Post: Should the ladies pouring at a formal tea wear hats? Common sense seems to be the basis of your etiquette, and in my humble judgment hats at this time do not sound sensible. 

Answer: This question is best decided by the arbitrary custom of each community. In New York, for example, a deputy hostess always wears a hat unless she is a house visitor, and even in this case she is likely as not to wear one. Neither dress or hat for a deputy hostess should be too tailored.– By the World's Foremost Authority on Etiquette © Emily Post, 1937

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

Etiquette and Women’s Hat Choices

A hat set on the head at the wrong angle, a feather jutting out at cross-purposes with the crown, a brim that is jagged and slashed or a hat whose color clashes with her complexion, may rob a woman of her natural dignity and grace.

Choosing a Becoming Hat

A frame sets off a picture, so a hat should enhance the charm of the face underneath it. If you have soft, regular features, you can safely wear such angular models as the tricorn or brimless hats, but if the fine lines of your face are sharp, select hats with a round line, unbroken by points and turns. For almost anyone, a little brim, at least over the eyes, is more flattering.

A hat set on the head at the wrong angle, a feather jutting out at cross-purposes with the crown, a brim that is jagged and slashed or a hat whose color clashes with her complexion, may rob a woman of her natural dignity and grace. Do not get a hat which is too heavy for your features and seems to weigh on your head. — The Woman's World Book Of Etiquette, 1928

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

1940’s Etiquette and Equal Rights

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. 

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 thq 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 Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Another Victorian Female Fad

“Good Morning, Sir,” she said

They Tip Their Hats!

What the Girls Are Now Doing–A San Francisco Invention That Has Caught on in New York and Chicago

It is the fashion in the East now for girls to tip their hats by way of salutation!

The New York damsels were the first who had the courage to expose their precious bangs to the elements whenever they met a friend. Then the Chicago girls followed their example, and now the fashion has reached San Francisco.

Etiquette has not yet asked ladies to tip those dainty little creations, all lace and feathers, nor yet the towering flower gardens that are the bane of our theaters. The hat that girls tip is a special headgear, warranted to be put on and taken off easily, and to stand hard wear and tear. It was patented by a San Francisco firm, so that for once we can claim the glory at having dictated fashion to the East. Untrimmed, the hat looks a sort of cross between a cook's cap dyed black and a man-of-wars-man's hat. It is only when examined conscientiously that its entire originality is discovered. 

Upon a circular band of straw, an inch and a half in depth, is posed a plate of fine chip straw about ten inches in diameter. The front of the band is pleasingly ornamented with a strong peak of glazed leather, which can be firmly grasped and used to raise the hat, without any injury to the entire construction. The hat has quite a rakish appearance when trimmed. This is usually done by encircling the band of straw with ribbon and velvet and gracefully tilting up one side of the brim, with flowers or a plume of feather. – San Francisco Call, 1893

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