Bonnets on or off?

[BoldHighlander]

Church, or a sit-down restaurant, or any other place where one would expect to be clean and well-groomed and 'proper', one would of course want to remove his hat. But to state that all indoor places without exception (MoR even underlined it to drive home the point!) must be places where a hat is removed, just doesn't jibe with real life.

And on that note, many sit-down restaurants (at least out here) don't offer a place to put ones broad brimmed cowboy hats anymore. Sometimes one can place it in an empty chair at your table. However I have more than once seen a group of buckaroos (as we call them out here), with no place to place their hats, leave them on while dining (I myself have faced this same dilemma).

Yet, in any other circumstance they conduct themselves as "gentleman". Does this one act exclude them otherwise?

I'd be the last to tell them so

[Zardoz]

Maybe some of you live the kind of lifestyle where you never get dirty or sweaty, or you never have occasion to be anywhere that you're not dressed like perfect gentlemen, freshly groomed. If so, I envy you. But out here in the real world, for those of us who don't have the luxury of living such carefree lifestyles, there are going to be occasions where one finds himself indoors but doesn't think it's best to remove his hat. Because, quite frankly, it's not that important. Heck, the people who work at the hardware store wear hats themselves... indoors! Rubes and oafs, all of them!

Church, or a sit-down restaurant, or any other place where one would expect to be clean and well-groomed and 'proper', one would of course want to remove his hat. But to state that all indoor places without exception (MoR even underlined it to drive home the point!) must be places where a hat is removed, just doesn't jibe with real life.

Surely there's a reasonable middle ground here. Either that, or it's impossible to be a "gentleman" without having servants do everything for you, where you're free to remain pristine all the time.

But according to MoR, I'm a rube and an oaf, so I guess my opinion doesn't matter.

When the self-styled gentry look down from the county club on the working class, you need to remove you hat!

[macwilkin]

When the self-styled gentry look down from the county club on the working class, you need to remove you hat!

Yes, we all know the "reverse snobs" are the real elite, demanding tolerance of everyone!

T.

[Zardoz]

Yes, we all know the "reverse snobs" are the real elite, demanding tolerance of everyone!

T.

Whoa there cowpoke, I'm not in the class war! But honestly, I don't care for the neo-sitting-room culture of an intensely regulated social space and propriety that is so often promoted by some 'gentlemen' here. That being said, I'm not going to go so far as throwing rocks at their windows either.

A universe that divides itself into 'snobs' and 'reverse snobs' has no place left for the amateur enthusiast who simply likes what he likes. And, in unsnobbish fashion, is enthusiastic enough to want it to share it with likeminded folks. (surely that's the defining unsnobbish or un-reverse-snobbish trait).

[macwilkin]

Whoa there cowpoke, I'm not in the class war! But honestly, I don't care for the neo-sitting-room culture of an intensely regulated social space and propriety that is so often promoted by some 'gentlemen' here. That being said, I'm not going to go so far as throwing rocks at their windows either.

A universe that divides itself into 'snobs' and 'reverse snobs' has no place left for the amateur enthusiast who simply likes what he likes. And, in unsnobbish fashion, is enthusiastic enough to want it to share it with likeminded folks. (surely that's the defining unsnobbish or un-reverse-snobbish trait).

More of a general observation than directed at you per se...

T.

[Mike_Oettle]

Yes, indeed. Hats off in church, but not in the synagogue. Hats off when eating a sit-down meal.
But since most people tend to wear headgear in supermarkets, and also because I came close to mislaying a tammie while in a supermarket some months ago, I wear it while in such places.
Regards,
Mike

[Jock Scot]

Well, I for one take a very dim view of people(males) who enter my home wearing headwear and I make a point of asking, politely, for the offending attire to be removed from the head. Thankfully a rare event, but no one has yet refused.

On the subject of removing one's(male) headwear and I don't know if it is common place, but removing one's headwear whilst in a graveyard is very much a custom here.

[Irish Jack O'Brian]

Interesting discussion. And one I am intimately involved with since I am a 'hat guy.' That is, I wear a hat all day long, indoors and out; sometimes a baseball cap or beret or bonnet, but most often, a fedora or cowboy hat.

The hat is my helmet against the world. It functions as sunshade, hardhat, rainguard, warmth, curb-feelers, and personal good friend. I had always taken off my hat when indoors, even when it was an inconvenience to do so (no hat racks or hat check girls these days), UNTIL I lost my second hat. My beautiful three year-old Resistol Silver Belly walked off while I was using the restroom at a night club. The first I lost was a Black Stetson which was also stolen at a public place where I had been courteous enough to remove it.

These days, I wear my hat indoors a lot. Not all the time, but most of the time. Many of the folks who criticize the wearing of the hat indoors are not 'hat guys.' They occasionally or seldom wear a hat. It is akin to critiquing kilt-wearers when one does not wear a kilt.

These days my hat-wearing creedo comes from the words of Walt Whitman - "...take off your hat to no man, nor to any number of men."

[BoldHighlander]

Well, I for one take a very dim view of people(males) who enter my home wearing headwear and I make a point of asking, politely, for the offending attire to be removed from the head. Thankfully a rare event, but no one has yet refused.

No worries there Jock!

I had always taken off my hat when indoors, even when it was an inconvenience to do so (no hat racks or hat check girls these days), UNTIL I lost my second hat. My beautiful three year-old Resistol Silver Belly walked off while I was using the restroom at a night club. The first I lost was a Black Stetson which was also stolen at a public place where I had been courteous enough to remove it.

Another very real issue for those of us who wear cowboy/buckaroo hats in an establishment with no hat racks, is having them crushed etc, by some careless yahoo....hence them staying on our noggins

On the subject of removing one's(male) headwear and I don't know if it is common place, but removing one's headwear whilst in a graveyard is very much a custom here.

I wasn't aware of that custom Jock (learn something new ).

I haven't seen that over here (at least in my experience), except perhaps during an outdoor graveside service. At my grandmother's I wore my 10 1/2 gallon buckaroo hat, (except during prayer), as it was a great favourite of hers, my grandmother always said I reminded her of her father & brothers back in SW Missouri who wore similar hats. I knew she was smiling from up above at the thought that I wore it to honour her & her family. Other family present knew why, and were pleased that I did

[Paul Henry]

...snip....
On the subject of removing one's(male) headwear and I don't know if it is common place, but removing one's headwear whilst in a graveyard is very much a custom here.

That was very common with my parents when I was growing up, and something I still follow...