When to wear the Balmoral

[Bob C]

I own a Balmoral, but they're rather useless. Nothing to keep your ears warm when it's cold and little sun protection, including no shade for your eyes.

[ForresterModern]

My winter go to is either a Balmoral, a handmade broad bonnet, a tam or a wool beret. Interestingly, I first fell into that in my early 20's when I started wearing a wool dress Gordon tam with toorie during all but the warm months---25 years before I discovered my patrilineal scottish heritage and started down the kilted way. As others, I am almost always capped when outdoors because of baldness (cold or fear of sunburn or skin cancer) and have more than a collection of a variety of styles of headgear of various cultures.

Jock's "first horse out of the gates" comments were on my tongue before I even got to his post, in nearly the same precise yet simple terms. Jock, I especially like the "Sam I Am" style to your subsequent presentation of opportunities (you can wear in on a plane, you can wear it on a train, you can were it here or there, you can wear it anywhere----apologies to Dr Seuss but I just could not get that out of my head as I read that post). Just splendid.

As to colors just about anything non-fluorescent will do, I even have a cream one (not the duck's egg beige like jock's) that I think was likely a limited run Mackie as it has identical construction to other Mackies in my closet (without Mackie tags). I especially like the two handmade bonnets I bought from friend Beverly here on the forum (lovingly knit in memory of her recently lost love) and another handmade picked up off the internet for a song, all in unusual colors or combos of colors.

[GrainReaper]

I'm a hat wearer for 30 some years, I wear a balmoral quite often with my kilts, and occasionally with trousers.... I'm with jock, wear the hat outdoors, inside take it off. I'm guilty of wearing it indoors when photos are going to be taken but that seems to be only at big venues like arenas.

And for Pete's sake, remove yer hat when ones national anthem is played (irritating to see caps on then at a sporting event!!!)

I believe etiquette is paramount over style.